with some important lessons learned from their first taste of Shell/Sandals competition.

However, the exposure will no doubt put the team in good stead in the buildup to the next ICC Tournament in Malaysia in March.

Australian Bob Simpson, who assisted coach Allan Douglas as a consultant, was encouraged by the team's performance and said they have already identified some of the areas that need working on before Malaysia.

"The players understand the demands that are needed to play cricket at a first class level,'' said Simpson, reflecting on the squad's six matches against Guyana, Barbados and the Windward Islands.

"And while we've got a lot of natural talent, they suddenly realise they are going to have to lift their fitness and concentration and just generally tighten up.'' A victory seemed inevitable a week and a half ago when, in their first outing, Bermuda lost by just two runs to the Windwards. That was followed by a five wicket defeat to Barbados as Bermuda again scored over 200 runs.

"I think we performed reasonable well, we were the only team in the competition to get three scores over 200 runs,'' Simpson pointed out.

Injuries reduced the squad to just ten available men for the last two matches, forcing Douglas to make a return to the international stage after a four-year absence.

The same team was never fielded twice as injuries began right from the first match when key batsman Glenn Smith went down with a hamstring pull.

His one knock produced 54 runs and after scoring 98 not out in the first warmup match much was expected from the elegant left-hander.

"We had three serious injuries, we couldn't play Glenn Smith and we lost Blades and Wade and even today (Sunday) we had problems with Roger Trott,'' Simpson added.

"But that's not dodging away from the point that to play at this level we are going to have to get a better allround team performance. Some of it was because we had players who hadn't experienced the toughness of a series such as this, with six matches in just a few days.

"I think the players were exhausted on occasion and they realised it was a little different from playing under very pleasant conditions in Bermuda to the tough conditions down here on very, very big fields. A lot of the shots in the air dropped in hands whereas in Bermuda they disappear over the fence.'' One of the exciting features of the Bermuda game was the running between the wickets, which impressed the fans.

"From the locals point of view they gave us an enormous reception,'' said Simpson. "They were quite surprised at the talent we've got.

"One of the things is that we've got too many players getting out in the 20s, they have got to learn to bat on. They aren't used to batting in conditions where everything is wet with perspiration.'' The former Australia coach also says the fitness level needs to improve to meets the demands of international competition. He admitted some of the players were "a little cuddly''.

Clay Smith and Charlie Marshall had outstanding knocks, although Smith struggled after 50s in the first two matches. Marshall had the highest score by a Bermudian in the tournament, hitting 86 against the Windwards on Saturday after four previous scores in the 20s.

"Charlie is a good allrounder and is a chap who I think can improve,'' said Simpson. "He has made the pledge to me that he's going to lose weight and those are the sort of things that we've come to terms with over here.

"No matter how well the team does my philosophy is there is always room for improvement.''