effects of jet lag today when they play their first practice match in Malaysia in the build-up towards the ICC Trophy tournament which gets underway next Monday.

The Island squad, after a tiring journey which took them through Atlanta, Los Angeles and Taipei before arriving in Kuala Lumpur on Monday where they joined up with technical advisor Bobby Simpson, went through a two-and-a-half hour training session yesterday.

Opening batsman Dexter Smith, originally named as a standby but then a late inclusion following fitness concerns over Lionel Cann, joined the team yesterday after being forced to travel through London because of confusion over his airline ticket.

Today the team face what promises to be a tough work-out against ICC favourites Kenya, qualifiers for the last World Cup when they pulled off the event's biggest upset with victory over West Indies.

But, more importantly, Bermuda will use the game to help get accustomed to the artificial matting on which they will be playing throughout the tournament.

Because of traffic congestion, the team's liaison officer has advised the squad to leave their hotel at 7.00 this morning so as to reach their ground in time for a 9.30 start. The weather in Kuala Lumpur is very hot and humid with rain expected late in the afternoon on most days. The annual rainfall is over 200 inches, necessitating early starts for all of the matches.

"The grounds are very soft, apparently there was a lot of rain before we arrived,'' said manager Rudolph Lawrence yesterday after visiting one of the grounds.

Lawrence explained that matting would be laid on a gravel-like surface and would allow water to run through and dry quickly in the event of of rain.

However, because of the soft ground it is anticipated the fields will be very slow.

Bermuda will also play a second practice match on Thursday and then will open their Group D schedule on Monday against Italy. A day later they face Hong Kong before playing Papua New Guinea next Friday. They close out their group matches against Scotland on Sunday, March 30.

The quarter-finals -- two groups of four competing on a round-robin format -- begin on Tuesday, April 1.

A record 22 ICC Associate countries are taking part in the tournament with Italy and Scotland the two newcomers. The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarter-finals. The tournament final is scheduled for April 12 at the Kilat Club ground in Kuala Lumpur.

Again, the top three teams will qualify for the 1999 World Cup in England which will involve the nine Test playing countries. The United Emirates, Kenya and Holland reached the last World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.