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Borden carries extra burden on return to national cricket squad

A lot has changed since Delyone Borden was last in a Bermuda squad.David Moore has replaced Gus Logie as head coach, old players have been replaced by the next generation, and there is a new aim, even though it only differs slightly from the old one.Two years' ago, Borden was part of the squad that had high hopes of doing well at the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa in April, 2009. Success then would have meant making the 2011 World Cup. The failure that followed saw the Island relegated to Division Two of Associate cricket, and lose their one-day international status.

A lot has changed since Delyone Borden was last in a Bermuda squad.

David Moore has replaced Gus Logie as head coach, old players have been replaced by the next generation, and there is a new aim, even though it only differs slightly from the old one.

Two years' ago, Borden was part of the squad that had high hopes of doing well at the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa in April, 2009. Success then would have meant making the 2011 World Cup. The failure that followed saw the Island relegated to Division Two of Associate cricket, and lose their one-day international status.

At the same tournament in Dubai next April, success may well just be about avoiding relegation to Division Three.

A falling out with the Bermuda Cricket Board meant that Borden didn't make the trip 18 months ago, but he's back in the fold now, and will be heading to Canada on Sunday for the tri-series, which will form part of the team's preparations for April.

"It's nice to be back, obviously," said Borden. "The only reason I had my lay-off was that I had some personal things to deal with, and now I'm ready to play. It's a nice atmosphere with the young guys, there's a mixture of experience as well, and I'm ready to get back and do my part."

As well as the new coach and new faces, Borden also has a new role to play in the squad. No longer a junior member of the team, he is now one of the seniors, and intends to take that responsibility seriously.

"It's sort of different. When I first got into the team you had Sluggo, Dean Minors, and older guys, and I was the new guy," he said. "Seems like I'm coming back and I'm one of the oldest. It's a different feeling, but it's nice altogether.

"It does change the way you are in the squad. I'm going to try and set an example for the younger players. hopefully they will look to me and follow my example, and give 100 percent every single time."

Brought back into the national set-up by Moore, Borden has had to adjust to a new regime and a new way of doing things. But he's enjoying being back, and is looking forward to playing against West Indies 'A' and Canada over the next couple of weeks.

"His (Moore) coaching method is a little bit different to Gus' (Logie)," said Borden. "I would say fielding wise Gus is the best coach that we've had, but he (Moore) has shown me a few things already that I have never seen before. So it's always nice to learn new things.

"He's shown me a few things with my batting (as well) already that I'm trying to put into place. It's always a learning experience when you play against top nations like the West Indies, even though it's the 'A' team, they've got some top class players. But we'll take the challenge at hand, and hope for the best."

One of four spinners in the squad, Borden has had an up and down domestic season with St David's, and finished with 16 wickets at an average of 29.83 during this season's 50-over competition. Still he and Rodney Trott, Joshua Gilbert and Tamauri Tucker are all helping each other with their games.

"I've struggled a bit with my bowling (this season), so I need to bowl as much as possible," said Borden. "I've only played a few games this season because I was taking care of other things, but I'm back to playing, and ready to go for it.

"We (the spinners) split off and work on little different things. The other day myself and Josh (Gilbert) were working on trying to bowl the Doosra. We haven't got it down yet, but it's a work in progress."