David Hemp has spent most of his summer playing house husband and looking after his two young children while his wife is at work. Ideal preparation for his new role as captain of one of the youngest teams to represent Bermuda in recent years.

Retirement, injury and other commitments have forced the Bermuda Cricket Board to pick a squad for the Intercontinental Shield clash with Uganda that more than makes up for in youth what is lacks in experience.

At 39-years-old Hemp is 22 years older than the squad's youngest member, Kevon Fubler, and with a 13-man squad that has an average age of 23, and six players aged 21 or under, the Solihull School cricket coach might be forgiven for thinking his summer holidays had finished early.

The loss of players such as Lionel Cann, Dwayne Leverock, and Janeiro Tucker to retirement was always going to be difficult, but five other experienced players, Stefan Kelly, Delyone Borden, OJ Pitcher, Glenn Blakeney and Kyle Hodsoll are also unavailable.

For Hemp it means his first game in charge, and his first game on the Island, will be as much a test of character as it will be skill. It is a test he is looking forward to.

"It goes without saying that it's an honour and a privilege to captain the side," he said.

"It's something that anyone would have bitten their hand off to do.

"I'm really looking forward to that, and to playing my first game on Bermuda soil, which will be something different, and something to look forward to.

"The three senior guys who retired had a lot of experience and that will definitely be missed, and also five other guys who aren't available for selection, they've been there and done that, and we will miss their experience.

"It is frustrating that we haven't got players available with that level of experience, but I think the guys that have been picked have shown that they can play, so I am certainly looking forward to meeting the new guys, and catching up with the other guys.

"I think it is an important game for us, it is the start of something new in terms of the position that we are in and trying to get back to ODI status and this is the first rung on that ladder."

For many in the squad four-day cricket is an entirely new experience, and while Uganda have yet to play the longer version of the game themselves, Hemp believes that it will be the team that is mentally strongest that will win.

"Four-day cricket is completely different, obviously, to one-day, not just physically, because it's played over a longer period of time and you could find yourself in the field for two days, but from a mental point of view and getting your head around the fact that it's a four-day haul," he said.

"And that's why I always felt that that form of the game is a lot tougher than the one-day version, simply because of the physical and mental demands of the longer version.

"I'm led to believe that Uganda haven't played any four-day cricket, but for me it is about how we approach that and how we mentally go about that, that will be a big test, especially if the weather is going to be hot."

While a lack of experience could ultimately tell, Hemp believes that the game presents the younger members of the squad with an ideal opportunity to leap-frog some of those more senior players who might otherwise be considered ahead of them.

Somerset bowler Jordan DeSilva is one such example, the loss of Stefan Kelly, George O'Brian and Kyle Hodsoll has created an opportunity that Hemp hopes the youngsters grabs with both hands.

"It's a chance for eveybody to put their hands up and it is important that people do that," he said.

"You get the bat in your hand you've got to take that responsibility, and similarly if you get the ball in your hand you have to do the same.

"It is important that people realise that if they do it, and they do it regularly, they will have a long future playing for the Bermuda national team."