Bermuda have pinned their ICC Twenty/20 World Cup qualifying hopes on a "new-look" 14-member squad that will take on fellow ICC Associates Scotland and Ireland in Belfast early next month.

Recent weeks have seen the fortunes of the Island's senior national cricket squad take a long awaited turn for the better. Bermuda defeated Canada 2-1 in an ODI series and then celebrated a first Intercontinental Cup win in three years over the same opponents at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King's City, Toronto.

Their celebrations might have been slightly muted as they went down to Scotland less than a week later in the Intercontinental Cup on home soil. But the Islanders' well blended team of youth and experience displayed a tremendous fighting spirit against the Scots in the second innings and were impressive throughout with their alertness and enthusiasm in the field.

And it is these positive traits which suggest Bermuda's future at the international level could be bright.

"This new-look squad that exhibited a good fighting attitude and approach during our tour of Canada and the game against Scotland is now looking forward to yet another opportunity to further enhance their growing reputation as we challenge ourselves to continue maturing on the world stage," said national coach Gus Logie.

Bermuda's senior squad have undergone subtle changes with English Counties batsman David Hemp and promising young spinner Tamauri Tucker the only two new additions. Veteran seamer Ryan Steede was dropped through work commitments while budding all-rounder Dennico Hollis, seamer McLaren Smith and wicketkeeper/batsman Jason Anderson have been chosen as reserves for next month's challenge in Ireland.

The team, again led by captain Irving Romaine, also contains four players that represented Bermuda earlier this year at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, among them Romaine's Bailey's Bay team-mate Rodney Trott who continues to progress in leaps and bounds.

"The development of our younger players and the transition of many of the Under-19 players into the senior national team is a heartwarming experience and I look forward to their continued improvement at the international level," Logie added. "In our last Intercontinental Cup game we had eight players that were 25 or younger, so the national programme definitely has a silver lining."

In the past, Ireland have proven to be good hunting ground for Logie's men who made history there three years ago when they qualified for a maiden ICC World Cup under the Trinidadian's watch.

Logie now hopes the cricket Gods will again shower their blessings on his team.

"I think the players are aware of that (2007 World Cup qualification in Ireland) and at the end of the day we are going into this tournament believing that we can succeed, if we work hard," he stressed.

On paper, Scotland and hosts Ireland will be heavily favoured over Bermuda.

Logie, however, is cautiously optimistic his charges can advance from Group A and enhance their chances of qualifying for next year's World Cup Twenty/20 finals in England.

"Cricket is played on grass and not on paper, and so anything is possible in this format of the game, as we have seen in the World Cup where teams like Zimbabwe have beaten Australia," he said.

"It's all about what you do on the day that really matters and that's what we will be focusing on.

"Our focus will be on getting the best out of each individual on the team, thereby making the team collectively stronger. Once we can achieve that, then I have no doubts we have a good chance of qualifying."

Next month's eventual finalists in Ireland will automatically qualify for the 2009 Twenty/20 World Cup finals, with the two losing semi-finalists to face off in a play-off to determine the third and final qualifier made possible by the withdrawal of Zimbabwe from the tournament.

Bermuda will play both of their group matches against Ireland and Scotland on August 3 and as such will have to hit the ground running if they are to achieve their primary objective.

"It's going to be a tough day," Logie acknowledged.

Bermuda depart for Ireland on July 28 and are also scheduled to play the Netherlands in two ODIs in Amsterdam before returning home to prepare for next month's triangular series involving the West Indies and Canada in Toronto.

Bermuda squad: Irving Romaine (Capt), Rodney Trott (V.Capt), David Hemp, Stephen Outerbridge, Jekon Edness, Stefan Kelly, OJ. Pitcher, Dwayne Leverock, James Celestine, Tamauri Tucker, George O'Brien Jr, Oronde Bascome, Kyle Hodsoll, Christopher Foggo. Reserves: Dennico Hollis, McLaren Smith, Jason Anderson.