Veteran bowlers Ryan Steede and Jim West have been handed shock recalls to the Bermuda national cricket team ahead of the tour to South Africa and Namibia.

The pair are the two surprise inclusions in a 14-man squad that also sees Southampton Rangers batsman Shannon Rayner handed a place in a side that is now expected to be coached by David Moore.

Having finally received his work permit, the Australian is hoping to join the team in South Africa for a week of intensive preparation at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, before the Intercontinental Shield clash with Namibia begins on April 2.

"I am pleased to be able to confirm that David Moore has received his work permit and hopes to be able to join the team for the tour," said Bermuda Cricket Board president Reggie Pearman. " I know the boys have been putting their all into training and I am confident they will do their best."

David Hemp will once again lead a squad that largely picked itself from the players available, but it is the inclusion of Steede, West and Rayner that might raise a few eyebrows.

With no place for a back-up spinner, the selectors have opted to load the team with pace bowlers, with Steede and West providing back up for Justin Pitcher, Jordan DeSilva, Stefan Kelly and Malachi Jones. Rodney Trott will travel as the lone spin bowler with the squad.

"Basically Shannon's a batsman, the other two are medium pace bowlers, and we wanted to make sure . . . this is going to be a strenuous tour, so we wanted to have five attack bowlers, because they are usually the ones that break down," said Arnold Manders, who has been coaching the players during the winter. "And Namibia's wickets tend to favour the medium pacers.

"We thought about taking another spinner, but the need to have five seamers outweighs taking an extra spinner. The only one who could have probably gone, Tamauri (Tucker), has been in and out. Joshua Gilbert is another one who has the potential, but I think he might be a little too young right now.

"But we didn't want to run the risk of a bowler breaking down and not having cover. They play the four-day game, then a rest day, and then back-to-back one-dayers. So we want to make sure we cover ourselves on that side of it."

Steede and West hardly set the world alight last season, however. West bowled just eight overs in Open League games, taking one wicket for 46 runs, giving him an economy rate of 5.75, and an wicket-taking average of 46.

Steede, meanwhile, took one wicket for 54 runs in 18 overs of Open cricket, and in 50-over cricket, with his club St George's playing in the First Division, he bowled 57.2 overs, taking 12 wickets at a cost of 19.75 runs apiece, with an economy rate of 4.13 an over.

Both, however, have reportedly worked hard on their game and their fitness over the winter, and it was this, as much as anything, that secured them their places ahead of the likes of Kyle Hodsoll and David Lovell.

"Jim had a problem with his back, and was out for a year or two, and has just been back now for a year or two," said Manders. "He's a good workhorse, he does whatever he is asked to do, and he does it with a smile on his face. And he has improved in leaps and bounds over the winter.

"Ryan's another one who did the extras by going to the gym, and training on the Sundays when most players neglected to take that opportunity.

"In the selection process attendance means a lot, and while we're not professionals, and guys have family lives, we need to find a balance between the two. The vast majority of them have.

"But this isn't the end of it. We have four stand-bys, and if somebody doesn't pull their weight from now until we leave, we will be changing that squad. And they have been told that already, so that 14 might not be the final 14."

Rayner has been prefered to Regino Smith, who is on the stand-by list along with Gilbert, Lovell, and Kevin Tucker, and will be expected to challenge for a starting spot during two 50-over practice matches that the team have scheduled during their time in Pretoria, with Manders highlighting the player's 'explosive hitting' as a reason for taking him along.

Squad: David Hemp (Captain), Stephen Outerbridge (Vice Captain), Jekon Edness, Stefan Kelly, Irving Romaine, Rodney Trott, Fiqre Crockwell, Chris Foggo, Jordan DeSilva, Justin Pitcher, Malachi Jones, Shannon Rayner, Ryan Steede, Jim West. Standbys: Regino Smith, Kevin Tucker, David Lovell, Joshua Gilbert.

Team management: David Moore (Coach), Andre Manders (Assistant Coach), Lionel Tannock (Team Manager), Lorenzo Tucker (Match Manager), Craig Brown (Physio).