Bermuda head to Nairobi needing ICC Intercontinental Cup victory

Bermuda faces Kenya in Nairobi tomorrow knowing that victory is a must to keep their hopes of ICC Intercontinental Cup finals qualification alive.

A win in the four-day game, which takes place at Nairobi Gymkhana, would leave Bermuda needing to then beat the Netherlands in November and then hoping for other results to go their way.

Kenya, whose hopes of qualification for the final disappeared with their agonising 25-run defeat at Canada in August, will see this match as an important part of their preparations for major ODI events early next year, including the ICC World Cricket League Division One and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

Both teams will be boosted by the arrival of their representatives from the seven-week ICC Winter Training Camp (WTC), currently taking place in Pretoria, South Africa, with Bermudan fast bowler Kevin Hurdle one of those in form. He took three early wickets in the WTC's eight-run win over Highveld Strikers earlier this week.

And new Glamorgan captain David Hemp will give the Bermudan batting line-up a boost as well following his decision to line up for his country of birth.

The new format in the ICC Intercontinental Cup means sides will play a minimum of three four-day matches in this tournament, increasing to seven four-day matches in 2007 and 2008 when it is hoped the event will be a full round-robin format.

That compares to a minimum of just two three-day matches per year under the previous structure which, until the semi-finals, was regionally-based rather than global.

The ICC Intercontinental Cup began in 2004 to give the leading players from Associate sides the chance to improve by exposing them to a longer form of the game.

Following this ICC Intercontinental Cup game, Kenya and Bermuda will go on to play three ODI matches in Mombasa on the 11, 12 and 14 November at the Mombasa Sports Club.This will be a historical event for Mombasa as it will be the first ever officially accredited ODI series to be played in the city, following the ICC's recent decision to award the Mombasa Sports Club ground full ODI status.

Kenya (squad): Steve Tikolo, Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Maurice Ouma, Tony Suji, Tanmay Mishra, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Hiren Varaiya, Lameck Onyango, Jimmy Kamande, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Rakeb Patel, Malhar Patel.

Bermuda (squad): Irving Romaine, Dean Minors, Janeiro Tucker, Saleem Mukuddern, Stephen Outerbridge, Hasan Durham, Dwayne Leverock, Clay Smith, Ryan Steede, Malachi Jones, Kevin Hurdle, Kwame Tucker, Rodney Trott, Stefan Kelly, David Hemp.

The umpires for tomorrow's game will be New Zealander Tony Hill and Buddhi Pradhan from Nepal. Hill is a member of the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires while Pradhan is on the ICC's Associate and Affiliate Panel of Umpires.