Logie hopes Dutch game will mark start of new era for Bermuda

A depleted Bermuda opens its ICC Intercontinental Cup campaign on Monday against the strengthened Netherlands in Amstelveen with its coach Gus Logie hopeful the side's first match of the tournament will mark the start of a new era for the country's new generation of players.

Even though only five months have passed since Bermuda made its ICC Cricket World Cup bow, only four players from that campaign feature in the 12-man squad for the match against the Dutch - captain Irving Romaine, Stephen Outerbridge, Dwayne Leverock and Lionel Cann.

The notable absentees include David Hemp and the three teenagers - Malachi Jones, Stefan Kelly and Rodney Trott - who will be appearing in the Americas U/19 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, also starting on Monday in Toronto.

The absence of 37-year-old Hemp is likely to hit Bermuda the most. The left-hander, who is leading Glamorgan in the County Championship in the UK, scored a career-best unbeaten 247 in Bermuda's mammoth 620 in reply to the Netherlands' 378 when the two teams last met in Pretoria last year.

In contrast, the Netherlands is almost at full strength after the return of captain Jeroen Smits, Bas Zuiderent, Edgar Schiferli and Adeel Raja. The quartet missed the trip to Aberdeen last week where the Dutch lost to Scotland by an innings and 59 runs.

The omens for Bermuda are hardly great as it lost two one-day warm-up matches against Denmark in the lead-up to the four-day clash.

But Logie, the former West Indies batsman, is pinning his hopes on his host of newcomers to provide the team with reasons to be cheerful. He said: "The Intercontinental Cup is a new beginning because we have several new players in the set up.

"Some of the younger players have an opportunity to prove themselves and I am looking forward to seeing them progress more than anything else.

"It is always important to start on a winning note. We have to be realistic of the situation. We are looking forward to seeing some good individual performances and trust that it will be enough to benefit the whole team. To emulate any past achievements, we need a similar commitment level of the players and a good start in the competition."

Logie admits the lack of home venues and the absence of experienced players leaves his team battling against the odds, something illustrated all too clearly by the losses to Denmark. "We just have to go and give our best," he said.

"With the lack of a home venue (with no ground yet deemed up to international standard), we have been fighting against the odds. However, we are getting used to the situation and working even harder to overcome this disadvantage," he added.

Seam bowler George O'Brien is likely to lead the attack which will no doubt reply on the steadiness of left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock for control.

Jekon Edness takes over the 'keeping duties for Dean Minors with youngsters like all-rounder Jacobi Robinson, Arthur Pitcher and Ryan Steede also set to feature.

The Netherlands is third behind Canada and Scotland on the ladder with 14 points from two games and coach Paul-Jan Bakker wants his team to be ruthless and return to its winning habit. He said: "I know Bermuda is missing some good players and I feel sorry for them but when we step on the field, I want my team to be ruthless and play as hard as it can.

"No disrespect to Bermuda but if we produce a clinical performance and win comprehensively, it will do a world of good to our confidence for the next game against Ireland . It (the game against Ireland) will be a very important match for our progress in the competition because Ireland is certainly one of the top sides in the tournament."

Bakker, the first Dutch player to play first-class cricket when he began a lengthy career with English County Hampshire, admits the return of the four players gives his team more balance and aggression, something that was missing in the previous match against Scotland which was lost by an innings.

"It is good for the balance of the team that the four players are back. It gives the team a fresher look and, most importantly, it gives us the firepower and aggression we missed in Aberdeen last week," said Bakker, who played in the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup. The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now ICC's premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members' cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada earlier this year in the 2006/07event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007/08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be decided.

Bermuda (from): Irving Romaine (captain), Stephen Outerbridge (vice-captain), Dwayne Leverock, Lionel Cann, Jacobi Robinson, Jekon Edness, James Celestine, Arthur Pitcher, Ryan Steede, George O'Brien, Dwight Basden, Roderick Masters.

The Netherlands (from): Jeroen Smits (captain), Peter Borren (vice-captain), Mudassar Bukhari, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Mangesh Panchal, Adeel Raja, Pieter Seelaar, Edgar Schiferli, Nick Statham and Bas Zuiderent.

Umpires: Charlie McElwee and Ian Ramage