Injury forces Bermuda to make late change

Bermuda have left for the World Cricket League in Nairobi without allrounder OJ Pitcher who is suffering from a groin strain. His place in the squad was taken by Kwame Tucker.

"Unfortunately this is not a perfect world, and so we have to make allowances for things like this to occur," Gus Logie, the coach, told the Royal Gazette. "We had plans for OJ, but unfortunately he didn't come through and so he will be out of the team."

Pitcher will now need to ensure he is fit by the time the selectors name their squad for the World Cup shortly after the side returns from Africa. "From what we saw of him in Trinidad, we are quite happy," Logie said. "So at the end of the day it is his injury which has kept him out and nothing else."

Bermuda only arrive in Kenya on Friday, and their opening match, against the hosts, has been brought forward by 24 hours, leaving them with one warm-up match (against Uganda) on Saturday. Although they were in Mombasa last November, conditions there are quite different from Nairobi and they will struggle to acclimatize in time.

"We have played against some of these teams before and so there's no reason why we can't win this tournament," Logie admitted. "We just have to go in there with the attitude that we can win and make sure that our planning and thought processes are spot on. And I believe we have completed the preparations such as other teams have done, and so there's no reason why we can't be successful like other teams. We have to win a few games and get used to the idea of winning."