Top Bermudian cricket umpire Roger Dill has been appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to officiate in five preliminary World Cricket League (WCL) Division One matches in Kenya later this month.

The 49-year-old fireman departs for the African continent next Wednesday to officiate in the tournament involving Bermuda and the remaining five top associate member countries.

It will be Dill?s first official assignment in Kenya since his international career took flight in 2001.

The Bermudian umpire will officiate alongside controversial Australian official Darrell Hair during Scotland?s opening WCL contest with Ireland at the Gymkhana Field in Nairobi on January 30.

In November last year Hair was demoted from top flight matches following a ball-tampering dispute. The ICC ruled that Hair should not take charge of games involving any of the top Test playing nations after a complaint by Pakistan that he was biased against Asian teams.

That accusation came after Hair accused Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq of ball-tampering during the final Test against England at The Oval.

Inzamam was later found not guilty of ball-tampering, but he was banned from four games for bringing the game into disrepute by preventing his players from taking the field after Hair had made the ruling.

Dill and Hair last umpired together during England?s ODI against Ireland in Ireland in May, 2006.

The local senior umpire says he has kept himself in relatively good shape during the winter months, and also abreast of ongoing developments in the game.

?I?ve been doing some jogging and reviewing laws and regulations of the game,? an excited Dill told

?I?m very much looking forward to going to Kenya because their level of cricket is pretty high and also their cricket facilities. So it should be a very good experience.?

Dill officiated in Kenya?s ICC Intercontinental Cup and ODI against Canada in Ontario last August.

During the off-season he has also kept close tabs with some of his international colleagues such as Australian umpire Daryl Harper.

?We are very good friends. He normally drops me a line or two once a week,? Dill said.

The former Western Stars off spinner said he was looking forward to working alongside Hair for the second time within a year.

?He?s a good friend of mine and also my mentor. I?ve learned a lot from him and this is actually a very pleasant surprise for me to be going back overseas to officiate with him,? Dill added.

Dill is also scheduled to officiate matches involving Canada and Scotland, Netherlands and Scotland, Ireland and Canada and Kenya and Canada alongside other top officials Gary Baxter, Nadir Shah and Tyrone Wijewardena.

Bermuda?s national squad depart for Kenya on January 24 and will face Uganda in a warm-up match before taking on Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and hosts Kenya.

The top two teams at the end of the round-robin competition will automatically qualify for September?s inaugural Twenty20 World Championships to be held in South Africa.

Bermuda Cricket Board are to distribute coaching kits for all local clubs at the National Sports Centre?s main pavilion today, beginning at 12.30 p.m.

Each kit contains items such as training bats, catching mitts, wicketkeeper gloves, training balls, markers, spring back stumps, and agility ladders which the BCB say should assist club coaches.

Also included in the distribution list is a special net used for close-up catching.