on a tour of Toronto this summer.

Bermuda Cricket Board of Control president El James yesterday confirmed that sponsors had decided to back the tour -- less than a month after the rebirth of the BCBC youth league.

Tentative plans call for the tour to leave Bermuda on August 1 and return on August 9. The youngsters are expected to play five games during that period.

"Both the Board and the sponsors are ecstatic about this as it will give our youth the opportunity to develop both on and off the field of play,'' said James.

It was ten years ago that James, then a Shell executive, accompanied a youth team to Canada. That squad contained the likes of Clay Smith, Janeiro Tucker, Dean Minors, Jason Lewis, Dwayne Leverock, Jermaine Postlethwaite, Del Hollis and Gregg Foggo, most of whom advanced to the senior Bermuda team.

It was anticipated then that a tour of Canada would be a biennial event between the International Youth Tournament, but soon afterwards the league folded.

James hinted that the tour party will probably involve players from both the under-16 and under-13 age groups. He said that a meeting will be called with individual managers of the league teams to reach some conclusion regarding the eventual selection of the squad.

The revived leagues will provide a grooming ground for new talent and the trip to Canada should serve the same purpose as the one in 1988 when the Shell Youth Tournament was thriving,'' said James.

"We had youngsters like Lionel Cann, Cal Dill and Dean Minors. I believe their fine performances today reflect the results of the youth league we had at the time,'' he said.

"The former Shell tournament was the breeding ground for the youngsters and now we are anxious to breed some more youngsters through the current programme that we have.'' The planning of the tour indicates sponsors are happy with the Board's youth programmes and encouraged by the response that it is getting from the players and the public, according to James.

But James said that the tour will not just be a trip for the players to have a few matches on foreign soil.

"While it is definitely designed to have them play cricket, we also want to make it an all-purpose tour, one that will prove to be an educational and cultural trip for them. We want them to see Niagara Falls, Wonderland, the CN Tower and SkyDome,'' said James.

"The logic behind it is that we are looking at the total development of the youths. Along with giving them cricketing experience, we also are striving to develop them in the true sense of the word and to give them international exposure at all levels.'' The president added that the domestic youth leagues are progressing well and that many boys were benefiting from it.

"We are seeing a lot of talent out there and that's why it's important to harness it now,'' he said. "We have seen things like a change in attitude of some of the players.

"A lot of the young fellows came with this abrasive attitude, but they have already mellowed and are getting into the game very seriously. So it's not just their cricket skills that we are developing.'' James said there are is a possibility of Bermuda becoming involved in international competitions for various age groups, notably in the West Indies and Canada.