With the Stanford 20/20 tournament having started on January 26 one can only wonder what lies ahead for a weakened Bermuda team. If being drawn against Jamaica last year was not dreadful enough, Bermuda have been drawn against last year's winners and favourites Guyana. Bermuda are due to play Guyana on February 10 at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua.

In an effort to improve on last year's performance Bermuda will be heading to Jamaica today for an intense training programme which will also included some practice matches.

Alan Stanford, the mastermind behind the whole 20/20 idea, has decided to invest even more money into the tournament this time around. Upgrades, in the region of $5 million, have been done throughout the grounds with the players having an entirely new practice facility. A brand new $50,000 Verdin clock has been posted on top of the pavilion and the first player to hit the clock will receive $100,000.

So serious on improving cricket in the Caribbean is Alan Stanford that he has appointed several former West Indies greats as legends to each team. Bermuda was fortunate to get the man who many rate as one of the best West Indian batsmen of all time, Sir Vivian Richards. It was merely a few months ago that Sir Vivian, assisted by Curtly Ambrose, another West Indian great, graced our shores in an effort to assist in our preparations.

With all this in mind, and the chance to represent your country too, you would have thought Bermuda coach Herbie Bascome would have had an abundance of players to choose from, but this is simply not the case.

Possible reasons? First, you have the under 19's that are going off to the World Cup in Malaysia at the same time, which means your selection pool is automatically limited. On top of that, two of our more reliable senior players Dean Minors and Kevin Hurdle are unavailable for various reasons. Let us not forget that Steven Outerbridge, Jekon Edness, OJ Pitcher and Delyone Borden are away in school, leaving the selectors struggling to find a quality team. With such a depleted team the onus will be on captain Irvin Romaine, David Hemp and Lionel (The Finisher) Cann to ensure that Bermuda put forward a respectable showing.

Even though Bermuda is in this predicament I still feel there are a few players out there who could possibly make the grade if given the chance to play regularly. Three players who immediately come to mind are Dean Stevens, the guy who smashed the ball to all corners of Wellington Oval this past Cup Match, Derrick Brangman a player who I rate highly as an all-rounder and lastly Allen Douglas Jr., another explosive player with pure raw talent. One also has to wonder what happened to the St.David's trio of George O'Brien, Chris Foggo, and Arthur Pitcher Jr. Have they been overlooked? The question still remains. Why do some players choose not to play for their country?

Can our boys really put up a good show come February 10 against Guyana, that is the $1 million question? Yes! The reality is Guyana do not have anywhere near the firepower that Jamaica did last year. The inclusion of David Hemp will help to stabilise a somewhat shallow batting order.

In order for Bermuda to be competitive they must first believe that they can compete. This will be the key ingredient as to whether we lose big or if we put on a good showing. Anybody who knows me knows that I believe anything is possible.

One only has to reflect on some David vs Goliath matches of the past: Kenya beating West Indies, Bangladesh beating the world champions Australia and more recently Ireland beating Pakistan, so what is stopping Bermuda from going to Antigua and surprising Guyana?

I leave the Bermuda cricket team with this motto: Winners make it happen, Losers let it happen!

My Bermuda 20/20 dream team:

Glenn Blakeney, OJ Pitcher, David Hemp, Irvin Romaine, Lionel Cann, Janeiro Tucker, Dean Minors, Derrick Brangman, Rodney Trott, Malachi Jones, Kevin Hurdle