Star batsman Glenn Blakeney and senior national team debutant Justin Pitcher could be ruled out of Bermuda's opening Americas Division One match against Cayman Islands in Florida today through injury.

Blakeney, one of seven cricketers presently fully contracted by Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB), suffered a suspected knee injury during practice yesterday while Pitcher is experiencing soreness in his side.

"Glenn fell awkwardly during fielding practice and is a little sore while Justin has sore muscles in his side. Both players are receiving treatment and we will assess them later on before making a final decision on them," national coach Gus Logie told The Royal Gazette.

Should Blakeney fail a last-minute fitness test this morning, his unavailability will deprive the team of a specialist batsman while the potential loss of Pitcher is sure to deplete an already thin opening attack, thus leaving the likes of England-based seamer Stefan Kelly to carry a heavy load with the new ball.

Earlier this month national team skipper Irving Romaine had expressed delight over Blakeney's return to the squad after a four-year hiatus.

"It's good to have him back. He (Blakeney) is one of Bermuda's best batsman who is eager to play for his country again," he said. "Glenn's interest and dedication to the team has been amazing."

Blakeney suffered injury the same day local cricket's governing body announced that he is the newest member of the Board's High Performance Programme (HPP) geared towards preparing the Island's cricketers for playing at the elite level.

"Glenn's injury is the more serious of the two and so we will have to wait and see how things go from here," added Logie, who is keeping his fingers crossed the star batsman will make a full recovery. "It is unfortunate something like this has happened. But that's just life as these things do occur unexpectedly in sports."

The pair's misfortune now means the make-up of Bermuda's team won't be known prior to the start of today's opener against a Cayman side coached by Logie's former Trinidad team-mate Theo Cuffy.

That aside, Logie, who represented the West Indies between 1983 and 1991, reckons his team are up for the challenge of defending the Americas title they won two years ago in Toronto.

"All of the players have made a strong commitment to do the best that they can and if they can do their best individually and collectively than we should benefit," he said.

Bermuda skipper Romaine is also upbeat about his team's chances of success in Florida.

"I think if we can play good cricket in Florida we should win the Americas again," he said. "Of course, teams will be gunning for us because we are the defending champions. But we are not going there to give anything up easily and I think the team the selectors have picked a team that should do well."

Bermuda's veteran left-arm spinner, Dwayne Leverock, has warned his team-mates not to take any side for granted during the tournament.

"It's important that we don't look past any of the teams," he said. "We have to be concerned about all of the teams competing and take things one game at a time."

Bermuda: Irving Romaine (capt), Rodney Trott (vice-capt), Glenn Blakeney, Chris Douglas, Delyone Borden, Tamauri Tucker, Oronde Bascome, Stephen Outerbridge, Stefan Kelly, Jekon Edness, David Hemp, Justin Pitcher, Dwayne Leverock, Lionel Cann.

n Suriname's debut in this week's Americas Division One Championship in Florida has been thrown in total disarray as US officials have refused to grant entry visas to half of their touring squad.

Suriname, who are due to face defending Americas champions Bermuda tomorrow, were promoted from Americas Division Two to the top tier last April following a comprehensive 146-run demolition of Bahamas.