Optimism abounded in the Bermuda camp yesterday as the Island's cricketers prepared to face their first real test during the Shell/Sandals tournament.

Bermuda make their tournament debut today when they come up against the Windward Islands at the Enmore ground in Guyana and coach Allan Douglas was confident of a solid showing after several months of intense preparation.

"One thing, going into the opener, is that we know we've prepared the best we can for this match,'' said Douglas from the team's base at the Ocean View Hotel.

"We've done all the training we can and tonight we're going to go over a little video assessment before the team dinner, so we've done what we can to prepare.

"It's a difference going into a match knowing that you haven't prepared yourself, but with (Bobby) Simpson here and myself and the management team, we've been working hard and the team has been working hard and we feel good going into the match in that we can give a good account of ourselves.'' Asked if there were any major concerns ahead of the historic fixture, the coach said not, noting that all departments -- bowling, batting and fielding -- appeared secure and his men ready.

He was particularly impressed by the showings in the nets yesterday of frontline batsmen Clay Smith, Glenn Smith and team captain Albert Steede.

"There's no real concerns about the bowling being up to par or the batting,'' he said. "Actually the batting looked really good today. Albert, Clay and Glenn had a net session this afternoon and looked superb, particularly Glenn, who looked a class above anything we've seen here and I'm quite excited.'' Douglas added that it was imperative that every member raised their standard a notch and attacked from the first ball.

And while the first match often can act as a prelude to those that follow, Douglas was hesitant to place all his eggs in one basket, preferring to look at the overall picture.

Said the coach: "Every match is important and we're just looking to improve the team and each person's performance by five percent. If everybody improves by five percent then we're going to spring a few surprises.

"We're looking to start off and get a win and do everything we can to get that win and if the opportunity presents itself we're going to get that win.

"We're looking to go out and play attacking cricket and see where it goes from there.'' Team: Glenn Smith, Clay Smith, Albert Steede, Charlie Marshall, Roger Trott, Janeiro Tucker, Arnold Manders, Dean Minors, Bruce Perinchief, Roger Blades, Anthony Braithwaite.

ALLAN DOUGLAS -- `We've prepared the best we can for this match.'