Tournament arrived in Bermuda yesterday.

Following on the heels of England, Ireland, Scotland and Holland, Canadaand Denmark completed the line-up for the seven-nation event which gets underway with three matches on Sunday.

When the tournament was last played here in 1985, Bermuda, under captain Darrin Lewis, won for the second time, beating England North in an exciting final at Somerset.

But plenty has changed since then.

While England, now playing as one team (North and South combined), appear to be the team to beat, Bermuda seemingly don't possess the strength of either the 1979 or '85 teams.

However, the Island squad is peaking at the right time with some recent victories in the First Division, in which the International Youth Team has been playing since last season in preparation for the tournament.

Now, under captain Travis Smith, they face the acid test.

"In the years that I've been to the tournament I have seen that some of the other teams are better prepared,'' said former youth team manager Ellsworth Christopher who is the tournament co-ordinator.

The English team are expected to be by far the strongest although Scotland have emerged as a new force since their debut in Holland two years ago.

Zimbabwe celebrated their own debut in 1993 in Denmark by winning all six of their matches, including a victory over England in the clincher after both teams went into that final game with 5-0 records.

However, that has been Zimbabwe's only appearance in the tournament which started 22 years ago.

This year the top two teams will qualify for the World Youth Cup which is scheduled for South Africa next year. England have already booked their place.

Vice captain Quinton Sherlock Jr and Justin Robinson are the only two Bermuda players who are returning from the last tournament in Holland where Sherlock was the top Bermuda bowler.

Starting Sunday, there will be three matches every day -- except next Wednesday's rest day -- in a round robin competition which concludes on Sunday, July 13.

Bermuda begin their campaign against Ireland at Somerset on Sunday before going up against favourites England the following day at Sea Breeze Oval.

All the 50-over matches start at 11.00 a.m. except on the final day when the start has been brought forward an hour so as to give the organisers time to stage the prize presentation which is scheduled for the teams' hotel at 8.00 p.m.

Admission for all the midweek games is free, though there will be a charge for the weekend matches. "We are encouraging people to support the tournament,'' said Christopher.