The threat of Tropical Storm Ernesto forced the cancellation of all cricket yesterday at the Under-15 Americas Championship in Florida ? with the Bermuda team now holed up in their Fort Lauderdale hotel awaiting the storm?s arrival.

Bermuda ? who are chasing their sixth-straight regional title at an Under-15 level ? were due to play Canada yesterday in the opening round of the championship.

But with the storm gathering pace and ferocity in the Gulf of Mexico, all public parks both in Fort Lauderdale and in the surrounding Broward County were closed by county officials ? including the sports grounds on which the tournament was due to be played.

Speaking from the team hotel, coach Grant Smith said they were informed by tournament organisers on Monday evening that no play would be possible the following day.

And with the storm expected to strengthen as it makes landfall this morning, it was not clear whether the tournament will be able to go ahead at all, he added.

?At the moment the weather is not too bad ? just overcast and a bit breezy ? but it is expected to get worse overnight and into tomorrow,? he said.

?The tournament is actually being played in one of Broward County?s big public parks and whether we will be able to play at all this week depends to a large extent on not just the weather but also if the parks are re-opened after the storm has passed.

?We?re talking to the tournament organisers and also to the Bermuda Cricket Board all the time and we?re trying to see whether it might be possible to extend our stay for a few days to play the matches once the storm has passed. But it is all up in the air at the moment.

?It?s a little bit frustrating obviously because the boys were all looking forward to playing cricket having been preparing for this tournament for the last few months ? but now we just have to sit in the hotel and wait to see what happens.

?Some of the boys are out in the pool while the weather?s still alright, some of them are up in the rooms just taking it easy.

?It?s just a matter of staying patient and relaxed because what happens from here on in is in the hands of mother nature ? and you do not mess with mother nature!?

According to the Bermuda Weather Service, meanwhile, at Press time last night Ernesto was a few hundred kilometres off the coast of Cuba and was scheduled to reach southern Florida at 9 a.m. local time.

The prospect of Ernesto being upgraded to a hurricane could not be ruled out.

And the likelihood of cricket taking place in the Fort Lauderdale area at all this week looks bleak according to forecasters, with squalls and heavy showers expected to continue even after the main brunt of the storm has passed.