Bermuda's population suddenly shrinks by about 3,000 in the spring, don't worry. It's the time of year when Bermuda's ardent cricket fans join the annual migration south for one, or more, of the Test matches and a rich slice of laid-back West Indian life.

This April Barbados, the region's most easterly island and the most popular with Bermuda cricket fans, hosts the second of three Tests against current World Cup champions Pakistan - and is facing the largest ever invasion from these shores. Conservative estimates put the Bermuda contingent at 2,000 but travel agent Pam Maybury of Meyer Agencies believes the number could easily top 3,000 - enough to fill 20 percent of the seats at Barbados' Kensington Oval where the West Indies have not lost a Test since 1935 when they were beaten by England. Some Bermuda fans will take in all three Tests - the first at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago runs from April 15-20 - while an increasing number are opting for the Barbados-Antigua package with the round-trip air fare priced at $750. The third Test at Antigua's Recreation Ground runs from May 1-6. But Barbados, home of cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers, is the jewel in the Caribbean cricket crown.

Seats on a charter flight from Bermuda for the showpiece April 23-28 Test were quickly snapped up. The majority of fans will fly into Grantley Adams International Airport via New York and Puerto Rico on American Airlines which gets you there the same day. Round-trip fares start at $599.

When the West Indies and Pakistan last met in the Caribbean, in 1988, the West Indies squeezed home by two wickets in the final Test to level the three-match series at 1-1. This year's Test, featuring four-pronged pace attacks on both sides, promises to be equally gripping with Pakistan's deadly duo, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, challenging West Indies' Curtly Ambrose and fit-again Ian Bishop for supremacy.

Come April there are likely to be few spare seats in the ground with the Hall and Griffith and Three Ws stands, the two most popular with Bermudian fans, packed to capacity. The former is named after two famous Barbadian fast bowlers, Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith. These days Hall still yearns for bumper results as the island's Tourism Minister. The Three Ws stand honours the legendary Barbadian Test trio of the 1950s, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell. Sobers, the world's greatest ever allrounder, also has a stand named after him but if you want to mingle with the locals, head for the Kensington Stand where Dunstan Dundonald Dyall - better known as King Dyall - a colourful character who appears daily in different-hued outfits, holds court and leads the cheering. Take your transistor radio along to hear the superb commentary team led by Tony Cozier - a Bajan himself - but remember, head sets must be used in the stands.

It doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get into the ground - the best seats are only US$15 a day. You'll find Barbados prices generally lower than in Bermuda and working out the local currency is easy enough - one Barbados dollar is worth 50 cents US.

The good news is that prices at most hotels will have tumbled by the time the Test starts as the region moves into its less expensive low season. Among the Bermuda favourites are the Hilton, Grand Barbados Beach and the Rockley Resort, all within easy driving range of Kensington Oval. Double occupancy will cost you $137 a night at the Hilton and $100 at the Grand Barbados. If you want to join former England opener-turned-commentator Geoff Boycott, by all means stay at the Sandy Lane - but it's Barbados' most expensive hotel and you'll have to fork out $395 a night, double occupancy. It has the island's only 18-hole golf course. There are also nine-hole courses at Rockley, where the Test teams normally stay, Heywoods, another top resort, as well as at Belair near Sam Lord's Castle, a sprawling Marriott's property. My favourite hotel, though, is Barbados' oldest, the Ocean View, a wooden structure overlooking the sea at Hastings, where I have stayed the past four years. The verandah, with its rocking chairs, is the perfect spot for a rum and coke or the local Banks beer and discussion of the day's cricket. Gregarious co-owner John Chandler is ever ready to regale you with a good Bajan yarn - andoccasionally the hotel will throw in a surprise. The hotel's plumbing is not the best in the world. The hot water soon went off in my room last year and even in balmy Barbados you can tire of taking cold showers. When I eventually complained to the front desk I was handed a key and told to use "empty'' Room 7 just across from No. 10, my usual $65-a-night double room. I charged in with towel at the ready ... to be confronted by a statuesque young woman sitting stark naked on the bed! I mumbled a pathetic apology and beat a hasty retreat when her towel-clad husband emerged from the bathroom. The couple didn't say a word - they were from Finland, it turned out - but John Chandler assured me later he had smoothed things over. Temperature in Barbados, a 166-square-mile island with a population of a quarter of a million, averages 84 degrees Fahrenheit year-round but the ever-present cooling Trade Winds make life comfortable.

Drive down the west coast and you'll find the calm, turquoise waters of the Caribbean. But head over to the rugged east coast and you'll think you've arrived in another country - there the big rollers of the Atlantic crash ashore and make swimming a hazardous business.

Like most places, friendly Barbados is not free from crime but there are few safer islands in the West Indies and government and newspaper columnists alike were incensed last spring when US authorities announced a travel advisory to Americans heading to Barbados following a number of attacks on tourists.

Barbados, often called Little England, lures thousands of British package-tour holiday-makers and they quickly feel at home with names such as Hastings and Worthing along the south coast.

The island is not mountainous like, say, Jamaica, but it's far hillier than Bermuda and the long, steep climb out of the picturesque east coast village of Bathsheba in your rental car can be a daunting affair. A network of new highways criss-crosses the island but if you venture off them, make sure you take a road map with you. From past experience, I know it's only too easy to end up getting lost in the canefields.

The ubiquitous Mini Mokes run from $130 a week while large automatics will cost around $280. There are plenty of outlets to rent from but before you drive off (on the left) you'll have to pay $5 for a Barbados driving licence, which is good for 12 months. If driving's not your cup of tea, coach tours of the island, taking in tourist spots such as Andromeda Gardens and Harrison's Cave, can be arranged, and Bajan Helicopters will provide spectacular views from the air. Taxis, bearing the letter Z on the licence plate, are not metered.

There's a wide range of restaurants - three of my favourites are Brown Sugar, Pisces and Boomers - and the popular local delicacy, flying fish, is served up in a variety of ways. Meals are generally spicier than at home. If you're still peckish in the wee hours, drive up Baxter Road, where women at roadside stalls cook fish in large frying pans.

The nightlife is terrific. Favourite spots featuring live rock eggae groups include the Warehouse, Harbour Lights, Club Needhams near the Hilton, singer Eddie Grant's Pepperpot as well as After Dark and the Ship in popular St.

Lawrence Gap.

Try a cruise on the Jolly Roger or the Bajan Queen. There are watersports galore to enjoy but horseracing at the Garrison Savannah is suspended during the Test and, unlike Antigua, there are no casinos to gamble in. And, remember, before you head back to the airport for your flight home keep a few Bajan dollars in your pocket - departure tax is $25.

Note: All prices quoted in US dollars and correct at time of going to press.

Ivan Clifford is assistant editor of the Mid-Ocean News. A veteran batsman with Commercial League side Forties, he has attended the last five Test matches in Barbados.

West Indies skipper Richie Richardson escapes dismissal during the 1988 test against Pakistan Bridgetown.

RG MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 1993