Lloyd Smith, the Bermuda Cricket Board president, said it will be an “honour” for the island to host the ICC Americas Region T20 World Cup qualifying tournament this summer.

The double elimination tournament will pit Bermuda against regional rivals Canada, the United States and Cayman Islands and will run from August 15 to 25.

The top two countries will advance to the Global Qualifier tentatively scheduled for October or November.

“On behalf of the Board, we are honoured to be selected by the ICC to host this prestigious event,” Smith said. “The tournament will provide numerous opportunities for Bermuda officials, umpires and scorers to gain international experience and training on home soil.

“Bermuda should anticipate the excitement and engagement that comes with delivering such a memorable event and we look forward to welcoming the teams and their families to our beautiful island.

“We encourage all of Bermuda to come out to support our players as they compete to qualify for the T20 World Cup.”

Fara Gorsi, the ICC Americas development manager, hopes the upcoming tournament will be the first of “many more” to be staged on these shores.

“After visiting Bermuda Cricket Board and meeting with the Bermuda Government recently, I have been impressed with both organisations and their sheer enthusiasm to support the initiatives of ICC development programmes and also tender as hosts for the Men’s WT20 Regional Finals,” he said.

“It’s a huge honour for any member to host regional finals, from where the winners are led into the international pathway of competing at the next level, for a position in the men’s WT20 in Australia. Bermuda are one of the leading members in the Americas region, and we hope to see many more tournaments hosted by Lloyd and his team.”

The development comes on the heels of five local umpires being appointed to the ICC Americas panel.

Roger Dill, Steven Douglas, Oscar Andrade, Emmerson Carrington and Melvin Best are now eligible to officiate matches in the region. Andrade and Best are on the panel for the first time, with 13 umpires on the panel from Bermuda, the US, Canada, Belize and the Cayman Islands.

Also on the panel are Sameer Bandekar and Vijay Mallela, from the US, Harry Grewal, Brijal Patel, Vishal Sudhalkar and Arnold Maddela, from Canada, Dwight Gabb, Belize and Courtney Young from Cayman.