Bermuda cricket authorities are hoping their early preparation for next year?s ICC Americas Regional Tournament (Americas Cup) will pay big dividends.

Three places in the 2005 ICC (International Cricket Council) Trophy will be at stake when the six-nation event unfolds here in July, 2004, and the host country is determined to lay claim to one.

However, national coach Mark Harper warns that all the plans for winter training could come to nought if players do not adopt the right mindset.

?If we want to achieve our goals we definitely have to be focused and committed to the cause.

?It?s no secret that we have talented players on the Island. It all boils down to commitment and discipline.

?With three teams qualifying and each team playing five games, I think we have a good chance but it depends on the way we play. It depends on what we bring to the table. If we are focused I think we will do well.

?We have to get it into the players? heads that we must put a lot more effort into our preparation. We can?t expect to have better results with the same types of attitudes that we have had before.

?Other teams are not laying back just taking things in stride. They are getting out there and doing what they have to do,? cautioned Harper.

Regarding the decision to summon 34 cricketers to a meeting on Thursday evening to outline plans for off-season training, the coach said he hoped such a headstart proved worthwhile.

?We?re starting early because next year is a big year for Bermuda. We have an opportunity to get into the World Cup in 2007 and it?s important we prepare properly for this tournament.

?We have called 30-odd players and we have a mixture of youth and experience. We?re going to be very methodical and pay a lot of attention to fitness,? said Harper, adding that players will have individual fitness goals.

?We hope that by the time the tournament begins we have a squad that?s willing and raring to go and players who understand what their roles are.?

Great attention will be paid to fielding and batting, he added, as well as the mental aspect of cricket.

?Not that our bowling is not going to be worked on, but the main areas that have always let us down have been our fielding and batting and also our mental approach to the game.?

Playing at home, he noted, could be an advantage or work against the Bermudians. On the positive side, local players would be familiar with conditions and would have great crowd support.

?On the other hand, if things don?t go well, obviously the negative response from the crowd could also affect players. Also, some players can get very distracted and try to impress their fans and stray from the game plan.?

Bermuda Cricket Board treasurer Neil Speight explained that the usual five associate ICC members of the Americas region ? USA, Canada, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Argentina ? would be joined by a sixth team; the winners of a competition among affiliate ICC members in the region in March in Panama.

The top three finishers here will progress to the ICC Trophy in Ireland in 2005 at which a number of places will be up for grabs for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

?With the ICC looking to extend the number of countries playing in the 2007 World Cup to 16 there should be four or five World Cup spots available to the 12 teams playing in Ireland.

?You have the ten Test-playing countries and Kenya (who have One-Day status) so there are a few places still open.

?Bermuda would obviously hope to finish in the top three (here) next year to make sure it goes to Ireland because that?s the first hurdle,? he said.

However, should Bermuda finish fourth here all would not be entirely lost. The fourth-place team will participate in a play-off in Malaysia in September.

?In Malaysia all the best runners-up in the five regional ICC tournaments will be there and the winner of that tournament will also go to Ireland,? explained Speight.