Bermuda?s senior national cricket team must quickly pull their socks up against Canada in the rural confines of Sunny Brook tomorrow in Toronto if they are to stand any chance of advancing to the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup competition.

The local team suffered a disheartening 114 run home defeat to USA last month and must now dispose of their formidable hosts convincingly in what will be the first first-class match played on Canadian soil since September 1951 if they are to progress to the penultimate phase of the three day competition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November.

?Hopefully we can put in a much better performance in Canada because I still think the tournament is wide open,? Bermuda coach Mark Harper told just before leaving for Toronto with the local squad yesterday.

?If we can go there with the right attitude then I think we are capable of doing well and beating Canada. Although this form of cricket (three-day) is still new to us, I expect us to go there and give it our best shot because the selectors have picked the best players available. I think we have picked a fairly good team but it is now all up to the players.?

Bermuda?s national team underwent a few changes to the one that totally imploded on the final day of play against the Americans with the youthful all-rounder OJ Pitcher and wicket keeper Jekon Edness reclaiming their spots following injuries.

Veteran all-rounder Reggie Tucker Jr. also caught the eye of the Bermuda selectors, earning him the honourable distinction of representing his country at the highest level while the towering Ryan Steede has likewise impressed with his all-round exploits with both bat and ball.

Bailey?s Bay all-rounder Stephen Outerbridge successfully retained his spot in the team after showing good potential over the course of July?s Americas Championship tournament held on local soil, while his Bay team-mate Irving Romaine is also back for another bite at the cherry.

Steede could very well be called upon to share the new ball with Social Club pacer Kevin Hurdle while Tucker?s patient batting approach and ?superb? fielding will certainly be an asset to the team as the local boys attempt to contain a Canadian side led by skipper John Davison, holder of the record for the fastest ever century scored in World Cup history.

Davison demonstrated last May he can also hold his own in the bowling department, seizing astonishing overall match figures of 17 for 137 during Canada?s 104 run demolition of USA in their opening Intercontinental Cup fixture at Brian Piccolo Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Canadian skipper?s performance was the best in First-Class cricket since Jim Laker took 19 wickets against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956, and only the second player to take 17 wickets in a single match in the post Second World War era.

But Davison and supporting cast could find stubborn resistance from the talented pair of Bermuda skipper Clay Smith and all-rounder Saleem Mukuddem, as they seem to have stepped their game up a notch or two following sterling performances with the willow in hand during the recently concluded 2004 Cup Match classic.

And so far skipper Smith, who recently became the first batsman ever to score three centuries in Cup Match history, has lead from the front in scoring 127 runs in two turns at bat at a team-high average of 63.50 runs per innings and a strike rate of 41.91.

Cup Match?s other hero Mukuddem leads the local team in bowling averages, having claimed three wickets at an average of 15.

Jovial leg-spinner Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock so far has taken the most wickets (seven) from a marathon 48.2 overs of leg-spin at a cost of 16.66 runs per wicket.

It is on this foundation that Bermuda hope to build in Toronto where the local team will have to quickly adjust to playing in lower temperatures on a hastily-prepared pitch at Sunny Brook.

Along with Tucker, senior players Dennis Archer and Wendell White will also have key roles to play while the charismatic Leverock is again expected to bowl for long spells in tandem with young off-spinner Borden.

USA currently top the Americas regional Intercontinental Cup standings with 47 points having now completed their two group matches, Canada remain in second with 30.5 points while Bermuda are anchored on the bottom on 16.5 points in dire need of a marked improvement in order to keep their Intercontinental Cup hopes alive.

Bermuda will need to take 31 points from a maximum of 36 during the match ? while restricting Canada to fewer than 17 ? in order to advance to the next round.

The first class tournament, in its inaugural year, is designed to offer ICC associate member countries exposure to the longer version of the game.

Countries from four regions ? Africa, Asia, Americas and Europe ? are all playing three-day tournaments with the top team from each region progressing to the semi-final and finals in the UAE in mid-November.

The tournament introduces innovative playing conditions to international cricket including a points system created specifically for the event.

Teams will receive 14 points for a win in addition to bonus points accumulated while teams drawing or losing a match will receive only their bonus points. In the event of a tie teams will pick up seven additional points.

Bonus points can be accumulated in either innings with a maximum of six batting points per innings awarded on the basis of 0.5 points for every 25 runs scored up to 300 runs. A maximum of five bowling points are available per innings allocated at 0.5 points per wicket taken.

To encourage teams to play for a result, the first innings of each side will be restricted to 90 overs. If that team does not utilise its 90 overs the team batting second can bat for its entire 90 overs plus the overs short of 90 not utilised by the team batting first.

A minimum of 105 overs must be bowled on the opening two days of the match.: Clay Smith (captain), Wendell White, Saleem Mukuddem, Dennis Archer, Jekon Edness, Dwayne Leverock, OJ Pitcher, Delyone Borden, Stephen Outerbridge, Kevin Hurdle, Irving Romaine, Ryan Steede, Reggie Tucker Jr.John Davison (capt), Desmond Chumney, Subin Zurkari, Ashish Bagai, Manzoor Chaudhary, Haninder Dhillon Don Maxwell, Sunil Dhaniram, Kevin Sandher, Austin Codrington, Ashish Patel, Umar Bhatti.