Bermuda?s cricketers will be catapulted into the unknown next year as they participate in their first-ever, three-day tournament.

The Inter-Continental Cup is being established by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to spur cricket?s development among its associate membership through the sport?s longer form.

Most associate countries, including Bermuda, have been restricted to the game?s One-Day version so far.

?It?s a competition that?s to introduce three-day cricket to certain associate members because the High Performance Coach of the ICC (Bob Woolmer) thought ? based on performances in the World Cup and some of the cricket he had seen at associate level ? they need to be playing a longer form of cricket.

?So the ICC has selected the better-performing associate countries and constructed a new competition which starts in 2004,? explained Bermuda Cricket Board treasurer Neil Speight.

The tournament will be played on a regional basis with the top three associate teams in each of the four zones opposing each other first before the zonal winners advance to the semi-finals and, thereafter, the successful semi-finalists to the final.

Bermuda, the USA and Canada will compete in the Americas zone of the tournament while action also takes place in the European (Holland, Scotland and Ireland), Asian (Nepal, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia) and African (Kenya, Namibia, Uganda) zones.

Whether Bermuda will play home or away is yet to be determined.

?We will play Canada and the USA and they will also play each other. Those games have to be completed before August 31. The ICC are trying to get those games designated as first-class matches.

?They will be three-day games with the standard playing conditions and with bowling and batting points,? said Speight, adding that the semi-finals and final will be staged between September and December 2004.

National coach Mark Harper endorsed the tournament format, noting it should be to the overall betterment of the Island?s cricket.

?Playing for three days provide you with the opportunity of learning and developing your ability because it?s obviously a longer game and if you?re batting you can pace your innings better. You learn to pick up singles and rotate the strike.

?It also gives bowlers more time to develop. In limited-over games, if you bowl a couple of bad overs you?re taken out of the attack. In the longer game, you would be able to come back for a second or third spell.

?The captain also has to be a lot more thoughtful (because) it?s a different game altogether. With the right approach, this form of cricket should help the development of the game.?

Such exposure would also enhance a player?s concentration powers given the greater length of time at the crease and in the field, he said. Fitness levels, too, would ?come into play?.

Interestingly, Harper also sees a positive benefit for a batsman?s One-Day capability.

?Developing nations play a lot of One-Day cricket but they don?t realise that it?s still 300 balls (to bat) and that you need to pace your innings properly. This would definitely help them in the limited-overs game.?

Earlier this week, the ICC?s Regional Development Manager Martin Vieira warned that the over-indulgence with limited-over matches here was hindering Bermuda?s cricket development.

?The consensus at the ICC is that you have to play the longer form of the game before you start playing limited-overs in order to adequately develop your cricketers,? said Vieira, who was visiting the Island.

The world governing body, he added, was encouraging ?countries like Bermuda? to implement the longer form of cricket if they aspire to ?one day play with the big boys?.