“Put your best foot forward and do your country proud”.

This was some of the advice given to Bermuda’s first ever World Cup squad from several of the Island’s former top cricket stars who yesterday threw their support behind Logie’s men.

“I guess this is the best you can get. The team has some good batsmen with the likes of Clay Smith, Dean Minors and Janeiro Tucker — with Lionel Cann also coming into his own,” commented former Bailey’s Bay skipper Noel Gibbons, the first batsmen to score 1,000 runs in the Eastern Counties.

Gibbons is also pleased to see youngsters such as Malachi Jones included in the squad.

“It definitely pays to have youngsters like Malachi in the team. He’s just 17-years-old and as a teenager I think he’s really doing wonders,” he added.

“I think all the team can really do (at the World Cup) is their best. And you really can’t ask for anything more.”

Another former Bay stalwart, Ricky Hill, said he wasn’t surprised with the national team selection committee’s final choice.

“There were really no surprises to me. I think the nucleus of the players have been in the programme now for almost two years. And so it was very difficult to bring other players in when these players have been committed to a programme,” said Hill, who thumped a swashbuckling half-century (65) against Allan Border’s Australian team at Somerset Cricket Club in the early 1990s.

Hill, who has represented Bermuda at the international level, also showered the team with his blessings.

“I just think they need to be positive and no matter what the opposition accept the challenge,” he said.

“There’s been so much talk about the team, and everybody has a lot to say. But at the end of the day, they are our best players that are going to represent Bermuda. And hopefully they can put in a good showing.”

Former Somerset Cup Match skipper Dexter Basden — who celebrated his 41st birthday yesterday — was another satisfied with the final squad of 15 players.

“Looking at the group of guys they had to select from, I’m not surprised with the final team selection — although I still feel Charlie Marshall should’ve been included,” he said.

“It’s nice to see Malachi Jones in the team because he’s one of the young, promising players coming through. I think he has a lot to offer the country in years to come.

“But I encourage the guys to put their best foot forward for the country. This is not club cricket or Cup Match . . . this is for the country and I wish the guys all the best.”

After a disappointing World Cricket League campaign in Kenya earlier this month, Eastern Counties president Harold Millett hopes Bermuda’s fortunes take a turn for the better in the World Cup.

“I just hope this team can strike good form when they go over there (Trinidad),” said Millett, who holds multiple records in the Eastern Counties.

“I think if they can strike form like England recently did against Australia, then that would be the icing on the cake.”

Local cricket umpire, George Francis, urged national team cricketers to “pick up their game”.

“They will have to do a lot better than they have been doing on previous tours because this time the entire world will be watching them,” he said.

“They need to pick up their overall game to a certain extent.”

As for team selection, Francis added: “We don’t have a big pool of players to choose from. And so I think this was the best the selectors could do.”