during Saturday's cricket Testimonal game at Lord's, Ian Bishop is now looking forward to meeting local players under less friendly conditions.

And judging by what he has to say of the Red Stripe Bowl Zone A opener in Guyana on October 7, Bermuda will not be seeing the same gentle giant this time around.

It's serious business the next time time when he will playing for his country and it is clear that he intends to use all of his cricket days ahead of him as a stepping stone towards regaining a place on the Test team. "When we play Bermuda in the Red Stripe we will be trying to roll over them as quick as possible because points in the competition are vital,'' said Bishop.

"I know Bermuda will be coming there with intention of trying to upset us and we are not going to take them for granted. We (West Indies) have been upset by countries like Kenya before, so cricket is not a game in which you can take opponents for granted.'' While rain was the real winner of the Testimonial, Bishop did get in five overs and took advantage of the interruption by conversing with the many fans who ventured to the east.

However, his mind is set on his cricketing career, as he let it be known that he would return home to Trinidad immediately to join up with their squad in training for the regional one-day tournament.

Winners of the Red Stripe Bowl in 1996, Trinidad lost out to Guyana in Jamaica last year on a technicality and they are now aiming to regain the crown this year in Guyana.

It was a repeat final match-up in Jamaica last year but rain washed out the second innings and Guyana were declared winners because they won more group matches than Trinidad.

Bishop feels that Trinidad have a strong enough side to be able to beat off the many teams in contention.

"All of the guys who play abroad will be back to join their respective Island teams, which means that we will be very strong on paper with players such as Brian Lara and Phil Simmons who both had good county seasons in England. But the important thing is that we play together as a team,'' said Bishop.

"It's vital that we play together and perform to our full potential. Barring a lot of rain like what we experienced in Jamaica last year, we should be in good postiion to get to the final this time. But there are going to be other solid teams there like the Leeward Islands, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana. I know they will be coming into the tournament fighting fit as well.'' Bishop is excited about having the smaller cricketing countries like Bermuda, United States and Canada involved in the tournament.

Like many others, though, he does not envision the minnows making an impact in the near futurre, but he feels that the opportunity of playing against the many seasoned and quality players enables the lesser countries to gain invaluable experience.

"It will be a tremendous challenge for them to win, obviously they have to be realistic. But when you look at Sri Lanka and where they were 20 years ago you have to a vision and hope to make progress,'' he said. "A goal for these countries like Bermuda is to have a decent infrastructure set up, with a bit of luck, combined with help from corporate sponsors like that, over a long-term period you never can tell where you may end up.

"A small country like this may never be successful in terms of winning a trophy, but in small measures like the improvement of players and experience-wise the Red Stripe could stand to be of big benefit for the future and we in the Caribbean are happy to see them involved.'' Bishop joked that he was here on a secret mission to spy on what Bermuda has to offer.

However, no one in their wildest dreams would take it seriously because Trinidad easily beat Bermuda by 184 runs last year. Brian Lara's century saw them finish with 300 for five while Bermuda replied with 116 all out.

For the record, Bishop bowled nine overs and took two for 27 after becoming the fifth bowler brought into the attack by Lara.

His late introduction was mostly due to Trinidad hustling through their overs with spinners early on to make certain the mandatory 25 overs would be bowled, thus ensuring a result one way or the other.

Both Commercial Cricket League knockout semifinals -- Hemisphere Leg Trappers v Forties and North Village v Watford Sports Club -- were called off on Sunday because of heavy rain. The ties have been rearranged for next Sunday.

IAN BISHOP -- ` . . . we will be trying to roll over Bermuda as quick as possible . . .'