Shannon Rayner will get his first start for the Bermuda national cricket team tomorrow in the side's opening match of the tour.

Rayner is expected to bat at six against Tuks Cricket Club, the High Performance Centre team, in a match that will also see coach Arnold Manders opt for just three seam bowlers.

Manders has long viewed Rayner as a direct replacement for Lionel Cann, and the Southampton Rangers batsman is expected to play in both the practice matches.

"He (Rayner) is like Lionel Cann, he can destroy an attack, so we want to see what he can do at this level," said Manders.

"I've written down the team (for tomorrow), we actually discussed it before we left. We probably would play Shannon at six, with Jekon (Edness) at seven, and Rodney (Trott) at eight."

However, that approach all depends on the exact nature of tomorrow's game which has been thrown into doubt following a mix-up in communications that left Tuks expecting to play just one 50-over game next Tuesday.

The mix-up may work to Bermuda's advantage, however.

HPC officials believe they can arrange for eight players to be available tomorrow, and in that case, the three members of the Bermuda squad not selected would make up the numbers.

Manders would actually be happier in that case because it would allow him to see all his players in action.

"We're going to have a match either way, we're just not sure if there is going to be a full 11 (from the HPC), or if we'll mix up everybody and play that way.

"I'm really not that concerned, everyone is going to be playing at some point. But if tomorrow doesn't work out with them having a full team I'll be happy anyway, because then everybody can play, and actually I prefer to do that now that I think about it.

"But the team we put out will all depend on what they (HPC) send us. If they send us eight batsmen, then we can put three of our bowlers on the other side, so that will be ideal."

It would also allow Bermuda's coaches to assess the squad's match fitness, something that Manders worries could leave his team at a disadvantage against Namibia.

"Namibia have played a full season, although they maybe battle weary, they will be fully match fit," said Manders. "We maybe a little fresher, but we haven't got the match fitness they do, and I think that's where we are going to struggle, and the heat.

"But they're (Bermuda's players) getting acclimatised, they seem to have a little bounce in their step, but we just don't want to push them too much."

Without pushing the players too much, tomorrow's game marks the start of the race for a place in the team to face Namibia in the Intercontinental Shield match that starts on April 2.

And Manders knows all the players will go hard when they get their chance out in the middle.

"They all know they are playing for positions, it'll be quite keen, I'm not even worried about that," he said.

For the likes of Rayner, Jim West, and Ryan Steede these next two matches represent a final chance to muscle in on the 11 of – Chris Foggo, Fiqre Crockwell, David Hemp, Stephen Outerbridge, Irving Romaine, Jekon Edness, Rodney Trott, Malachi Jones, Justin Pitcher, Jordan DeSilva, Stefan Kelly – that everyone expects to play.

"The team that you said is probably the one we are looking at," said Manders. "But we've had to change the team so many times since we started (in January), and I think the same thing is going to happen.

"Somebody is going to shine (this week) and change your mind. You have to be open about it (team selection) anyway, but you look at it, and something happens in a practice game and you say 'you know what, I think we'll try this'."