Uncertainty among both the selectors and players still surrounds the make-up of the Bermuda team that will face Namibia in the four-day Intercontinental Shield game which starts on Saturday.

David Moore is giving no hints, and it is doubtful whether the selectors themselves know to any great degree what the team will be in the end.

And while the head coach and his staff will have ideas, the commitment and work rate of the Bermuda players is making them change their minds on an almost daily basis.

We will have a slightly better idea on Thursday morning when the team is announced for the Twenty20 game that has been switched to that date. However, Moore did give some indication as to his preference for the balance of the side yesterday, suggesting six batsmen was enough but even this leaves questions because the selectors then have to decide if Rodney Trott is one of the batsmen or one of the four bowlers.

"We'll certainly wait to see what the wicket's like, that's for sure," said Moore. "But if you can't win a cricket game with six batsmen you're in a bit of trouble.

"I like, myself, to have six batsmen, with the wicketkeeper as the seventh. If we can't score runs with that formula we are in a bit of trouble. You don't want batsmen batting at eight, and stacking it up."

A second practice match yesterday was supposed to make the selection process easier. It was supposed to be a time when places were won and lost. In the event, the game never took place because opponents Tucks Cricket Club failed to raise a team.

It was the latest in a string of niggling little incidents that have annoyed the Bermuda management and may well cause them to switch bases the next time they travel to South Africa.

The cancellation didn't matter. Moore set the squad amongst themselves for almost 40 overs instead, and left them in no doubt as to the importance of the session, telling them they were 'playing for keeps' before the game started.

"I think in the end it (cancelling the game) was better because we could then determine what we wanted out of the day," said Moore.

"Our bowlers bowled exactly the amount of overs we wanted them to, our batsmen were given opportunities to bat under different situations and we knew the quality was going to be high, so I think in the long run it was actually better for us to do it this way."

The players responded as the coaches might have hoped they would, and anyone who does eventually miss out, will not have done so through lack of effort.

Bowlers Jordan DeSilva, Ryan Steede and Justin Pitcher all took the opportunity to make an impression, as did Stefan Kelly and Malachi Jones, both of whom should make the 11. On the batting side Stephen Outerbridge (53 not out) and Irving Romaine (44 not out) , who put on more than a hundred before both retiring, offered evidence that the loss of early wickets will not actually spell disaster.

"I've been impressed with the bowlers, I thought they really applied themselves today, which was really encouraging, especially on a flat wicket," said Moore.

"It (the session) re-enforced the batting and the bowling side of it, but we have changed a couple of systems in the field that we want them to achieve and I was really pleased with the effort that they made to not only take it upon themselves to do it, but that they actually executed it very well.

"There's a lot more enthusiasm in the field, a lot more intensity in the field I think than it was a couple of days ago and they seem to be moving forward with that."

Outerbridge and Romaine came to the crease with three wickets down and only 20 runs on the board. Openers Chris Foggo and Fiqre Crockwell were out in exactly the same manner as they were on Sunday.

Foggo was caught in the slips trying to slash away a ball for the second time in three days, while Crockwell again was the victim of misfortune, this time being trapped lbw by a ball that pitched short and shot through at ankle height.

The inconsistent bounce also finished off David Hemp, who got a similar ball to Crockwell and was bowled. The rest of the players all took their opportunities when they came and Shannon Rayner was looking well set before he was given out to a debatable lbw decision.

How much those performances have actually influenced Moore and the other selectors remains unclear, especially with the Australian keeping his cards so close to his chest.

While much will depend on the wicket, and the conditions, the fitness of Jim West, who did not bowl yesterday because of a sore shoulder, and the suitability of throwing the largely untested Jordan DeSilva into an environment as hostile as Namibia is also likely to play a part.

"Jordan bowled ok, he's a young guy who's feeling his way in the team, and Namibia are tough people," said Moore, "and they're not going to give an inch and we have to decide the make-up of the team with experience, with integrity, and with form.

"Those sorts of things are all going to come into the decision."