JOHANNESBURG, South Africa,  CMC – National coach Gus Logie has told his players to remain focused ahead of their opening World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Potchefstroom University today.

Bermuda received a setback in their build-up to the qualifiers, which will determine which four countries book their ticket to the 2011 World Cup on the subcontinent, when they crashed to a six-wicket defeat against Namibia at the weekend.

Logie and his technical staff had a long and in-depth post-mortem into the defeat, giving each team member the chance to express any concerns.

“We discussed the positives as well as some of the areas we feel we can improve upon,” Logie said.

“Everybody has a say and can give their input as well and right now we just want to get the guys more focused for the next game.”
As has been the case recently, Bermuda’s spin attack were left to carry a heavy burden that ultimately proved beyond them as Namibia romped to victory at Willowmoore Park with 20 balls to spare.

Under-19 World Cup veterans Tamauri Tucker and Rodney Trott shone brightest with the ball on an otherwise disappointing afternoon for Bermuda who succumbed to their first loss in South Africa .

“Tamauri bowled well against a team that has some very powerful hitters. That in itself was a very positive sign and Rodney bowled pretty good as well,” Logie said.

The coach was heartened by the return to form with the bat of Janeiro Tucker, who made 54,  former English county player David Hemp, who was unbeaten on 45, and opener Lionel Cann, who made a quickfire 36.
“This was Janeiro’s highest score for us for quite some time. He played with a lot of authority,” Logie said.

“It was also good to see Hemp bat long and Lionel (Cann) give us a good start at the top.”

UAE were trounced by Intercontinental Cup champions Ireland – coached by ex-West Indies opening bat Phil Simmons – over the weekend.

And, like Bermuda , they will look to get back to winning ways and make a positive start to the tournament.

But before they take to the pitch, the strengths and weaknesses of Bermuda ‘s cricketers will be scrutinised by Logie and his support team.

“We want to re-assess the mental and tactical side of our game and then try and make the necessary adjustments moving forward,” he said.

“So we plan to analyse video footage of our matches and have scheduled a series of team meetings as well.”

Bermuda contested their first ever World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007 and are aiming to make back-to-back appearances in the tournament.