January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Straight from the Bat
Bermuda are contenders when they're on form
It’s a tough group, so it doesn’t matter who we play in the World Cup qualifiers
Personally, I don't think we should have been looking to avoid anyone. On our day we can beat any of these teams and we have to support ourselves to do that if we are going to go back to the World Cup.
We've been put in a group with Kenya, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UAE, but if we get past the group stage we'll have to play teams like Ireland and Scotland.
Every team has moved forward in the last four years and everyone knows how vital it is to qualify, so there are no easy games.
It's going to be a tough tournament and with only four qualifying spots to play for. We'll have to be at our best to qualify, and we're on the right path.
We've got three months now before the tournament and we're going to be getting a lot of game practice.
We are going to Trinidad, St. Vincent and Grenada and we'll be playing against teams that are probably even better than those that we will come up against in the qualifier.
I don't think it's going to matter that the tournament is held in April, which is out of our domestic season, because we should be very well prepared by the time we get to South Africa.
We'll be travelling and playing at a lot higher level than we would be in local cricket, so we should be in shape and well bonded.
Kenya is one of the favourites and they will be a tough opponent but we've had some very close games with them. We've also beaten all the other teams in the group before. We are all very close.
If we make the top six in the tournament we would retain our one-day status, which is important, but for me the goal has to be the top four and the World Cup.
When you've been there once and you've seen it, you want to go back. I know I'm a better player now than I was back then and I want to test myself against the big boys again.
One of my personal goals for next year is to make the top 50 in the batting rankings.
Sluggo was up to 55 in the latest bowling rankings.
It would be great if we could both make the top 50 next year.
That would be an amazing feat and something for Bermuda to cherish.
It's more than just a personal goal. It takes the whole team to get you there and hopefully my own personal goals can help bring the team success.
There's still plenty of places up for grabs for the tournament in April and it's good to see some of the youngsters doing so well on the A tour to Argentina.
Chris Douglas has continued to impress and Tamauri Tucker and Oronde Bascome have had a couple of good games.
It just shows the experience of being around the senior squad and playing at a higher level has really helped those guys.
Justin Pitcher and Delyone Borden have also done pretty well and it's good to see them continuing to improve.
The tour is not just about development for the youngsters, though and it would be great to see Irving Romaine find some form with the bat and Glenn Blakeney continue his good form.
It was nice to see Sachin Tendulkar inspire India to a record-breaking win over England in the first Test this week. It was fitting that Sachin, being from Mumbai, got the winning runs and a century at this time.
It obviously meant so much to him and it was great to see so many fans celebrating something positive after what happened there.
Obviously it doesn't take away the pain, but it does mean something for such a cricket-loving country.
You could see how touched Sachin was. He was almost in tears in the press conference. It obviously meant a lot to him and it took a lot of character to put in that performance at this time.[[In-content Ad]]
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