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From giant lizards and kangaroos on the pitch to training sessions involving over 80 players, Bermuda's Aussie trip has been a major culture shock.

While the exotic wildlife may have been impressive it's the approach to cricket that has emphasized more than anything for the six Bermuda players at the Brisbane cricket academy that this is 'another country'.

And the one sight that made skipper Irving Romaine get his video camera out and gawk like a tourist was a routine weekly training session at the neighbouring South Cricket Club.

"There were something like 80 players there with five different coaches working flat out.

"That would be the entire league in Bermuda."

Romaine, along with vice captain Rodney Trott and youngsters Oronde Bascome, Chris Douglas, Kyle Hodsoll and Tamauri Tucker are mid-way through an intensive six week programme at the Australian Sports Gateway under the instruction of Brad Murphy.

They play Monday nights in the local police league and each weekend they have placements at local clubs competing in Aussie Grade cricket.

Romaine, who plays Grade 1 cricket for Lambour in the Sunshine Coast League, said the whole approach to the game was different.

"We're learning a lot from their attitude to the game. They want to win whatever the match.

"They play every game like it is their last from police division right through to Grade A cricket."

Rodney Trott, who scored a half-century for his Grade 3 club Eastland Raiders last weekend, agreed that the mental approach was the biggest difference with Bermuda.

"The competiveness - they never quit - everybody just loves the game."

The day-to-day intensity at the academy is like the regiment: 6:30am morning runs, followed by specialist cricket training (nets, fielding sessions etc) in the morning and gym work in the afternoon.

One of the most gruelling aspects of the fitness regime is a four-mile run up the nearby Mount Grabbit including a solid two mile uphill slog to the summit.

"The guys are finding out a lot about themselves being away from home for such a long time, playing cricket every day.

"You really have to push yourself every day. It's not always easy to get up for that morning run."

For the young players in particular the Australia experience has been eye-opening.

"It's sort of funny when you have a practice match and you see the four Bermudian guys off to the side looking at this giant lizard in amazement.

"Today we had a game and some wild kangaroos ran on the field. Oronde Bascome started running for cover towards the umpire - looking for protection. That was funny stuff," said Romaine.

The academy is generally used as a winter training camp for players from around the world, looking to improve.

Bermuda's cricket development officer, Arnold Manders, who accompanied the players for the first two weeks of the camp, said: "It's nothing but cricket. If they were here they wouldn't be able to get this kind of intensity training.

"I saw improvement just in the two weeks I was down there. They are in Australia, it's the Mecca of cricket. The domestic cricket out there is like watching One Day Internationals."

Manders said he hoped the Aussie attitude would rub off on the players.

But he cautioned that the whole country needed to change its mentality - not just six players.

"Five or six weeks will improve them but it's not going to take us to the level where we need to be.

"You can see how passionate these players are about their sport. It's hard to replicate that.

"It's a country-wide problem. Remember you had people crying for Bermuda to play at home for years and then when we did have a game 50 people showed up. That wouldn't happen in Australia."[[In-content Ad]]

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