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For the first time in ages, Clay Smith didn't travel with the national cricket team.

Tonight he'll have to be content with watching our boys on TV (ZFB 7 at 8pm) instead of being there in person when Bermuda plays Jamaica in the Stanford 20-20 Tournament.

It's just a first round game, but the winner of the tournament will walk away with $1 million.

There's a lot at stake and Bermuda didn't get an easy draw with Jamaica, but Smith believes that we have the talent to beat them.

"The guys stand a very good chance," he said. "We're very familiar with Jamaica because we've played them several times before. The inclusion of Delyone (Borden) and OJ (Pitcher) add a lot to our team."

Coach Gus Logie is not letting anyone in on who he is going to count on to dismiss the likes of Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds, but Smith said Bermuda may end up playing three spinners.

"From history we know the West Indians don't play spin too well. We'll probably use that as our trump card and hopefully things will go in our favour.

"They struggle with spin. They like the ball coming on to them. They like the medium pace and the pacers. In Sluggo (Dwayne Leverock) Hasan (Durham) and Delyone we have three we have three very good spinners and we're looking to contain them. In order for their guys to hit, they'll have to hit cleanly if we're turning the ball."

While Bermuda has relied on the likes of Leverock, Durham, skipper Irving Romaine, Lionel Cann and Janeiro Tucker in the past, Smith said that all 13 players chosen for this match are more than capable of being a match winner.

"Everybody is capable of performing at a high standard. It's just a matter of which players step up on the day. Against Jamaia you're going to need three or four very good performances, especially with the bat.

Smith said if Bermuda wins the toss it's likely to choose to bat and then post a total of at least 150.

"Teams have struggled to get 150 so far in this tournament so if we can post anywhere from 150 to 200 we'd stand a very good chance of winning.

"All the top line batsmen...are going to have to step up and be accounted for. But at the end of the day, anybody in our team from one to 11 is capable of being a veteran because we have that much quality in the team right now."

He added: "It's always better to bat first and if you can post a big enough total it puts a lot of pressure on the other team to really go from ball one. If you have bowlers that can contain, like we do, then it puts a lot of pressure on the team batting second."

Smith said Bermuda has a wealth of experience of playing the 20-20 game and that goes beyond the World Cricket Classic played here in April.

"The national team has played the Cup Match teams - Somerset twice and St. George's once - and they've had some favourable results playing them.

"The experience that we've learned is that we don't have to go from ball one.

It's more of a matter of getting off to a respectable start, then from the last 10 overs you can launch an onslaught. It's important that somebody bat through the innings and trying to get a total of 70 or 80 and everyone bat around that one person.

"The guys are going into this match with a very solid game plan. I'm sure that Gus will be sitting down with the guys and going over it. It's just a matter of executing. Jamaica are probably the favourites for the tournament, but we have the calibre of players to beat them."

The former national team skipper said he'll miss being there, but he's looking to being about 85 to 90 per cent fit by September so he'll hopefully be able to join them then.

"The guys have shown that they can perform without me. This isn't about one individual because any player can be replaced in this team," Smith said.[[In-content Ad]]

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