'We'll beat Somerset easily'

With all the bowlers breaking down the final trial is going to be very interesting. There may have been some bowlers who thought they weren’t going to make it because players of higher stature are no longer available.

It adds more to the trial and a bit of excitement to see if some of these players can make their first Cup Match. The trials haven’t been as lively as they should be over the past five to 10 years.

There has been some speculation that I’m not playing for St. George’s, but if selected I’m playing. I’ll be participating in the last trial.

You have to play in the last trial in order to be eligible for Cup Match and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been training really hard with Wendell Smith and Clay Smith. I am ready and good to go.

Saturday should be a good warm-up for me before Cup Match.

There’s no extra pressure because I haven’t been playing cricket this season. The training I have been doing is intense and I am in great shape. I’ve been doing a lot of throw downs and bowling machine work. I’ve also been doing a lot of agility work. I have been doing a lot of work in the nets. That doesn’t replace time of actually being out on the field, but I am in shape and ready to represent St. George’s. I haven’t lost anything — I am good to go.

We’ve lost the top three fast bowlers in Bermuda in Stefan Kelly, George O’Brien and Greg Foggo. Those are difficult shoes to fill. Our goal was to go on an all-out attack against Somerset with sheer pace. That plan now has a fault because we lost those bowlers.

But we still have talented young bowlers who could step up. Allen Douglas Jr is putting in a lot of work this year, plus he’s had a couple of good knocks. He’s always been on the edge of making Cup Match, so maybe this is his year.

Ryan Steede also comes to the forefront with the other bowlers missing. He has national squad experience and has played Cup Match before.

Angelo Cannonier is also in the mix. While he doesn’t have sheer pace he is a good swing bowler.

We have a couple of other youngsters as well like David Bedard. If he gets the nod he’ll come through. He’s very, very green, but he’s got talent and his work ethic is solid. I’m not a selector, but he has potential. They may opt to go with more experience. It all depends on what they see.

No problem

Even losing the three fast bowlers I’ll be bold enough to say Somerset will be beaten easily even with the fast bowlers missing. We still have fast bowlers who can do the job.

We still have OJ Pitcher, Delyone Borden and Rodney Trott — they are going to have to bowl and do their thing with the bat.

It’s sad to lose a quality player like George O’Brien to violence. We were looking to having him back in the team this year because he gets a lot of wickets against Somerset and he’s a big day player.

“It’s just a reminder that the social issues going on in Bermuda affect sportsmen — we’re not exempt from what’s happening. This should be another wake up call.

“I wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully he can get back into the sport so that it doesn’t injure his career.