KEY POINTS:
England's quest to win a first cricket World Cup begins overnight at the stunning setting of Arnos Vale, St Vincent, when Michael Vaughan's side take on Bermuda in the first of two pre-tournament warm-up matches.
Australia will provide far stiffer opposition at the same venue on Friday but the game today, against the team widely considered to be the weakest in the World Cup, should offer England a gentle introduction to cricket in the Caribbean.
Nevertheless, Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, will be unable to relax.
England have three players who arrived in the West Indies needing to prove their fitness for the tournament and Fletcher will exhaust more energy fretting about the physical welfare of Jon Lewis, James Anderson and the captain Vaughan than their form on the field.
The nature of the game today - 13 players per side - will give England the flexibility they want but contests of this type have little status and therefore tend to lack intensity.
Yet the squad should be highly motivated.
The one-day success in the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia, achieved largely without the services of Vaughan, Lewis, Anderson and the fit-again Kevin Pietersen, has created competition for places and those players with ambitions of taking on New Zealand in England's first World Cup game in 10 days' time will be keen to impress here.
Sajid Mahmood and Ravi Bopara are the two members of England's 15-man squad who are likely to miss out today.
Of the recovering triumvirate, Lewis needs to make the strongest and most immediate impact.
The seamer began England's one-day campaign in Australia encouragingly but he was forced to return home early with an ankle injury.
While out of the side, Liam Plunkett and Mahmood came in and performed admirably, with the former doing enough to merit a place in England's starting XI.
Lewis said: "What happened in Australia and the competition for places has put England in a strong position.
Four quick bowlers plus Andrew Flintoff as the all-rounder means that we are all fighting for a place in the side.
James Anderson and myself started pretty well in Australia but Sajid and Liam, the guys that replaced us, bowled fantastically.
"It was frustrating to get injured when I did," Lewis added.
"It was great to watch the guys win the tournament but disappointing not to be part of the moment.
I now need to show the selectors that I am fit, ready to play and bowling at my best.
I believe that all our bowlers will be used during the course of the tournament."England admit that they know very little about their opponents but the Bermuda team will contain a player who is very familiar.
In the mid-1990s Glamorgan's David Hemp was considered a potential England player, touring India and Bangladesh with England A.
However, his path to the top was blocked by the likes of Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain.
Hemp owes the unexpected opportunity to play on cricket's biggest stage to the fact that he was born in Bermuda when his family were working on the island.
"It is slightly ironic that, after playing county cricket for so many years, I make my debut against the side I spent so long trying to get into," he admitted.
- INDEPENDENT
