SRI LANKA will be looking for a convincing triumph over their ICC associate nation opponents Bermuda as Group “B” of the ICC Cricket World Cup gets going at the Queen's Park Oval, St Clair, today.

The 1996 champions will be sparing no mercy on Bermuda, who enter this tournament as one of the labelled “minnows” – alongside Netherlands, Scotland, Kenya, Ireland and Canada.

Led by Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankans will field eight players with World Cup experience – Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan and Jayawardene, while Jayasuriya, Atapattu, Vaas and Muralitharan starred in their successful campaign 11 years ago.

On the other side of the fence, Bermuda, skippered by Irving Romaine, is the smallest country to compete at the World Cup, and they are not fancied to pose much of a threat in the group, which features Test nations Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

The top two teams will advance to the Super Eight phase, and the Sri Lankans, coached by ex-Australian all-rounder Tom Moody, will be expecting nothing less than a crushing victory over the Gus Logie-coached Bermudans.

In all fairness to the British overseas territory Bermuda, Sri Lanka were considered the “whipping boys” in the World Cup since making their debut in 1996.

But the players, including captain Arjuna Ranatunga, middle-order batsmen Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne, Asanka Gurusinha, Roshan Mahamana and the dynamic opening pair of Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana turned the screws and lifted the crown with a seven-wicket win over Australia in Lahore, Pakistan.

Since then, Sri Lanka have been consistent in both forms of the game, and are fancied as an outside threat to the 2007 title.

Two members of the Bermuda team will catch the eye of the fans at the Oval – Malachi Jones and Dwayne Leverock.

Teams: SRI LANKA: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara.

BERMUDA: Irving Romaine (captain), Dean Minors, Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, David Hemp, Kevin Hurdle, Malachi Jones, Stefan Kelly, Dwayne Leverock, Saleem Mukuddem, Stephen Outerbridge, Oliver Pitcher, Clay Smith, Janeiro Tucker, Kwame Tucker.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Ian Howell (South Africa).

TV umpire: Aleem Dar, Pakistan.

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe, New Zealand.