The Busta Cup may be the most important first-class tournament in the Caribbean, but the 2002 edition will see few Test stars and fewer promising juniors take the field. While the international players depart for Sharjah even as the competition begins, the under-19 cricketers are already in New Zealand fighting it out for the junior World Cup title.

The absence of the leading lights, however, should not prevent the Cup from being a tight-fought contest, a forum for emerging players to establish themselves and call the attention of national selectors to themselves. Defending champions Barbados, for example, include ex-Test cricketers Philo Wallace, Floyd Reifer and Courtney Browne, all of whom will be looking to break into the national side once again.

Following the unique inclusion of a non-regional side in the tournament last year, the cricket authorities are all set to try it again. After England 'A' in 2001, it is the turn of the Bangladesh second-stringers to try their hand at some Caribbean cricket. This is likely to prove invaluable for Bangladesh cricket, for their Test and one-day performances at the international level thus far have shown a serious paucity of experience.

The opening match will see Barbados take on runners-up Guyana at the Kensington Oval. Guyana finished on the same number of points as Barbados but relinquished the trophy due to their fewer victories. Along with Jamaica, the winners of the inaugural Busta International Shield last year, Barbados and Guyana are the top contenders for the championship this year.

A round-robin league competition will be followed by the first four teams competing in two semi-finals for a right to play in the final...

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