Bermuda needs an elite cricket league

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2: It requires a big man to do a big job.

While Lloyd Fray’s physical stature is imposing, it’s his mental strength that will be needed to help move Bermuda cricket forward.

He was elected president of the Bermuda Cricket Board on Tuesday night in resounding fashion, collecting 10 of the possible 13 votes.

The president and CEO of BTC, who will become CEO of KeyTech next year, said he plans on a thorough evaluation of the BCB over the next six months.

Part of that process will be looking at getting the Elite League off the ground.

“We need a review of what we do — looking at the policies and processes.”

Fray said an examination is need of the job roles within the BCB.

“Do they accomplish what we need to accomplish? Within those roles, we need to look at their duties.

“That’s where I’m starting. From there, we need to be looking at our strategy and ask ‘is it inclusive with the clubs?’

“I want them to be a part of that process. In order for there to be buy in for any strategy, we have to gain the trust of the clubs.”

He said it did no good for the board to be dictatorial and saying “it works for me” if the clubs are not fully in agreement.

He said once that review is completed, the next step is to get the strategy out.

“We have to make sure we have the right resources to make the strategy work. It is to be completely inclusive — not just the players and the clubs, but the umpires as well.”

Fray added the youth programmes need to be looked at as well as the senior programmes.

“We have to look at the standards on the domestic front as well as international play. Then the strategy will be for a long-term strategy. Then we’ll have a yearly rolling strategy and business initiatives.”

He also is going to take a look at the BCB by-laws to see what can be improved upon.

Fray added: “What can we do now that can improve the state of play for the domestic season?

“The format is the big thing and I will be looking for input from some of the big names like Clay (Smith) and Noel Gibbons. These are some of the guys that have been very close to cricket and shared some of their ideas with regard to the format.

“I’m talking about looking at the format at all levels, including juniors. Is the evening cricket working for the juniors?

“We have to make sure the progamme is working for the juniors so they can be ready for the next level.

“At the senior level, we need to play some more high level games. The elite league, which was proposed last season, really didn’t get the attention it needed. It is something that we have to preserve to do.

“Most of the associate countries like us, have these things.”

He said the domestic league players need to be playing against the highest calibre opposition rather than have some games in which they can sleep walk through because it is not challenging.

“There are huge gaps when our top players get exposed to international play. We want them to play at the highest level domestically that we can offer, it will make it easier when we play away.”