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One of the world's most famous cricket websites has had plenty to say about Bermuda in the last few weeks - little of it good. CricInfo has ridiculed the national team as a "shambles" and "eyesore", sparking a major backlash.

Among those furious is assistant national coach Clay Smith, who claimed the site and the ICC are conspiring against Bermuda. But CricInfo editor Martin Williamson is unrepentant about his site's damning criticism. Here, he defends it against accusations of bias and insists Bermuda must face reality to improve.

Your commentaries on Bermuda have caused quite a reaction, with many claiming you have been unfair and are biased against the team. Are you?

Firstly, there is no bias. Anyone who has followed CricInfo over a number of years will know we give excellent coverage to Associate cricket and are staunch supporters of it.

When Bermuda qualified for the 2007 World Cup and got ODI status, we were very enthusiastic. But that cannot extend to ignoring stark realities. A number - not all, but enough - of the players who should have been setting the example did anything but in terms of behaviour at tournaments, team and personal discipline and general attitude. We wrote what we saw.

Clay Smith, the assistant coach, wrote that the ICC and CricInfo wanted Bermuda to fail. What do you make of that?

I was utterly bemused and thought it was one of the most pathetic attempts to pass the blame I have ever come across. Bermuda knew what they needed to do and they failed - and did so by some distance. For him to then say the blame lay outside the team was shameful and his conspiracy theory about the ICC was just daft. But, as a number of people I have spoken to since have said, it sums up a much bigger problem within the set-up.

What is your view on the reasons for the rise and fall of Bermuda's national cricket team over the last four years?

They got there because they were a good enough side on the day but they were always going to have to work hard to stay there - you only have to look at the populations and facilities of rivals to see that.

As for where it went wrong, the board must take some of the blame for a lack of professionalism and failing to act when warning signs were there. The players have to look hard into the mirror. They had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and blew it. The leading Associates now take cricket seriously, train hard, keep themselves fit and make massive personal sacrifices. I am afraid some of the Bermuda team treated ODI status as if it was just a chance for some enjoyable overseas trips.

Some argue that Bermuda - with its small population and slim resources of roughly 300 players - performed miraculously to qualify for the World Cup in the first place and are now being overtaken by bigger countries with more players. Do you agree?

Yes, they did amazingly and full credit to them. They had the ability and talent to retain their ODI status - you only have to look at the under-19 side to see that. As for them being overtaken, look at who finished above them - Afghanistan with no pitches and a history going back to 2001 and Namibia with few players and limited facilities. It's easy to play the hard-luck card but Bermuda did it in 2005 and could have done it again given what else there was out there.



Coach Gus Logie has been blamed for perceived tactical blunders, such as not using Hemp as an opener earlier, and some believe he was wrong to publicly criticize his players after the defeats. What are your views?

Logie has had to operate with one hand tied behind his back for a long time. He can only do so much. If players refuse to train, they ought to be dropped, but the shallow player pool means that won't happen. If they can't be bothered to keep a decent degree of fitness, same applies. I have spoken to dozens of opposing players, administrators and journalists over the last two years who have been appalled by the approach of some of the players, on and off the pitch. Without backing from on high, Logie had little he could do.

As for his outburst, with some players looking to blame anyone but themselves, he knew his head was in the firing line. I can sympathize with his comments - they came from the heart and out of sheer frustration. It's perhaps not the way to bid for a new contract though!

One of the criticisms leveled at your coverage is that you have not been so harsh toward Scotland - who dropped from first to sixth - as with Bermuda, who fell from 4th to 9th. Why the apparent difference in tone?

That kind of claim can only come from those who have not read the site. Scotland has been taken to task several times for their performances but they salvaged their ODI status. Had they not, then I am sure the knives, already sharpened, would have been out in force. Kenya has had fairly blunt articles written about them in the last 18 months. But, again, we are not here to just criticize. Bermuda might have been given a rough time but that is only because it was deserved. I argued almost two years ago that they needed to get things sorted if they were not to lose ODI status. Almost nothing was done.



The $11million investment in Bermuda cricket has been something of a cross to bear for the team, at least in PR terms. Bermuda could not buy an experience like competing regularly in the CD&P trophy - something the British sides enjoy ­- for any amount of money. What do you think?

Yes, it has been raised a lot and I plead as guilty as anyone. There is no substitute for regular competition and to that end questions have to be asked of the board about itineraries. But also where exactly has all the money gone? Bermuda did actually play as much as any other leading Associates - other than Scotland, Ireland and Namibia - and more than those who came up through the rankings.



What do you see as the future for Bermudian cricket?

With a new board who bring professionalism and enthusiasm, allied to a clearing out of those who have failed to come up to the mark, I think they could be there or thereabouts again in four years. There is good young talent but it has to be handled carefully and the rebuilding must start now. Sadly, I think the BCB will muddle along as there doesn't seem to be any obvious alternatives banging at the door.



Of the Associate teams competing at the moment, do you see any of them going on to be competitive at the highest level? Where do you see the most hope for genuine growth?

The gulf is getting bigger all the time and I can't see it being closed. A few years ago Kenya might have had a chance but that's gone. Ireland is the best Associate at the moment but look at their form in the long term - not just at the World Cup - and they struggle to keep up. The Associates will always bloody a nose or two but that will be the exception rather than the rule. The Full Members have infrastructures and funding that will keep them aloof.

Do you have any cost-effective suggestions as to how Bermuda can improve its cricket and be competitive again in four years time?

Bermuda needs a new board, some hungry young players and to recapture the spirit which got it into the big time in the first place. I would be as happy as anyone were that to happen and I could write a good-news article about the national team.

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