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After eight-and-a-half years, two Cup Match centuries, a World Cup appearance and countless back page headlines, Saleem Mukuddem is heading home.

The South African all-rounder admits he arrived on the island expecting to work a couple of years as an accountant and head back to Cape Town.

But as so often happens with expats in Bermuda, the country got under his skin. As he prepares to say a fond farewell to his adopted home, he sat down with James Whittaker to look back on his time here and his colourful cricket career.

You've spoken at length about your concerns for Bermuda cricket. Can you see things improving?

With the issues that have been so well publicized in Bermuda cricket I would be shocked - pleasantly shocked if we were to make the next World Cup.

There's only four qualifying spots this time and Kenya already has one of them. Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands will still be trying to qualify. Add to that Denmark, Uganda, UAE, Namibia - teams that didn't qualify last time but that have all beaten Bermuda and beaten them badly since. They're getting stronger and stronger and you can't just flick a switch and perform against them.

It's not impossible to qualify for the next World Cup but the guys are going to have to work harder than they ever have in their lives. That's the best way I have of explaining the gravity of the situation and the monumental effort required. I want to be optimistic but my sense of reality says it won't happen.

Do you think coming from South Africa, where you had little chance of playing internationally, made you appreciate the opportunity more, and work harder?

I always felt that I had to work harder because I was not Bermudian. I never took my place in the team for granted and I always felt nervous before every team was announced.

That was one of the reasons I worked hard. Also from the time we qualified for the World Cup and I got picked in the squad I said to myself there is one thing I want to do which is to look back and say I gave that my best shot and I've got no regrets. I worked as hard as I could, played as well as I could and made my family and everyone involved with cricket proud. I think I can say that.

One thing I can tell you, I have no regrets. None whatsoever.

What was the highlight for you - the performance against Bangladesh?

My highlights of the World Cup were three-fold and nothing to do with me playing cricket. First was the fact that my parents were in the stands watching me. They were both working class people and they always took me and my brother everywhere to play cricket and it was great for them to see me in the World Cup.

Second was when Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka's captain) asked me 'why I didn't play in the second game against India. (Mukuddem was controversially suspended for failing to attend a team function and still believes he was harshly treated)

He said he had seen I wasn't on the team sheet and was surprised. The fact that he remembered my name from the game against them and thought that I should have been playing was a real honour.

Thirdly was getting a bat signed by Muttiah Muralitharan and Sachin Tendulkar for my son. Even if he grows up and doesn't play cricket, that's something he'll always have.

What will you miss the most about Bermuda?

There's a lot of things I'm going to miss - Horseshoe Beach, the lifestyle, the friends I have made, playing football with Lobster Pot, cricket with Western Stars and Leg Trappers, going for a run on the beach, everybody calling out to me on the street - for me Bermuda is like that show Cheers - the place where everybody knows your name.

Mixing with different cultures, races, changes you as an individual. I've enjoyed the lifestyle here - the cricket was a cherry on the top.

I'll take the good memories with me and I'll bury the bad ones in a box at Horseshoe.

You said you have no regrets. Does that extend to the comments you've made in the press about the cricket board that landed you in trouble at times?

I love the sport of cricket and when I give criticism it's never aimed at an individual - it's more the position that they hold and the responsibility they need to take.

It's a beautiful game, it needs to be played by everybody.

Having come from a place where you know how things are done and how they should be done, it's difficult to keep silent. It's not rocket science.

Sometimes you need to just be man enough to realize you're in over your head and ask for help. People will help you.

I could bite my tongue, do my time and leave but it's not in the best interests of the sport for me to do that.

It's not my fight to fight any more. My bags are packed and I've got a one-way ticket home.

I hope the attitude changes and the bar starts getting set much higher. By being outspoken you can create awareness. If people read it and are in a position to do something about it then that's a good thing.

It is a fight that needs to be fought, but it's not my fight - it needs to be fought by Bermudians. It's your home.

Give us an example of where you think they're getting it wrong?

We spend too much time worrying about the small irrelevant things like making a point of disciplining people to show you're disciplining someone.

The boy Douglas (Chris Douglas who was sent home from the U19 World Cup early by the BCB for undisclosed reasons) didn't need to be sent home - irrespective of what he did, which can't have been worse than some of the stuff I know senior players have done on tour.

We can't afford to be turning people away from cricket. You need to be supportive. In school you don't take a disruptive child and make him sit on his own in the corner - you do that, you create a bigger beast.

The BCB is under more scrutiny - rightly so - and they want to show they are in control, Sometimes they chose the wrong battles.

What kind of feedback did you get from the article you wrote in the Royal Gazette - where you spoke at length about the sport's problems and suggested solutions?

I get stopped in the street all the time by people who tell me what a great article I wrote and how that disease is not limited to cricket but sport in general in Bermuda. People know what is wrong, they know the issues have been there for many many years, people have to stick their necks out and be part of the solution,

Briefly, for people who missed that piece, outline what you think needs to happen?

I don't want to keep beating a dead horse but it is the culture and the mindset that need to change. I want to see the guys in charge be transparent, be consistent, be accountable and be channeled in their efforts.

Do you think things are improving?

There have been some improvements. The youth leagues are developing, which is good. The game needs to develop at grassroots level.

It's all right having 12-year-olds playing at Warwick Academy but what happens when they start to play at the proper grounds?

I for one, wouldn't have my son play at Devonshire Rec where the bars open at 10am and all they do is shout abuse at the players.

At home (South Africa) there is a big separation between playing and drinking. That's one of my concerns. I really hope all the kids playing now are still playing in ten or even five years time.

In 14 years playing in South African I never received a single bit of verbal abuse. In Bermuda I get abused virtually every game - that's the kind of crap I don't need.

I hope these youngsters coming up don't get subjected to that. Clubs need to take ownership of who they allow in their grounds and how they behave because they turn people away from the game.

What was it like, as an expat, to be involved in Cup Match?

I'm very fortunate as an expat to have experienced part of Bermuda's culture, heritage and tradition that not many expats do.

Playing Cup Match, the process of getting picked, having your picture in the paper - for a lot of Bermudians is the highlight of their careers.

I did well because I viewed it as another game. I did enjoy the celebrity status that came along with it - getting stopped in the road by St. George's fans saying I wish you well, but your team bad. It's an experience I'll always remember.

Who do you see as potential stars of the future for Bermuda?

I like Rodney and Malachi and the young boy (Greg) Maybury but in my opinion Stefan Kelly is the best. He has talent, intelligence, respect, a good attitude, he could be a future Bermuda captain, it's important that he is looked after and encouraged.

It's good for young players to get out of Bermuda - for Maybuty going to Oakham is the best thing that could have happened to him.[[In-content Ad]]

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