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Why aren't Bermuda best cricketers turning up for national team training?

That's just one of the questions that will be asked when cricket holds a second open forum for all players.

Last Saturday the Bermuda Cricket Board held its first Open Forum at Devonshire Recreation Club.

Allen Richardson, second vice president of the BCB and chairman of the technical committee, said he felt Saturday's meeting was 'very productive" and a positive first step in helping make cricket better.

"The meeting was excellent," Richardson said. "We will also try and marry with the Board's vision some of the information brought forth. There's a lot of parallels with the information given that has also been brought up at the Board level. I think we're on the right track. "

Coach Gus Logie voiced his frustration at having to rebuild his squad for nearly every trip abroad.

""We can't get individuals to go abroad," he said. "We're starting fresh for every tour and we're right back at stage one."

He also expressed his disappointment that the board had difficulty in getting young players to go away to cricket academies.

Richardson said why there is a lack of interest by players is a "million dollar question."

"We need to have a forum with cricketers. We need to find out what's exactly going on. We have some idea as to why, but we also need to get some input from them. That's our next biggest step.

Richardson added: "We need to sit down with the cricketers and say 'Look guys, let's sit down and have an open discussion as to why you're not having as much energy into the national programme as we think you should.'

"It leaves me speechless. I'm dumbfounded as to why, with all the opportunities put forth to these guys today, why they're not putting that much interest into the national programme?"

Richardson asked: "Is it because they can't have time off from their jobs?

Is it because they're scared to fail? With all this money that's gone into cricket, they know if they fail there's more eyes on them now."

The VP added that some of the players may not be making themselves available because of drugs.

"We have players who don't take the opportunity because they know they're going to get drug tested. You may have a player who is a casual smoker. He may have a little puff every now and then, but he feels threatened because if he goes for the national programme he's going to be drug tested."

He said another possible negative effect is a lack of a home field to play One Day Internationals.

"You take a person like Lionel Cann - Lionel's point blank told me he's just physically drained. He's been going, going, going so much and on top of that he's got his job. I imagine it would take its toll.

"It's not like they're going to the United States or Canada or down to the Caribbean. These guys have to spend almost an entire day to get where they have to go."

Richardson said that the situation with the stadium needs to get rectified soon.

"2009 will be upon us in no time and we have to qualify (for the World Cup) all over again. We need to make sure the best possible ways and means to give us an advantage is there. Not having an ODI ground certainly hampers our progress."

He added that whatever the reason for the players not wanting to take part will stand a better chance of getting resolved after they held a meeting with the cricket players.[[In-content Ad]]

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