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Bermuda is looking to secure the bulk of its cricket squad on pro contracts right through to the World Cup qualifier in Dubai and possibly beyond.

The ICC's decision to plough another $300 million into the global game puts the island in line to receive up to $1.5m a year in funding from the world governing body.

And Bermuda Cricket Board Chief Executive Neil Speight believes the time is ripe to professionalise the core of the national squad.

This week Stefan Kelly and OJ Pitcher became the latest players recruited on central contracts until the end of the summer as part of the High Performance Development Programme.

There are now seven players - Kelly, Pitcher, Rodney Trott, Tamauri Tucker, Stephen Outerbridge, Jekon Edness and Irving Romaine, who is the board's full-time development officer - contracted until September 13 as part of the pilot scheme.

The board is looking to work out deals with employers to have the rest of it's training squad, including the likes of George O'Brien, Chris Foggo and Oronde Bascome, available full-time until that date.

"That's the short term objective. After that we'll be able to look at what we can do up until Dubai

"In an ideal world we'd like to have the full training squad full time until the qualifier (in April)," said Speight.

Rather than being a short term measure aimed simply at that crucial World Cup qualifier in Dubai, the latest attempt to professionalise Bermuda cricket appears to be part of a bold long-term strategy - bolstered by the increase in ICC funding - to have a core of players available year-round.

"To be more competitive many countries are looking to have the ability to contract full-time or retain semi-professional players

"This is a great chance to further professionalise from an administration, management and playing point of view - There's exciting times ahead."

The BCB's preferred option is an extension of the current pilot scheme which started this summer - recruiting young players like Trott and Tucker to assist with school coaching programmes when they are not training or competing for Bermuda.

"We need to look at cricketers as people - people that need to advance themselves outside the game.

"An avenue where they can be the best cricketer they can be, but also learn a trade might be the best option. "We are getting better results when we get people for longer periods of time."

Nothing can be finalized until after that World Cup qualifier in Dubai because the level of funding Bermuda will receive is dependent on their performance in that tournament.

Under the new structure Bermuda will receive $165,000 automatically. If Gus Logie's side finish in the top ten in Dubai (out of 12) they will get a further $500,000.

Additional funding - most likely $175,000 in Bermuda's case - is allocated on a three-tier system based on the number of clubs, players, officials etc each country has.

Qualifying for the 20-20 World Cup and the 50-over World Cup (by finishing in the top three in Dubai) would take that funding up to $1.5million.

At the moment Bermuda gets $90,000 plus a $125,000 a year bonus for qualifying for the World Cup.

"We are playing year-round cricket and we need year-round funding," said Speight."[[In-content Ad]]

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