The National Sports Centre is in need of ?quite a significant revamp? if it is to be fit to host One Day International cricket, according to the latest International Cricket Council representative to visit the Island.

ICC venue inspector and match referee Jeff Crowe has been in Bermuda since Sunday in order to assess the infrastructure at three of the Island?s leading cricket grounds.

Crowe, a former New Zealand Test batsman and cousin of Oscar winner Russell Crowe, spent yesterday visiting the National Sports Centre, Lords and White Hill Field ? the only grounds big enough to host One Day International cricket ? and is set to produce a report for the Bermuda Cricket Board detailing what needs to be done to bring the facilities in line with ODI regulations.

Crowe?s visit is the result of a growing urgency within the BCB to have the proper facilities in place as soon as possible ? making it easier to persuade more international teams to travel to Bermuda and lessen the burden of multiple overseas tours for the national team in search of competitive cricket.

Sports Minister Dale Butler has already stated that he thinks it ?unlikely? Bermuda will possess a ODI ground before the World Cup next year.

?There is no doubt that the NSC has got an enormous amount of potential,? Crowe told yesterday.

?I do not pretend to be a soil expert and that is not my job here. I understand there have been some issues with the pitch but hopefully with the help of (ICC pitch consultant) Andy Atkinson that can be resolved in the not too distant future.

?My role is to look at the infrastructure available and match that with the regulations as laid down by the ICC in terms of what a ground needs to have in order to host One Day Internationals.

?There is still a fair bit of work to be done on that facility (the NSC) in order for it to reach the standards that we?re looking for.?

Crowe?s comments provide further confirmation that the North Field at the NSC is a long way from hosting top-level international cricket.

Problem areas ? many of which have been the subject of media coverage in the past ? include the inadequate size of the changing rooms in the current cricket pavilion, both for players and umpires, the lack of sizeable physiotherapy and media facilities and even the close proximity of the changing rooms of each team on the ground floor.

In their defence meanwhile, the Trustees have repeatedly insisted that the pavilion on the North Field was only designed as a temporary home for cricket and that the necessary infrastructure will be in place when the long-awaited centre core is complete.

The last finishing date mentioned by them was some time in 2008 ? a year or potentially less before the national team will put their ODI status on the line at the ICC Trophy.

?One of the most frustrating things for us since we qualified for the World Cup is that despite being given One Day International status until 2009, we do not have a ground in Bermuda with the requisite facilities to host such games,? said BCB chief executive Neil Speight yesterday while accompanying Crowe on his tour.

?We have looked at what we currently have at our disposal and only the NSC, Lords and White Hill are close to meeting the size requirements for ODI grounds.

?Having Jeff out here as a venue inspector is the next step. He will be able to put us more clearly in the picture as to where we are and what we need to do to get at least one of our grounds up to scratch.

?Once we have his report, we can then sit down with the Trustees of the NSC or the club executives at Lord?s and White Hill and discuss what we need, how much it might cost and how we proceed.?