over fighting drugs in sports and told Government: "Put your money where your mouth is.'' A trained drugs counsellor, Mr. Bascome also revealed he made a fruitless offer to help the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) two years ago.

"They said they would get back to me, but they never did,'' he declared in the wake of the Malaysia cricket tour rumpus.

Mr. Bascome believed his services could have averted the controversy.

BCBC president Ed Bailey, however, told The Royal Gazette he was not aware of the offer.

It emerged this week at least two Bermuda cricketers allegedly smoked marijuana in their hotel room during last month's World Cup qualifying tournament in Malaysia -- a country where drug traffickers face the death penalty.

Board officials, facing resignation calls and hit by claims they tried to conceal the allegations, admit the team was not officially tested or drug searched before or after the tour.

The BCBC has now set up a committee to investigate the drug suspicions, several weeks after the team's return to Bermuda.

Yesterday Mr. Bailey said lawyer Michael Mello would be chairman of the inquiry.

The other members would be Postmaster General Clevelyn Crichlow and Supt.

Campbell Simons, from Bermuda Police.

Mr. Bailey said official letters had been sent asking them to join the committee.

"They are volunteering their service and we will offer them secretarial services,'' he said. "The terms of reference of the committee will be to look into the allegation. It's a one-off inquiry. Let's hope it gets under way soon.'' Mr. Bailey said the committee would hold its hearings in private.

Public sessions, he added, could stifle open discussion and lead to reputations being tarnished, perhaps unfairly.

The sports controversy has revived memories of the 1994 "Miami Seven'' soccer saga when seven players were arrested for alleged possession of marijuana.

Yesterday Mr. Bascome, now a Salvation Army programme director, said: "We've got to recognise we have a cultural problem in this Country with the acceptance of marijuana.

"When I compiled a report in 1995 after the Miami affair I made it clear it wasn't a football problem but a community problem.

"As long as we go on thinking other sports aren't affected we will see a recurrence of the same problem.'' Mr. Bascome, trained locally and overseas as a counsellor, said Bermuda already possessed weapons to combat drug problems.

And he claimed he developed the "Athletes Assistance Programme'' after the Miami incident.

"I had offered my services to BCBC two years ago when I developed the programme which deals with drug testing and counselling for the Bermuda Football Association.

Cricket and drugs "They said they would get back to me, but they never got back to me. They got caught up in organising a trip and getting everything else done.

"I have developed a workable policy that could be utilised by any sporting body that takes trips overseas. If testing procedures had been put in place before the Malaysian trip we may not have been in this mess now.'' He explained his services involved collecting urine samples and making sure they got to a laboratory.

Confidentiality would be assured by giving each player a number, which would be placed on the samples, said Mr. Bascome.

"The lab sends me back the numbers, I then put them against the name. And I will provide counselling if anyone needs it.'' He added he had offered his services free of charge to the BCBC for the coming Under-19 tour -- an offer which Mr. Bailey yesterday thanked him for.

Mr. Bascome also urged Government to play its part in helping sports organisations set up drug testing programmes.

"The only way in which you are going to have a truly comprehensive programme is if the funds are provided for it...Government needs to put their money where their mouths are.'' Mr. Bascome said the Government laboratory should be made available for testing urine samples, which costs $15 per person.

"You want to make sure that if you're having a team abroad you're going to test them a minimum of twice before they leave. While overseas you may also want to do random tests with athletes to make them know the anti-drugs policy is still in place.'' Editorial: Page 4 Sports Opinion: Page 13 CRICKET CRI SPORTS SP GOVERNMENT GVT