National team players' apathetic approach to training in the lead-up to the Americas Cup will be addressed immediately should Keith Wainwright take over as president of Bermuda Cricket Board of Control.

With the Board's annual general meeting scheduled for next Thursday, the battle for presidency remains a two-horse race between Wainwright and slight favourite Reginald Pearman.

Wainwright yesterday revealed how he had been greatly disturbed by the pressure senior players were putting on the coaching committee by refusing to train, and he declared he would seek to address that problem immediately, given the opportunity.

"One thing I can promise is that if I get elected the Board will not be going through anything like they are going through now, with this apathy towards training," said Wainwright.

"I don't know the reasons why they are not coming out for training but it's not a good sign when you are chosen to represent your country in an international competition. However, when you are indecisive from the get-go like we were with the Roland Butcher (former national coach) situation, then problems will come up."

While admitting that he didn't have any written plan as regards countering the problem over training, he said that picking as many as 27 players from the outset and having them begin training just as the soccer season kicked off was not a sound decision.

"It was crazy. What's the sense of picking that many players and with some of them being new, what sort of training preparation would they be able to do during the off season in order to impress the coaches?" he said.

"If you had to go ahead with training back then it made more sense to have picked 18 or 20 players and then you make your next cut. That way you would be only decreasing it by five players.

"But the truth of the matter is that if I am a new player among 30 and going to all of the sessions, there is no way that I would be able to do sufficient to improve myself and hope to impress the selectors.

"The squad was too big when you consider there wasn't much time to train from November to March. If they were preparing for something like the Red Stripe Bowl later this year and with a full season of cricket just ahead then that would be fine."

With Bermuda being involved in regional play-offs for positions in the 2006 World Cup, Wainwright pointed out the importance of competing regularly in the Americas regional competitions.

He said that the Americas should be looked at as an equivalent to CONCACAF who control regional soccer - a hub to prepare for the flight to major competitions like the World Cup.

"Players just don't seem to get it, any Americas competition from now on is vital to our international future at all levels," Wainwright insisted.

His opponent in the presidential election, Pearman, recently revealed his immediate remedy for the apathy was for the Board's executives and coaching committee to meet with each player one on one and sort out their needs and concerns, and solicit their commitment before officially naming them to the squad.

While it remains to be seen just what Wainwright would implement to avoid a recurrence of the plight facing coaches, he does have a plan for next week's AGM - to make a spirited challenge.

"My position hasn't changed, I will be running. I haven't heard about anybody else running other than Mr. Pearman who I have always respected, and I am looking forward to the challenge at Warwick Workmen's Club," he said.

"I am not even thinking about running for vice-president if I lose. I am an optimist and not giving a thought to losing. Right now I am just looking forward to the race for presidency, whatever happens after that just happens."