There appears no way back for former national cricket coach Roland Butcher, who resigned last week just weeks ahead of the ICC Trophy tournament he had been hired to prepare the Bermuda team for.

On Tuesday Butcher, speaking from his base in England, expressed a burning desire to return to Bermuda once the legal proceedings in which he is involved are rectified. However, Bermuda Cricket Board of Control president El James, while sympathising with the Englishman and conceding that the ultimate decision lay with the coaching committee, intimated Butcher had already conducted his final session.

"I feel sorry for him in a sense, because he was committed to the programme,'' said James. "But unfortunately, as I told you all along, there were some circumstances that he thought would have been over a lot sooner, and had been promised in writing that it would be over, but it just dragged on.

"We have a coaching committee that makes those type of decisions, but the situation is that it is over. He's resigned and at this particular time the coaching committee is left to review its options and decide on where to go.'' Asked how soon the Board might have someone in place, James said that they would have someone in place "very, very soon''.

James also took the opportunity to sing the praises of staff coaches Winston Reid and Clevie Wade, who he said had shown remarkable grit and fortitude, soldiering on in the face of the Butcher saga that had become a major distraction.

"Like I've said before, Reid and Clevie have done a tremendous job in getting the guys ready,'' said James. "One thing I do believe is that we have several excellent coaches here in Bermuda and I would dearly like to see them go through and get that advanced course certification, because all that our guys here lack is that final qualification.

"Both of the current staff coaches have gone on the first two courses and are only left with having to complete the final.'' Further to the coaching situation James pronounced that a purpose-built facility will be made available to the various national squads within the next two years, in order to prevent the nomadic training regimen the side has had to endure in the current build-up.

"The other thing that we're working on, and I don't want to see this happen because it happened to me in '79 when we were playing and over the years since and here we are now celebrating 100 years of Cup Match and more than 140 years of cricket, is to assure that the national body provides a top quality training facility.'' James implored Bermuda and all its citizens to back the team in their current quest, which he was optimistic of resulting in a World Cup berth.

"We've certainly made some tremendous strides in the two-and-a-half years that we've been in office,'' he said. "Yes, we've hit some obstacles, but it hasn't stopped us from moving forward, and right now, the team, the administration, and I hope the country as well, are looking forward, rooting, and rallying behind the guys and encouraging them to go to Canada and bring back a place in the next World Cup and restore some pride in this game.

"From a personal standpoint I say that no matter what they do, they'll restore some pride, and feel that even right now they are a proud unit and they're going to do some good things over there.'' Fans want top coach -- Page 17 MCC profiles -- Page 15 El James: Feels sorry for Butcher.