of coach Roland Butcher.

Originally hoping for a late January return to the Island, Butcher has now told Bermuda Cricket Board of Control president El James that he needs to remain in England for a little longer.

The delay is being blamed on the slower than expected process of relocation by the former Middlesex and England middle order batsman, with the sale of his house, cars and other personal items holding up matters.

"He's just doing some final settling with his house and things, which is taking a little longer than he thought it would,'' explained James, who is keen to have the Barbados-born Butcher here as soon as possible.

"He's selling off cars and various items and will be down as soon as everything is settled.'' However, for the moment Butcher is forced to coach vicariously through another Barbadian -- staff coach Winston Reid, the former Somerset and Bermuda opener, who guided the team to second place at last year's America's Cup in Canada.

James said he didn't believe the prolonged absence of Butcher would adversely affect Bermuda's preparation for the upcoming tour by MCC or, more importantly, the side's participation at the ICC Trophy tournament in June.

"While he may not be physically on the Island, he is in constant touch with our staff coaches on a weekly basis,'' said James. "He's still writing up the (training) programmes and everything.'' As for whether Butcher was working on a blueprint for the overall development of cricket in Bermuda, James said: "That is something we will further discuss with him when he gets here. But right now he's done up something for the coaches to carry on with until he gets here, which he follows up with on a weekly basis to find out what's happening and makes changes accordingly.'' It would appear Butcher will be a busy man once he arrives, with the BCBC having made the unprecedented step of assembling three national squads to kick off a busy 2001 international campaign.

An under-15 squad has already been named and is currently in training, with an under-19 side also soon to be announced, while, as mentioned, the senior team is also being put through its paces, with both physical and tactical sides of the game being addressed.

Both youth teams are gearing up for regional tournaments, largely as a result of Bermuda being among the beneficiaries of a seven-year international programme that was arranged in Toronto, Canada, last summer with nations of the Americas region.

Officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the West Indies Cricket Board, called for a significant number of tournaments at three levels (senior, under-19 and under-15) to be held over an extended period, something James, who attended the meeting, had been pressing for since becoming head of the board two years ago.

In addition to having matches played at a regional level, plans also call for the eventual involvement of the under-19 and under-15 squads in World Cup competitions.

But the crowning event remains undoubtedly the ICC trophy, through which Bermuda could earn a place in the World Cup proper for the first time with a top placing in Toronto.

And that event will be followed by Bermuda's appearance once again in the Red Stripe tournament, where they won their first ever game last year, beating Cayman Islands.