Bermuda cricket has often found itself at an awful disadvantage on the international front due to a limited pool of players to choose from and the fact the sport is played primarily for recreational purposes locally.

?People are too busy making money to give arduous thought to cricket. Apart from the big Cup Match between Somerset and St.George?s, cricket is played more or less with one eye on the clock and the other inside the pavilion,? the late Dr.E.F. Gordon ? a founding member of the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) ? once stated.

Yet in a bold effort to bridge the enormous gap, attempts were made prior to the Second World War to have several of the smaller Caribbean Islands ? among them Bermuda ? affiliate under one umbrella.

It was perceived then that Bermuda cricket would benefit immensely from cementing closer ties with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) who were fast gaining ascendancy in the Test arena at the time.

But for whatever reasons, the BCBC ? formed in 1938 ? never bought into the concept nor the West Indies? first ever tour of the Island in 1939.

Still, there are those who believe to this present day the Island should join forces with its Caribbean neighbours at some point in the future, among them Noel Gibbons ? arguably the finest all-rounder Bermuda ever produced.

?I have always believed affiliating ourselves with the West Indies would be a good move for Bermuda because of our close proximity to the Caribbean,? the former St.George?s Cup Match, Bailey?s Bay and Bermuda international cricketer told .

?I also believe we should be competing in some of the regional tournaments in the Caribbean annually because our players would only improve.?

The idea of having Bermudian cricketers venture to the Caribbean first came about in 1933 when late BCBC president Alma (Champ) Hunt underwent trials in Trinidad for the West Indies Test team prior to their upcoming tour of England.

Hunt, who also played professionally in Scotland, impressed WICB selectors with his fine all-round ability, but was eventually overlooked on a technicality ? Bermuda was not affiliated with the WICB.

In the early 1990s current Bermuda skipper Clay Smith scored successive centuries in the Red Stripe Bowl and Glenn Blakeney had an equally superb innings facing some of the top bowling attacks in the region ? performances which prompted further calls for the Island to affiliate with its southern neighbours.

There are those who argue to this very day that the likes of Sheridan, Eldon and Lee Raynor, Dennis Wainwright, Austin (Cheesey) Hughes and Nigel (Choppa) Hazel ? to name a few ? along with ex-pats Lionel Thomas and Colin Blades all stood realistic chances of making the grade in the West Indies during their heyday.

?There are several cricketers from this Island who I?ve always thought were worthy of trying out for the West Indies,? said Gibbons, who twice toured the Middle East with a World XI under the captaincy of former West Indies all-rounder Alvin Kallicharran in the late 1980s.

Gibbons also turned down a lucrative contract to play professionally in South Africa at the height of a successful domestic career which saw him become the first batsman to surpass 1,000 runs in the popular Eastern Counties Cup competition.

?Bermuda should be affiliated with the West Indies because realistically speaking from a cricket sense we are never going to compete with the big Test teams in the world on our own,? he added. ?I?ve been around cricket all of my life and I don?t see this happening anytime soon. And I say that not to stand on anyone?s toes, but purely from a cricket sense.?

Since qualifying for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies nearly a year ago, the Island?s national squad have gone winless in nine straight limited overs international matches.

Cup Match?s all-time leading wicket taker, Clarence Parfitt, says Bermuda will face many difficult obstacles and setbacks making the transition to playing more consistently against high calibre opposition with a greater pool of players to select from.

?It?s going to take a lot of bumps and bruises at this level,? Parfitt said, speaking from his home in Scotland.

?Bermuda was very fortunate to qualify for the World Cup without having to play any international cricket and now that they are playing more against international countries they are beginning to find out they have to work twice as hard.?

Gibbons was also critical of a decision to send Bermuda on a tour of Dubai last month.

?Going down to Dubai and getting beaten in five straight matches did not help our cricket,? he argued. ?If anything that tour might have discouraged some of the players because I?ve toured Dubai in the past and you never know what you are going to come up against down there. We should be touring places where we can be competitive and not losing heavily.

?I?ve actually spoken to one or two national team players since their return from Dubai and they were not talking as jolly as they were before they left. We got beaten 5-0 by a team that didn?t even qualify for the World Cup and that is a bit discouraging.

?But I still think Bermuda should be affiliated with the West Indies because we are never going to compete against countries such as Australia, England or the West Indies. I support the national team 100 percent and always give them my best, but talking from a cricket sense this will never happen.?