Top groundsman Tony Hemming will be in Bermuda to lend a helping hand in an effort to boost the country’s chances of hosting One Day Internationals (ODI).In an effort to help the Island meet the standard for ODI’s, both regionally as well as internationally, Hemming will host a cricket pitch preparation and maintenance seminar for one week, starting April 23 at the National Sports Centre (NSC).On hand for the announcement was Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney, Bermuda Cricket Board’s (BCB) CEO Neil Speight, and Sean Tucker, chairman of the NSC Board of Trustees.Hemming is the head curator of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Global Cricket Academy in Dubai, and has run similar international seminars previously.“As well as being a top groundsmen, Mr Hemming is an excellent educator, and we are confident that he will bring a wealth of experience to this training initiative, which we expect will prove to be very beneficial to the continued development of cricket in Bermuda,” said Blakeney.“The initiative arose from direct discussions that the Ministry had with various officials at the ICC headquarters in Dubai last year and I express our interest to them about improving the quality of our pitches in support of an overall objective to seek ODI status in the future.The primary objective of the seminar would be to conduct an assessment of the NSC pitch where most international matches are played.The visit will also include visits to selected cricket grounds around the Island to examine the current condition of cricket pitches, with a view towards offering advice on how the pitches may be improved in the future.“It is my firm belief that we can use this initiative to improve the quality of cricket in Bermuda and in doing so take cricket to greater sustainable heights in the future.”The examination and inspection pitches such as Sea Breeze Oval, Somerset Cricket Club, and Lords in St David’s will not effect the scheduling of the domestic season.