As I sit here realising that our cricket is in the most depressing state in the history of our existence, I find it very difficult to see the silver lining around this dark cloud.This past week our national cricket team finished an embarrassing fifth place, demoting us to Division Three. It should have been a walk in the park to finish in the top four based on the calibre of our players, but obviously something went horribly wrong. There is no doubt changes must be made in cricket right from the top to the bottom (hint).Yesterday, I intermittently managed to follow the game live with The Royal Gazette, keeping abreast of the score as a win was mandatory. Josh Ball did an excellent job keeping the public informed of what was taking place as many expressed their views on the dire situation.No doubt cricket lovers are all saddened by what has taken place in Dubai but now we must dig deep and put our heads together to play the hand we have dealt ourselves and rebuild. The key will be to learn from what has happened in our cricket over the last 10 years and pull from the positive and ensure that we don't repeat the negative. Recognise that we have made huge mistakes as players and administrators and be mature enough to accept responsibility and not look to point fingers or make excuses.My first suggestion would be for the Cricket Board and national cricket team to do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, Threats) analysis. Once this is carried out we can then put short and long term goals in place with an idea of how we can achieve them.Secondly, we must identify players that love the game of cricket and have a passion for the game no matter the age group. Our next major tournament won't be for another 18 months, therefore we can tap into our Under 19s and even Under 15s.One question many followers will be asking is does this mean the end of Lionel Cann, Irving Romaine and lastly David Hemp?Irving stayed on when many of us bailed out from the 2005 team and his stay was vital to Bermuda at the time with the added experience he brought to the team.Lionel retired and came out of retirement to assist as he saw the team struggling for consistency. His ability has been an asset but even he couldn't save the day. Hemp came into the team when Bermuda qualified for World Cup and has been a solid performer for Bermuda over the past four years.Big question on Royal Gazette live was should Hemp resign? Personally speaking I think all three of these guys have played a valuable part in Bermuda cricket, but do they still have the drive and passion to push on and dig us out of this hole? Will the coach make the decision for them or they retire and make way for the next generation?Prior to the tournament Lionel stated in his column that this tournament would be tougher than the 2005 qualifiers and that this team were better prepared. I have to admit I fell over laughing when I read it, as I knew that the teams in this group were certainly of a lower calibre than those we faced in 2005, and players have gone on record to say they have never been part of such a committed, hardworking team. So to hear Lionel make those far-fetched comments actually angered some of his former team-mates and now to see these results all they can do is shake their head.I have to admit countries around the world are improving yearly, but yet we stand still. The thought of Bermuda losing to Uganda and Papua New Guinea would make me sick to my stomach and now that it has happened the feeling is even worse than that.Obviously we must find ways to improve our standard. Coach Moore has introduced the Elite League, but instead of doing it on a 20/20 level we should also look to do it on a 50-over level. Not only that, but it may be the time where we divide our leagues into smaller groups by having Premier, First and Second Division. This will help to have our better cricketers playing competitive cricket week in and week out.In hard times like these would incentives make a difference one may ask? An example of something to play for was shown in our local football. Dandy Town just went and played in the Concacaf tournament because they won the league . . . great incentive. Can cricket find a tournament that they can send the league champions to every year?Certainly there is more our administrators could do to spice up our game and make cricket more attractive to the players.With the result that we just had, many probably won't agree with this next suggestion. However, has the time come whereby we look to contract 14 players and make it their full-time job? If we don't move into a more professional environment then we might as well not enter tournaments and be recognised as a country that only plays cricket for fun.Bermuda, are you telling me that with the right coaching and training opportunities that these 14 players are not good enough to do Bermuda proud: OJ Pitcher, Steven Outerbridge, Delyone Borden, Dion Stovell, Chris Foggo, Jason Anderson, Malachi Jones, Rodney Trott, Chris Douglas, Damali Bell, Justin Pitcher, Stefan Kelly, Christian Burgess, Kamau Leverock. And believe me there are a few more that I haven't mentioned.What we need is foresight and vision to go along with application and dedication from all involved in cricket. We must revamp our national sport by going back to the basics. Take the game back to whites and the red ball, forget all the colour and flashy uniforms, they are only for show. Basics! Basics and more Basics!Forget what the world is doing, forget 20/20 cricket, it is garbage cricket, Bermuda needs more open cricket so we can develop our cricketers at a younger age. The reason we stopped playing open cricket so much is because our cricketers just like the game, therefore they would rather play the shorter version of the game. That is part of the reason why we are in the state we are in now. At the end of the day we need to do what is best for Bermuda cricket.Cricket is in our blood, cricket is in our history and cricket will be around for years and years to come. The question I ask all current, recent, and former players is now that we are in a hole deeper than ever before, what part will you play in helping us to rekindle our greatness?Please don't just sit on the side and continue to boast about how great cricket was when you played? That's simply not going to be good enough!