The start of the cricket season has been delayed by a week from its planned May 8 start, the Bermuda Cricket Board confirmed yesterday.

Steven Douglas, the cricket Committee chairman at the Bermuda Cricket Board, informed the clubs yesterday afternoon that the season would not be able to start as planned because some grounds are not ready following a long season of football.

The final rounds of First and Premier Division matches were held on April 3 and 10, after which clubs began preparing their pitches for the cricket season.

“We were looking to start next week but don’t have the availability of fields so we have advised the clubs that we will be rescheduling for the following weekend,” Douglas told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s always a challenge, we work very hard with the Bermuda Football Association.

“With stop and starts for them, we just do our best together as two entities.

“Hopefully we can start earlier next season. I know the BFA will do the best it can and we’ll do the best we can.

“There may be one or two more clubs having lights next year and if that comes on board it could lend to their season ending earlier and more time for us to start our season earlier.

“There is a silver lining behind every dark cloud. It gives the groundsmen more time to prepare and the teams more time to prepare.

“It’s not all lost, we just may have to catch up with a double weekend of 50 overs cricket.”

Douglas remembers the days when the cricket season would regularly start in April, however cricket always has the challenge of needing time to prepare their wickets after football had ended for those clubs that cater to both sports.

“I realise that there are cubs with dual sports but we just have to make it count,” he added.

“Going forward we have to look very carefully at what cricket we play and how we play it.”

After two summers of interruptions because of Covid, the BCB is planning a full season of cricket in the 50 overs and Twenty20 competitions, as well as county matches and Cup Match.

Last season the main league was the T20 competition which started in late June and finished in mid-September with St George’s emerging as the champions.

“We’ll have everything this summer, 50 overs, T20, counties and Cup Match,” said Douglas who wears another hat as the president of the Eastern Counties.

That competition will play their three matches on July 16, August 13 and August 23 at St David’s.

Champions St David’s will play Flatts in the first round, with Cleveland the second round opponents before Bailey’s Bay meet the winners in the final in late August.

Excitement is building around Bailey’s Bay with the recent confirmation that Gus Logie, the former West Indies batsman and Bermuda national team coach, will be the head coach at Sea Breeze Oval this summer.

Clay Smith is taking over the coaching of St George’s from brother Wendell who led the team to T20 success last summer.

The east enders have strengthened their team with the signing of Rodney Trott who joins them from Bailey’s Bay, while Sinclair Smith and Zeko Burgess are returning to St George’s after a few seasons at Bay.

Malachi Jones has left Southampton Rangers to join Warwick Workmen’s Club in another big name move.