One of Herbie Bascome’s first priorities ahead of the ICC Americas Regional Twenty20 World Cup qualifying tournament is to instil more national pride in Bermuda’s cricketers.

Bascome, who was unveiled as the new Bermuda coach yesterday, plans to have former Bermuda captain Janeiro Tucker on his coaching staff along with Jeff Richardson, the Somerset Cricket Club coach, and Reggie Tucker continuing in the role as fielding coach.

“What I really want is to get the better cricketers playing for Bermuda,” Bascome said.

His first major tournament will be the T20 qualifiers that Bermuda will host from August 15 to 25, involving Canada, the United States and Cayman Islands. The top two countries will advance to the global qualifier in November.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that the BCB has given me to lead our country’s team,” Bascome added. “I have been fortunate to have had outstanding experience as assistant coach to Gus Logie when we were a Division One team.

“I’m fully committed to moving our cricket back towards those high-performance levels, starting with a strong showing in August in the T20. I encourage players to commit to playing for our country and restoring pride at the national level.”

He added: “I’ve been thinking about coaching Bermuda since 2005, when I first got the opportunity to coach with Gus Logie. Sometimes in life you have to answer to your own calling and this is my calling. I’ve always been keen on building a relationship between the national squad and the clubs.

“I want Bermuda players to go into the clubs and coach what they’re learning with the national team. I’m definitely looking to Janeiro to be a part of my coaching staff, we have a good rapport when it comes to communicating with the players.

“Janeiro is going to be a good asset to help the country get to the next level.

“I’m looking for Reggie Tucker to assist with fielding, and Jeff Richardson is going to be a big influence in trying to help get cricket to the next level. I admire what Jeff has brought to the game and what he has done at Somerset [in Cup Match] That’s the qualities I’m looking for him to bring in assisting me with the national squad.

“I talked to Jeff briefly and he has some other commitments, but has told me he’s going to give me 100 per cent once he’s able to be a part of it.”

Bascome added: “My main goal is to bring the players together and get them appreciating one another.

“We have social issues that I’m concerned about. My goal is to get the players to buy into one another so we can be committed to the task of playing cricket.”

Lloyd Smith, the BCB president, said he is looking forward to Bascome coming on board in the part-time role.

“Herbie has devoted his life to our great sport and brings great passion and experience to the role,” Smith said.

“Bermuda has a very busy schedule ahead with our participation in the 50-overs ICC World Cup Challenge League, which will feature three tournaments in 30 months and even more frequent T20 commitments.

“We are excited to be hosting the regional T20 Qualifier in August and looking forward to Herbie leading our players into one of the two qualifying places to the global qualifier in November. Following a best practice and transparent process the high-performance committee selected Mr Bascome as the best candidate to navigate the performance of the national senior men’s squad.”

Bascome fills the void left by Clay Smith, who stepped aside months after his contract was allowed to expire.