EVEN though we are in the winter months, in the middle of the football season, cricket has come to the forefront again.

With the season merely three months’ away clubs will be starting to have meetings and preparing for pre-season training.

The national team will be back in action as they prepare to travel to South Africa and Namibia for training and matches.

However, the big question all cricket lovers wanted to know about the coach has now been answered. Yesterday the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) officially informed Bermuda that David Moore had been offered and accepted the head coaching job.

February is close upon us and before you know it May will be staring us in the face and cricket season will be back up and running. Last year seemed to run pretty smoothly with the exception of one or two hiccups.

I applaud Allen Richardson and his technical team as I think the format of last season worked well. Playing the Open League, followed by the 50 overs League, then finishing with the 20/20, was a great way to keep up interest in cricket for the entire season.

Now that the format is already in place it is my hope and several other cricketers/coaches’ hopes that we can get a schedule out as early as possible.

Last year I know the BCB’s hands were tied because clubs were changing fields at the last minute and club fields were not open for the start of the season.

Having prior knowledge of when fields are available allows the Board to arrange and prepare a schedule to be distributed to the clubs a lot earlier than normal. Just for the record, when things are done early it shows professionalism and organisation.

There may be one little glitch this year with the schedule as the Bermuda national team will be hosting the Americas Tournament here in Bermuda.

This could mean that the Board may decide to do away with the Open League this season to open up a few dates for this tournament. It will most likely be played during the week, but it could use up two weekends.

Prior to the team playing in the Americas Tournament in Bermuda, the national team will be venturing to South Africa and then on to Namibia. While on tour they will play a few one-day games followed by a four-day game against Namibia.

In preparation for that, the team is currently training at Berkeley gym under the watchful eye of Under-19 coach Andre Manders.

With Manders being asked to run the sessions in the head coach’s absence it is more than likely he will be inserted as the new assistant coach. This will be a great opportunity and experience for him to improve himself and learn from a quality coach.

Personally speaking I respect all the coaches and their coaching abilities. The task ahead for any coach coaching at the national level here in Bermuda is tough.

To coach at the national level you have to have passion, you have to have drive, you have to be stern, you must not let politics creep into your team selection, and everything you do has to be done in the best interest of the country.

Having said that I think the BCB should take a page out of the Bermuda Football Association’s book. When hiring or choosing an assistant coach or coaches to work under a national coach, they should let them take a training session from beginning to end and also do a theory session with the players, while being monitored by the national coach.

What is good about this is that it allows the national coach to see several things:

1 Do the players respect the coach?

2 Are the coach’s drills sound, effective and efficient to cricket?

3 What type of relationship does the coach have with the players?

4 Is the coach knowledgeable and comfortable talking?

5 How the coach handles pressure?

Truthfully speaking all coaches should be made to do this so that the head coach can then disperse coaches where he feels they are best suited, pertaining to the various age brackets.

Having said all of that I strongly urge the national team players to step their game up.

While many think Bermuda cricket is at a low, I personally think there are many very talented players out there, but the difference is collectively you all must come together and be one.

If this group of players can get the cohesiveness that the team that qualified in Ireland had I am sure they can surpass our achievements, but it is a mindset.

Do the players today have the drive and passion it is going to take to get us back on the map?

Lastly, I must applaud the BCB for hosting the Americas Tournament here this year. It will be a great opportunity for our young cricketers and local cricket fans to watch some quality cricket.

How sweet would it be for our team to actually win the tournament on local soil? Make it happen guys!