Jeff Richardson says he is honoured to serve on the national cricket coaching staff and is looking forward to the new experience.

The Somerset Cup Match coach is a new addition to Herbie Bascome’s backroom staff, which also includes Irving Romaine, the former Bermuda captain, and Lorenzo Tucker.

“It is an honour to be involved at the national level, as it should be any coach’s dream to coach at that level,” Richardson said.

Richardson and Romaine have been placed in charge of the batting department and will also assist Bascome with fielding. Tucker is the team’s analyst and will also assist Bascome in the bowling department.

Richardson is about to embark on a new journey in what has been a glorious cricket career — both as a player at Western Stars and coach of a dominant Somerset team in the annual classic — as this is his first time coaching at the national level.

“I was approached by the previous administration, but declined at that time,” he added. “It wasn't a difficult decision this time simply because of the current situation we're in and the need to have all hands on deck to get the squad ready for the upcoming commitments.

“I have total respect for all involved as we all have the same goal in mind, and that is to take us to the next level.”

The national team is scheduled to compete in the T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Toronto, Canada, from July 17 to 23 as well as the second round of the Cricket World Cup Challenge League B in Jersey from September 1 to 14.

Richardson, a hard-hitting middle-order batsman in his heyday, is optimistic about Bermuda’s chances for success in their upcoming international commitments.

“Our future is bright as long as we make the right decisions going forward and push to get as many of our young talent as possible involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, Arnold Manders, the Bermuda Cricket Board president, sees Richardson as a valuable asset to the national coaching set-up.

“eff brings his passion and knowledge to an already stable management team,” Manders said of his former Stars and Bermuda team-mate. “He has a lot of knowledge and played at the national level as well.”

Manders added: “Jeff is from the old school. He understands about prior preparation prevents poor performance [the five P’s] and you can see the results he’s had since he’s been at Somerset Cricket Club, and particularly in Cup Match.

“The job that he has done at Somerset has been absolutely remarkable, turning them into the team that they are now.”

Richardson remains at the helm for Somerset and doesn’t see his new commitment at the national level as an added burden — at least not in the short term.

“My intentions are to continue coaching at SCC,” he said. “As for the burden, I don't see it being one at the moment but will obviously monitor the situation as it progresses.”

As well as coaching, Richardson is also pursuing Level Two coaching certification.

“We are now trying to get him to be a high-performance coach,” Manders said. “He is doing the Level Two course online, which we have about 28 other coaches doing.

“What we are looking to do is starting next year is make sure we get at least one elite coach into that course every year, so that we have more knowledgeable coaches who understand what high performance is and what it’s like to play at the international level.

“Hopefully, by another four, five years we will have enough qualified coaches at the high-performance level.”