The Bermuda Cricket Board has received the Working in Partnerships award at the International Cricket Council Americas three-day conference in Costa Rica.

Billy MacDermott, the ICC Americas regional development officer, announced the BCB as the winner of the accolade at an award ceremony in which Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Falkland Islands were recipients of other awards.

“Bermuda has been leading efforts with other members in terms of development,” MacDermott said.

“Developing the Americas website and for inviting the Americas Select team to play in Bermuda. Now they’re one of the members pushing the North American Cup, which will happen for the first time this year.”

Cal Blankendal, the BCB executive director, accepted the award and said it was an honour to see how the island is respected by fellow members.

“It’s always a pleasure to receive an award on behalf of the Bermuda Cricket Board from the regional members,” Blankendal said.

“The awards are voted for by the members themselves, so it’s good to see that the members still hold Bermuda in high regard.

“We look forward to working and collaborating with more of the members in 2025, and beyond.”

Players from Argentina, Brazil, Bahamas, Canada, Falkland Islands, and the United States toured the island last September. They faced Bermuda in two T20 matches while planned limited overs fixtures against Cup Match sides, St George’s and Somerset, were abandoned due to heavy rain.

Another collaborative effort led to the birth of the North American Cup, scheduled for April 19 to 27 in Cayman Islands. This will feature Cal Waldron’s side squaring off against Canada, Cayman, the US, and Bahamas, in matches that will serve as perfect preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup qualifier regional final to be played in Canada in June.

The website created by Blankendal gives the ICC Americas members outside West Indies more visibility. It is particularly aimed at giving exposure to countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, where football is the main sport.