Almost six years ago, there were scenes of jubilation in Ireland and Bermuda when the Island’s cricketers secured qualification to the World Cup for the first time ever.Yesterday was very different. Bermuda was relegated to Division III of the International Cricket Council’s Associate nations leagues.From playing against the likes of India, Sri Lanka and England, Bermuda will now toil against the minnows of world cricket.It would be wrong to single out any one individual or factor in Bermuda’s decline, but there is no doubt that the decline has been precipitous.In 2005, this newspaper said that investment in cricket would be essential if the Island was to avoid humiliation in the 2007 World Cup and if cricket was to continue to grow and develop.That belief was correct, although it is also true to say that Bermuda was comprehensively outplayed in that World Cup in Trinidad.And despite the calls for investment, it was still a shock when the Government announced it was giving $11 million to cricket and that shock was redoubled when $15 million was later given to football.These contributions, aside from being poster children for the financial profligacy of a Government that now cannot afford to run its ferries, were entirely disproportionate to the funding given to other sports, let alone to other important activities in society, such as the arts.It is impossible to know where football and cricket would be without the $26 million that was jointly pledged to them. But it is hard to imagine that they would be in much worse shape.Bermuda is now playing in the minor leagues of cricket. Bermuda does not have a national football team. Bermuda’s under 23 football team, which has received considerable attention, fell far short in qualifying for the Under 23 World Cup.Football at least can claim that it remains a widely played and popular sport, and it has been able to develop players like Nakhi Wells and Reggie Lambe who may well enjoy successful professional careers.But cricket seems to be dying on the vine. Although its youth programmes are better than they were a decade ago, it is barely taught in the schools, being squeezed in between track and exams in the summer term. And it is not uncommon for teams in the adult leagues to fail to field a full side.Not all of the fault for this can be laid with the administrators of the game. But no one can say that Bermuda’s cricket is where it should be six years after the triumph of qualification for the World Cup. Someone needs to be held accountable.It must also be said that Bermuda’s national team players must take some responsibility. Having been given extraordinary opportunities denied to many of their predecessors, the feeling that they squandered them is inescapable.Players who fail to train, who opt out of tours at the last minute and who fail to exercise discipline on and off the field do not just embarrass themselves, they embarrass all Bermudians. When they are selected to play for Bermuda, they represent all of Bermuda and that honour carries with it obligations that have not always been fulfilled. No one expects continual success. But continued effort is expected.It may be that this Island of 65,000 people punched well above its weight in sports for a very long time, and that this has raised expectations to an unsustainable level.And no one would dispute that sports are important to a community at several levels notably public health, the building of values like teamwork and self-sacrifice and ,yes, in building pride.But priorities have to be set. Would Bermuda be better off today if that $26 million had been spent on university scholarships, job training and the like? At this point, in this recession, the answer has to be yes.