League cricket came to an end last weekend with the final week being full of action. The only thing left to decide is who will take the final spot in the Premier Division next year. Will it be Cleveland County or Western Stars?

I must congratulate the Bermuda Cricket Board for being bold enough to revert to two divisions after a year of one league. Its decision has made for an interesting season in both leagues and that is how it should be. Now the Board must sit and discuss how it can make the league even better for next season.

Last weekend was very interesting, as you saw St David’s battling with Southampton Rangers for the Premier Division title. Meanwhile, Cleveland and St George’s played in a match that resulted in the losing team being relegated. In the First Division, Flatts had to win their last game against Somerset Bridge to gain automatic promotion, as Western Stars were waiting for them to slip up. All of this was exciting and it was down to having two divisions, with promotion and relegation.

Reflecting on the season, what have been some of the positives? The standard of umpiring has improved and I like that they are communicating more with the players from time to time. For the most part, the wickets have been reasonably good. There is still room for improvement, but we are getting better. There have been less disciplinary problems this year compared with other seasons, for which I must give credit to the umpires in how they are handling situations.

What negatives can we reflect on from this season? Far too many games were postponed because of clubs having poor covers for their wickets. This is something that the Board needs to discuss with the clubs in the off-season so that it can be rectified for next season. Too many players showing up to games late and not affording themselves enough time to have a decent warm-up. Therefore, the standard of cricket was generally poor, which is highlighted by only three players scoring centuries in the Premier Division — and two of them came last weekend in the same inning.

When you think of how many teams were bowled out in fewer than 50 overs and how many teams failed to score 200 runs in a game this season, it is rather ridiculous.

Our cricket still has a very long way to go and it is so important that we get the right people working and coaching at clubs so that we can keep plugging away at this because it is not something that can or will be fixed overnight.

Having various chats with some people around cricket, they feel that there is no way back to having quality cricket in Bermuda. I beg to differ, hence I continue to try to make a difference. Cricket has a long way to go and it is important that the Board along with the clubs come up with a five-year plan to resurrect the game.

We can no longer just keep going through the motions because other countries are leaving us way behind, which is a direct result of us being in Division Three at World Cricket League level. If we are not careful, Division Four may be right around the corner.

As we enter the final stages of the season with the Twenty20 tournament, it will be interesting to see how many clubs actually play their strongest team or close to it. This is a tournament that I hate to throw young players into, but sometimes it is the only way of getting them valuable experience.

I would like to encourage all the players and clubs to finish the season on a positive note, thus ending cricket on a high, which will hopefully spill over into next year.

Quote of the week: “The glory of sport is witnessing a well-coached team perform as a single unit, striving for a common goal and ultimately bringing distinction to the jersey the players represent.” — Dick Vitale