Dear Sir,

Like many cricket fans I feel the year 2001, a year which held so much promise, specifically the opportunity for this island to make an impact on the international cricket scene and move on to the next stage of its cricket development was a major disappointment.

Bermuda's failure to advance beyond the first round of the ICC tournament coupled with defeat in the finals of the under 19 Youth tournament held at Somerset represented a devastating blow to all local cricket lovers.

It was really sad to hear former Bermuda and St. George Cup Match captain Calvin 'Bummy' Symonds, when interviewed by the media, question whether he will live to see Bermuda qualify for the World Cup.

It boggles the mind that after enduring such a horrific year there are those who nevertheless cry out for continuity. In my opinion our defeats were primarily due to a lack of preparation, I won't reiterate the details as I made my views clear in your newspaper earlier this year which lead to my immediate removal from the BCBC. Suffice to say that Bermuda's preparation in the last six months leading up to the competition was worse than that of the 1979 team more than 20 years ago.

On another note I do not want people to get the wrong impression with respect to my last letter to Sports Mailbox regarding BCBC vice-president Mr. Reggie Pearman who is running for the post of BCBC president soon to be vacated by El James.

Mr. Pearman like others has given yeoman service to the sport over the years and for that I, like other cricket lovers am grateful. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Pearman for his lengthy contribution to the game. All I am saying is that Mr. Pearman has a long record as far as sport administration is concerned at both club (Somerset) and national (BCBC) level and accordingly should be judged on it.

The same holds true for Mr. Wainwright. Both candidates should at the next AGM present their vision for the future of Bermuda cricket and give a general outline of how they plan to realise it. Only in this way will the right man be selected for the job.

Happy New Year to all,

Recman