Former Bermuda Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) president Ed Bailey has encouraged the current administration to adopt a more open-minded approach on how they conduct the business of local cricket.

And he's suggested that it was time to "remodel" and explore new alternatives to help raise the standard of the local game.

Bailey made his comments on the eve of tonight's BCBC Annual General Meeting at Warwick Workmen's Club when the veteran lawyer could again throw his hat into the ring for the presidency. Bailey previously served in the BCBC's top post from 1984 to 1998.

Asked whether or not he would challenge current president Reggie Pearman, Bailey said: "I have been asked by the president of Willow Cuts to accompany him to the meeting. So I will be attending the meeting as a representative on behalf of Willow Cuts and I guess it will be a decision that I would have to make then."

Last year he failed in a bid to land the vacated second vice-president's post. That position went to Gary Fray, who is expected to challenge for the first vice-president's post should Keith Wainwright decide to stand down at tonight's meeting.

"I think that the BCBC must start from the beginning and remodel themselves on the pattern that I have seen demonstrated among Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland and Canada," said Bailey yesterday. "All of these countries are now heading towards first class status."

Bailey also called for more dialogue between the Board and its affiliates in order to determine what was in the best interests of local cricket.

"The blueprint for success is to basically maintain communications with all the stakeholders in cricket which would be inclusive from the Board itself," he said. ". . . setting up a very strong and dedicated liaison and going out and communicating from the top what the policies are likely to be or to find out from the bottom what they would like for Bermuda and at what pace. There must be a common ground between all stakeholders and not just the management of the BCBC to set policies and then send them out to the clubs and say, `hey look, this is what we want to achieve.' They must sit down and allow everyone else to have some sort of input on how best to achieve things and the best way of going about it."

Bailey said it was time for the BCBC to lift what he described as a monopoly on the decision-making process.

"It should be a process that is thought through by everyone and there should be a contribution from all quarters."

And he encouraged the current administration to venture beyond their inner circle when it came to making vital decisions.

"The Board should be having regular meetings - not only among themselves but with the executives of each and every club. . . meeting with the coaches of every club and also the club captains," he added.

"If the the clubs, coaches and captains are all aware of what the Board is trying to achieve the seeds will be sown from the very bottom and when the players reach the national level then the commitment will have already been instilled.

"The problem, I think, has been a lack of communication. It's fine to send a coach out to prepare a team but I also think that psychologically the team has to be prepared by the administration. The players must be told what competitions that they will participate in, what they hope to achieve from these competitions and also what they expect from each of the players instead of putting out a list of names or communicating through The Royal Gazette asking players to turn up for a meeting."

Bailey said he was saddened by the news that Keith Wainwright might stand down at tonight's meeting.

"I think it's a pity because we have to look ahead to the future and I had hoped that Keith would have remained onboard to learn more.

"He certainly has the ambition and is a very intelligent individual. Having played the game he understands the laws of the game and he may still have a future even if he may feel that his decision to run last year may have been premature.

"If you look at the current make-up of the Board's officers then it's quite obvious that we are going to need people like Keith in the near future."

Bailey also singled out Wendell Smith, Allan Douglas and John Tucker as individuals who had much to offer the game.

"I am looking forward to these people to come out and serve their internships," he added. "These people have all served Bermuda and I would like to see them come back and serve the country as administrators as well."

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