A NEW season begins next weekend with local cricket facing challenges the likes of which it hasn't for some time.

And without doubt the most difficult of these challenges will be the reintroduction after more than 20 years of two-day cricket, a game with which precious few of the Island's players are familiar.

Take away those who have had the privilege of playing Cup Match and there aren't too many who have experienced the extended version of the game.

What they're about to discover might not be to their liking - although that's not to say Bermuda Cricket Board aren't making the right decision.

Indeed they're only following a strong recommendation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) who have decreed that all cricket-playing nations need to introduce some kind of multi-day competition into their programme in order to further develop the sport.

That's all well and good, but in a small island such as Bermuda with limited resources, not necessarily practical.

What everybody connected with the game - administrators, officials, umpires, scorers and players - are about to discover is that playing over two days requires enormous sacrifices and an enormous amount of commitment.

For the majority it will mean giving up their only two days of the week to devote entirely to cricket. Factor in training sessions in midweek, and for the players it leaves little or no time to devote to family, friends or any other kind of social activity.

For those in the tourism industry, in the Police or Fire service or are involved in any job which requires working unsociable hours, the option of playing two-day cricket might not even exist.

Understandably, the BCB intend to phase in the two-day game with a limited, almost experimental, schedule. As yet that schedule hasn't even been released, and in a season which includes a number of international commitments - Americas Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Caribbean youth tournament - in addition to the various Cup and Counties competitions as well as the one-day league, it's going to be difficult to strike the right balance.

What is certain, though, is that players and umpires in particular face an incredibly heavy workload and it will be interesting to see how they cope.

With football enjoying something of a renaissance under coach Kenny Thompson, it now remains to be seen whether our ‘other' national sport can keep pace.

Some would argue that cricket is our ‘only' national sport, the game identified by the rest of the world that historically we have played best.

But it's been a number of years since we've made any impact on the international stage.

In hosting the Americas Cup - a regional qualifier for the ICC Trophy in Ireland which in turn decides which teams will compete in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies - Bermuda has a chance to turn the tide.

There's sufficient talent to make the most of that opportunity.

But at the end of the day commitment will be the key.

Those who don't want to or simply can't give the time that will be required to make the upcoming season a success could ultimately determine the game's fate.