HERE we are at the height of the soccer season and guess what? It's cricket that continues to steal all of the headlines. And, in the main, for all the wrong reasons.

Bermuda Football Association are no strangers to controversy but over the past year even they've been as quiet as mice compared to their Cedar Avenue neighbours.

When El James finally relinquished the presidency at last night's Bermuda Cricket Board of Control (BCBC) annual general meeting it must have felt like a huge weight off his shoulders.

Conversely, new chief Reggie Pearman must be wondering what he's let himself in for.

As much as James has done to revitalise the sport, and in many ways he's done a remarkable job, he and his executives have been consistently thwarted by the very people they've been attempting to assist.

First there was Roland Butcher, the former English Test cricketer whose failure to honour his commitment as national coach led directly to the next debacle, Bermuda's early elimination at the ICC Trophy.

(Notice how Butcher has been attempting to make amends of late, organising trials with county side Middlesex for two of our top youngsters. An honourable gesture, Roland - but where were you when we needed you most?)

More recently, there's been the preparation - or lack of - for next month's Americas Cup tournament in Argentina.

Players have shown a reluctance to train. Nobody bar Clay Smith wanted the captaincy. And Smith himself decided that if he couldn't be captain he wouldn't play at all.

All in all, it's been a sad indictment on the local game.

The eventual appointment this week of 40-year-old Charlie Marshall as skipper probably raised a few eyebrows.

And that's not meant to reflect in any way on the veteran player. But it's no secret that his recall by the BCBC was a last resort.

Marshall had made it clear after the ICC Trophy flop last summer that he wanted to stand aside and give others a chance to prove their worth.

But apparently, in his absence, nobody else was willing to fill the void. Nobody had any desire, let alone burning desire, to captain their country, outside of Smith.

In most, if not every, country in the world, it's considered the pinnacle of a sportsman or sportswoman's career to lead out his or her national team.

Here nobody wants the responsibility, and some don't even care whether they're picked for their country or not.

At the death, with the BCBC facing a Wednesday deadline this week by which to submit the names of their squad to the International Cricket Council, they practically had to beg Marshall to skipper the team.

Is there any wonder Bermuda's decline on the international cricket ladder has been so severe.

If there's a silver lining to this sorry saga, it's that the squad chosen does include a number of promising youngsters who hopefully will prove a thing or two to the senior players who are being left behind.

If nothing else, they can perhaps demonstrate the enthusiasm and passion that has been missing during previous trips overseas and in the build-up to this latest venture.

As for Marshall, he can be counted on, as usual, to give his all. And in a team which will be missing two of the Island's key batsmen - Smith and Glenn Blakeney - his experience, particularly in the middle order, should prove invaluable.

But at the end of the day, his appointment is just a stop-gap measure.

Some time soon, somebody else has to step into his shoes. Where Reggie Pearman finds that someone remains to be seen.

****

MORE than 400 runners, almost half of them teenagers or younger, registered for last Sunday's Butterfield and Vallis 5K, making it one of the most popular road races on the local calendar.

It was organised, as it has been for several years, by the Bermuda Union of Teachers - the same BUT who a couple of years ago were kicked out of Bermuda Track and Field Association's annual general meeting by an executive committee petrified that their vote might just swing the balance in favour of those trying to oust that same executive.

To this day, the BUT are still not recognised by athletics' governing body.

And not a BTFA official was in sight as hundreds of runners streamed across the finish line last Sunday morning.

Yet they'd still have us believe they're acting in the best interests of the sport.

Really!