Board hands out cricket kits

Cricketers at Bermuda's 16 senior clubs will have new training kits to work with next season following a $20,000 investment in facilities.

The kits, which included agility ladders, training bats and rebound nets used for practicing close catching, were handed out by the Bermuda Cricket Board yesterday. The investment comes as a result of Bermuda's involvement in the Stanford 20/20 tournament held in Antigua last July.

Wendell Smith, Bermuda's academy director, said the clubs had been asked how they wanted the money to be spent, culminating in yesterday's giveaway. "While we are making great strides internationally we recognize the need to operate the game domestically. Coaches and players across Bermuda now have access to the latest training equipment." Also included in the kit bags, designed by Smith along with national coach Gus Logie, were catching mitts, wicketkeeper gloves, training balls, markers and spring-back stumps.

Reginald Pearman, the president of the BCB, added that artificial wickets would soon be distributed to those teams that had requested them. He said it was important that the board invested in all aspects of domestic cricket as well as the national team.

Grant Smith, vice president at Cleveland County and coach of the national under-15 side, welcomed the investment. "It has to be good because without your club players you don't have a national team. You can't have a nucleus of 20 players leaving the other 200 players behind. It would create a void that would affect the national programme. Equipment is constantly changing, coaching methods are constantly changing, we can never have enough equipment."