Sports Minister Dale Butler lavished the Bermuda Cricket Board with praise in the House of Assembly yesterday, insisting they were laying the foundation for years of success on the international stage.

Providing a detailed account of the BCB?s four-year plan to Parliament, Butler said the public should be proud of the governing body?s ongoing attempts to develop young talent by offering a range of scholarships to schools, universities and cricket academies overseas, while praising the early work of Wendell Smith, the BCB?s new academy director with overall responsibility for youth development.

Butler also made mention of the BCB?s efforts to establish a number of indoor cricket centres across the Island, from which to base the training programmes of all the national squads during the winter.

He admitted, however, that the continued absence of a ground capable of hosting one-day internationals ?will cause significant issues for Bermuda cricket if not resolved by 2007? ? though he did not elaborate on how Government or the BCB intend to tackle this sizeable problem.

The BCB have made it abundantly clear that not having a top-class cricket ground available to them is a major handicap.

And with the National Sports Centre not going to be fit to host international cricket until the square is relaid and the long-awaited Centre Core built, it is questionable whether Bermuda will possess an International Cricket Council sanctioned venue by 2009 ? when Bermuda will have to put their one-day international status on the line at the ICC Trophy.

Butler glossed over that thorny issue, however, preferring to dwell on the positives for now.

?I am extremely pleased with the progress of the Bermuda Cricket Board?s development plans thus far,? he said.

?They recognise the arduous responsibilities involved in the management and development of cricket in Bermuda and they will continue to partner with others to ensure that the best possible procedures are brought to bear on their efforts to raise cricket in Bermuda to international standards and develop the human potential for Bermuda?s continued success.?