Malachi Jones might have been the chief culprit but his team, Willow Cuts, are just as culpable.

And hopefully both will be severely punished when Bermuda Cricket Board hold a disciplinary hearing to consider the actions of both following Jones' decision to defy orders from national cricket team coach David Moore who made it clear no player should turn out for their club the day before Monday's Americas Championship match against Cayman Islands.

Bermuda won that match but no thanks to Jones and the consequences were felt much more later in the week when the Island team lost to both USA and Canada.

Already hit by injuries, Moore found himself with just 12 fit players.

Given his up and down performances with the national team since the World Cup, Jones might not even had warranted a place in the final eleven.

But he would have given Moore another option, not so much as a bowler but as a batsman lower down the order where the team have struggled all week.

Hardly surprisingly, the coach immediately booted the Cuts player out of his squad when it was revealed he had played on Sunday, shortly after having training with the national team.

He won't play in the upcoming Twenty20 tournament, probably not for the national team for the rest of this year and maybe never, taking into account his behaviour on previous occasions when he was picked for Bermuda.

And he won't have done his chances any good by admitting in an interview with this newspaper that he had no regrets about ignoring the coaches' orders.

Given that attitude, there's no reason why the BCB shouldn't ban him from domestic cricket for the rest of this season. It's no more than he deserves.

As for his club, at the very least they should be fined, even deducted points to dilute their challenge for the league title.

Moore insists he sent an e-mail to every club asking them not to include any national team player in their sides for matches on Sunday.

Every other club acceded to that request.

Cuts, however, said they never received an e-mail. And coach Rodney Fubler said he had no problem with Jones playing for the team.

But both Fubler and others in the club must have known the national team were scheduled to play an international game the following day, and there was every chance that Jones would be picked.

Common sense would have dictated that no player could possibly play for his club one day and his country the next.

In addition to the risk of injury, there's a matter of commitment. Jones plainly showed he wasn't committed to the national team's cause.

And one has to wonder whether Cuts felt the same way.

Club before country has been a hot topic in the past. And there was no better example than last weekend.

It's now up to the BCB to make sure it won't be tolerated in the future.

The cricket ball's in their court. They can get the message across by hitting both Jones and his club for six!

* * *

AS for Bermuda's play in the tournament this week, former captain Clay Smith in his column today probably hits the nail on the hand.

There have been positives, but far too many negatives.

And there's no doubt coach Moore will have his work cut out to once again make Bermuda a formidable Associates team.

Easy victories over Bahamas, Caymans and Argentina were expected. Losses to both USA and Canada revealed too many weaknesses, and clearly showed we can no longer compete with our neighbours to the west, although it should be noted those teams are stacked with players from the Caribbean and the sub-Continent.

When senior players such as David Hemp, Janeiro Tucker, Stephen Outerbridge and Irving Romaine fail, it seems the whole team fails.

Grooming the youngsters in local leagues is one thing, taking them to the next level another.

Jordan DeSilva showed plenty of promise but others appeared to be overwhelmed by the occasion.

Home advantage was never a factor, despite plenty of support from the locals fans who must now realise that rebuilding the national team will be a long and frustrating process.

– ADRIAN ROBSON