Problems with the National Sports Centre's (NSC) controversial cricket pitch could have long been resolved had the facility's Trustees sought advice from local experts rather than those abroad, argued veteran groundsman Sheridan Raynor yesterday.

Last week the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave approval to the NSC to resume hosting first class cricket matches at the Prospect sports facility after a four-year hiatus that has seen the senior national cricket team play all of their ICC sanctioned matches overseas during that period.

However, Raynor, the first batsmen to score a century in Cup Match on turf, says the Island's various national teams should not have been made to suffer that long because of a problem which ultimately required an inch of virgin Bermuda clay – that not too long ago had been deemed unfit by overseas consultants to produce "quality" batting strips – to rectify.

Questions have also now surfaced as to why it took Government – who went as far as to propose importing foreign clay – and NSC Trustees four years to solve what amounted to be a relatively "minor issue" and how much of the taxpayer's money was actually spent on overseas consultants.

"It's a blessing to see international cricket return to the National Sports Centre after four years. But had everyone gone through the proper channels and taken the advice from local groundsmen from the beginning we wouldn't have had all of these problems," the former star batsman argued.

"I made a suggestion (to NSC Trustees) quite some time ago to check with local groundsmen first before going overseas to consult with others who seemed more interested in telling us our clay was not stronger than their's, which wasn't the point. The point is that a cricket ball only weighs five ounces and we had already tested our clay over 30 years when it was determined then that it could last up to six-days.

"Our national teams should have long been playing cricket up there (NSC) because I told them (Trustees) the only way cricket can survive up there is to have the pitch top dressed (with at least an inch of clay) at the beginning of every cricket season, which is something they didn't do.

"The last time the pitch was properly top dressed was two -months before Lara (former Windies star batsman Brian Lara) brought the West Indies here (2004). I top dressed it then and the fellow Berker (former NSC groundsman Anthony Burchall) did an excellent job. Lara said that wicket was as good as any other he has played on.

"But the next season nothing was done to the pitch and then we had people from abroad telling us our clay was not suitable. I think what should have been done is to get a local groundsman to roll the pitch out first and then inspect it while a match was being played on it. You just can't show up and look at the surface of a pitch and determine it unfit to play on. And this is what most of them did."

Raynor believes the unavailability of the NSC pitch might have had a negative influence on the morale of national team cricketers in the run up to last year's World Cup in the Caribbean.

"That would have had a big effect on the players' morale because they couldn't play at home," he added. "Playing at home means a lot to the players and I think this may have created a bit of havoc on them as well."

Under the advice of Raynor, NSC groundstaff applied an inch thick layer of clay dressing - trucked in from Government's Bailey's Bay quarry - onto the facility's cricket pitch which had undergone close scrutiny from the ICC prior to last week's announcement that warranted special mention in Parliament from Junior Minister of Environment and Sports, Wayne Caines.

"The only thing we did was top dress the square but this time they (Trustees) finally decided to prepare the pitch first and then play on it to see how it played - which is the best thing they could have done," Raynor continued. "And I think the groundstaff at the National Sports Centre did an excellent job - particularly young Wilmot (NSC groundsman Jason Wilmot) who knows what he is doing."

Bermuda will now host Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup at the NSC in July, with Raynor confident the facility's cricket strip will stand up to the occasion.

"Hopefully they will prepare a nice green top," he added. "And if they (NSC groundstaff) continue to top dress the cricket square every year then they shouldn't have any problems."