Former national cricket team all-rounder Saleem Mukuddem, who yesterday called for "widespread" reforms at Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB), has been asked to meet with a "deeply concerned" Premier Ewart Brown over the current state of the sport.

In a scathing attack on the BCB, published in yesterday's Royal Gazette as part of The Big Debate, Mukuddem accused the Board's executive of "failing badly" in their role as custodians of local cricket and he insisted that "unless a new system, structure and mindset are adopted Bermuda will continue to fall over the same hurdles every time".

When reached yesterday, Mukuddem said: "The Premier is keen on hearing my views" - but declined to elaborate on the matter.

And when asked if a date been arranged to meet with Premier Brown, Mukuddem replied: "I am not at liberty to divulge that information."

Only last week BCB president Reggie Pearman was summoned by Premier Brown on short notice following public outcry over Bermuda's "appalling" Stanford 20/20 performance in Antigua earlier this month.

Premier Brown, in a written statement, said Cabinet remained "highly interested" in the development of the country's cricket programme.

"The Government believes the development of sports is a nationally important endeavour - especially for young people - and we want to ensure that the BCB is as focused on that goal as we are. We take the investment of taxpayers' dollars very seriously," he said.

In a revealing interview with this newspaper, Mukuddem called for a major shake-up at the BCB who have come under heavy fire from various segments of the community lately.

He argued: "The dismal display in Antigua (Stanford20/20) was merely a product of the current regime and the tip of the iceberg. Crucially there must be critical and widespread changes at the BCB who are failing badly in their role as custodians of cricket."

The former BCB technical committee member, went on to add: "From my experience the BCB made and continues to make poor decisions, accountability to the stakeholders appears not to be a priority, they're not transparent in their dealings. Communication is a major area of concern as it's usually done in response to something and executed half baked."

Earlier this week, local cricket made headlines across the globe for all the wrong reasons after the women's national team, currently competing in World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, were dismissed for a ridiculous 13 against their hosts.

The Island's Under 19s have also been unimpressive at the Under 19 World Cup in Malaysia this week, with vice-captain Malachi Jones stripped of his leadership role for disciplinary reasons.

Sports Minister El James did not return calls yesterday.