Bermuda's early, almost unthinkable dismissal from the ICC Trophy tournament in Malaysia at the preliminary stages will come as a huge disappointment to the players, the officials and the many thousands of cricket followers who have always believed this Island to be one of the best non-Test playing countries.

Despite being the world's smallest cricketing nation, our proud record in previous ICC tournaments authenticates that belief.

But in reality, yesterday's "shock'' exit following defeat at the hands of, by all teams, Scotland -- a country where few of the population would know which end of a cricket bat to hold let alone the subtle complexities of the game -- comes as no great surprise.

The writing has been on the wall since the last ICC tournament four years ago.

While cricket has grown in leaps and bounds in other small, and even large nations such as the US and Canada, in Bermuda it has stagnated.

One prominent senior member of Bermuda's ICC team currently in Kuala Lumpur told us before departing, completely off the record, that the squad didn't have a "hope in hell'' of qualifying for the 1999 World Cup.

He described some of those in the squad as a "bunch of Gombeys'' -- disorganised and poorly lacking in the game's basic technical skills. Bermuda, he predicted, were on a hiding to nothing.

Sadly, his comments appear to have been spot on.

Ten years ago, maybe as little as five, we would have laughed at the thought of being beaten on the cricket pitch by such non entities as Hong Kong and Scotland. But this past week both of those countries handed Bermuda a lesson, and had it not been for the heroics of Janeiro Tucker, who scored a dazzling century, we would have likely lost to even Papua New Guinea.

How ironic that our demise was cemented yesterday by Scotland, a country which over the years has depended heavily on Bermudian imports to improve its own standard.

Clarence Parfitt, a Cup Match legend and arguably the best bowler this Island has ever produced, left for the Highlands many years ago, feeling, quite rightly, that his talents were never fully appreciated here in Bermuda, nor was he ever afforded the respect he deserved.

He was dropped from the national team at a comparatively early age (33) and never called upon by the Island's governing body, Bermuda Cricket Board of Control, to coach at a national level.

What a terrible waste.

How must Clarence Parfitt be feeling on the realisation that his efforts in Scotland have now greatly contributed to eliminating his beloved Bermuda from yet another World Cup.

He shouldn't, and likely won't, feel any pangs of guilt.

From his home in Scotland, Parfitt said last night: "I'm not surprised Scotland won. They have a fine programme starting from the youth to seniors, while Bermuda doesn't. Bermuda have been lacking especially at the youth stage for too long. I tried to warn them (BCBC) about the demise of Bermuda cricket three years ago, but nobody listened.'' As Parfitt suggests, blame for the Island's current predicament must fall squarely on the shoulders of the BCBC and, in particular, its long-serving president Ed Bailey.

The poor showing in Malaysia over the past week can be explained by two key factors: The failure of the BCBC to organise a strong junior cricket programme; And the failure of the BCBC to recognise and utilise the contributions of our more senior, experienced players.

Since the folding of the Shell Junior League several years ago, little or nothing has been done to encourage Bermuda's youngsters to partake in competitive cricket, despite an abundance of natural talent. And even in the schools, the game has not been promoted nearly as much as other sports such as soccer and basketball.

No one can doubt Bailey's passion, commitment and dedication -- his herculean efforts to ensure more tours, outgoing and incoming, and participation in such competitions as the prestigious Caribbean Shell/Sandals have to be commended.

But such endeavours even with the help of Australian guru Bobby Simpson -- and just what his contribution amounted to remains open to debate -- are futile if we can't produce players capable of competing on the international stage. It's patently obvious from the results in Kuala Lumpur that our standard has fallen to a totally unacceptable level.

Much has been said about the actual squad selected for this year's ICC Trophy when it appeared the emphasis was placed on youth at the expense of experience.

Players such as Noel Gibbons, Jeff Richardson, Ricky Hill, Wendell Smith, Clevie Wade, to name but a few, have all performed exceptionally on the world stage in previous years.

ICC exit no surprise From Page 17 Yes, they may all be long in the tooth, and some of those mentioned may have made it clear they were unavailable to travel. But cricket remains the one major sport where at an international level it's not uncommon to see players in their mid 30s and even 40s still making the headlines.

And Bermuda, in particular the BCBC, have a tendency to ditch their most talented players at too early an age.

That, combined with a virtually non-existent youth programme, goes a long way towards explaining the past week's calamities.

Newly-installed Sports Minister David Dyer has yet to make his presence felt in that portfolio. He could do worse than launch a thorough investigation into the state of cricket immediately on the team's return next week.