A committee comprised of former cricket administrators and players as well as Government and Bermuda Cricket Board officials have devised an innovative and unique initiative geared towards revitalising youth cricket on the Island.

Through the combined efforts of prison inmates, carpenters and the corporate business sector, the committee have launched the ?365 Bats Programme? in the hope of stimulating interest in the sport at the grass roots level and raising funds for future youth development schemes.

?Our theme for this initiative is ?Give a bat and build a life?,? explained committee chairman and former Bermuda national team skipper Charlie Marshall during a press conference at the National Sports Centre yesterday.

?And we aim to do this by providing 365 cricket bats Island-wide for youngsters of Bermuda. These bats are to be made by prisoners and willing carpenters and are valued at $25 with corporate sponsors providing the necessary financial resources.?

Proceeds from the initiative will go towards funding various BCB junior cricket initiatives, explained Marshall.

?These funds can be channelled into providing programmes such as coaching and the like,? he added. ?We believe this initiative, the brainchild of Sports Minister Dale Butler, will have a positive impact on the sport.?

In recent years, youth cricket on the Island has declined ? apart from the BCB?s annual Easter and Summer camps and both the Western and Eastern Junior Counties cup competitions.

With the sponsorship of Shell, youth cricket flourished in the 1980s and early ?90s before numbers dropped off. Most of today?s senior cricketers emerged from the former Shell youth league.

Marshall expects to have the cricket bats distributed to various schools, community centres and cricket clubs across the Island as early as next spring. In addition, complimentary tickets to next summer?s Cup Match classic at Wellington Oval will be presented to students who can artistically create the best design on their bats in a competition involving all schools, clubs and community centres.

On hand yesterday to unveil two prototypes were cricket umpire Stephen West and Eddie Ball ? both responsible for hand crafting the bats.

Also in attendance was Sports Minister Butler who urged the business sector and the entire community to ?step up to the wicket? by supporting the programme, the first of its kind locally.

?We encourage the community to support this programme as we jointly encourage our young people to find alternative ways of developing skills, in particular their cricketing talents,? read Butler from a press statement.

?In Bermuda during the 1940s, ?50s and ?60s, the game of cricket was always on the lips and minds of our community as our young people in schools and in the community attempted to emulate the unique styles of their ?hero? Cup Match players who were always held in high esteem.?

?In previous years organised cricket games were a family affair with games of cricket dotting the landscape on every suitable piece of land, private roads and even driveways?, recalled Butler.

?From this experience many of our outstanding cricketers were produced.

?Unfortunately today because of our lifestyle and our educational requirements there is very little time spent in schools nurturing our young people in cricket.

?Therefore the Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation in conjunction with the Bermuda Cricket Board are launching the 365 Bats Programme that is hoped will return us to the glory days of yesteryear where almost every Bermuda child had a crudely fashioned bat and tennis ball which they used to hone their cricket skills.?

Also on the 365 Bats Programme committee are former Cleveland County wicketkeeper and Bermuda national coach Allan Douglas, former Board administrator George Holdipp (aka Recman), Duane Santucci, umpire West and former Bermuda national team skipper Arnold Manders.

Also in attendance at yesterday?s press conference was current national team player Irving Romaine along with several students from schools across the Island.