The wealth of experience combined with the time that Reggie Pearman has put in at club and national level has seen the veteran executive become the clear favourite to be elected president of the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control.

Pearman and Keith Wainwright are so far the only two who have expressed an interest in running for the post to be vacated by El James at the Board's annual general meeting in January.

The prospective pair currently hold down executive posts with two organisations - the former is the first vice president of the BCBC while the latter is president of the Western Counties Association.

Pearman has been a long-serving Board executive while Wainwright has held his post for two years.

But those involved in cricket, when contacted by the Royal Gazette yesterday, tended to lean towards supporting Pearman for the top job because of his record.

The fact Wainwright expressed a desire to run for other executive positions if he fell short in the presidential vote helped to sway the opinion of some that perhaps now was the time to stick with experience.

PHC player Cal Waldron said: "It's good and healthy to have competition but Pearman would probably get it because he is the current first vice president and certainly has the experience. "But it's Keith's choice to run. If Pearman wants to run for a year or two and help to groom somebody like Keith then I don't have any problem with that.''

Wilbur Pitcher, St. David's president and a cricket umpire, said there was a need for new blood within the BCBC.

"The BFA (Bermuda Football Association) did it for soccer, now that's what cricket needs, somebody with new ideas and some drive," he said. "It's refreshing to see somebody young like Keith Wainwright challenging for the position. What happens with people who have been around for a long time is that they get stagnant and have trouble changing or adjusting to new challenges."

Richard Austin, of Police, said he was not intending to endorse any one person.

"However, I feel that with Bermuda going more into the international arena with the Americas region more active now, you need an experienced head at the top and that way whoever assumes the presidency will be able to carry on with a move to advance local cricket without too many distractions," he said.

Mansfield Smith, long-time St. George's executive and current umpire, said he believed Pearman should take over while Wainwright was groomed for the post.

"Right now, we should go with the old guard for the experience and when Pearman feels that it's time to step down then Keith should be fully qualified to take over.

"It doesn't matter who goes in now to replace El James, whose committee I praise for the programmes they have put in place, the new people will have fresh input. But we need a continuity plan and Pearman would give us this."

St. Clair (Brinky) Tucker, Cricket Testimonial Committee official, said it was healthy to have two capable people running for the post, but suggested Pearman had the experience at a club and board level that would sway his thinking.

"Keith is young, keen and energetic and has a good future and the clubs should encourage him to press ahead with plans to sit on the board if he loses out for the top spot," he said. "But it's important to have Pearman there so that cricket can benefit from a continuity plan."

Bailey's Bay president Allan Walker said: "It's not a matter of who has been in there or who can bring in some fresh ideas. To me it's a matter of who is going to be best for the position and that will be left to the discretion of the clubs.''

Scorer Reginald Philpott said if either of the men named so far got in cricket would be in good hands.

"Pearman will probably be the favourite right now because of his experience, but Keith has done wonders with the Western Counties and will get a lot of support because he certainly does represent the future,'' he said.