Bermuda national cricket team's preparations for their forthcoming season descended into a farce last night when the majority of the squad failed to turn up for training with a man considered to be the best fielding coach in the world.

Michael Young, the fielding coach for the Australian Test side, has broken off from the current tour of the West Indies to spend three days to give players and coaches in Bermuda the benefit of his expertise.

But far from being keen to learn something new, and improve their own abilities, some of Bermuda's most senior players delivered a most amazing snub to both Young and coach Gus Logie.

It has left Logie at the end of his tether and again raises questions about the players' commitment to their team and their country.

"People expect that becasue you are paid to do a job, you can do it," said Logie. "But you can't turn water into wine. There is only so much I can do.

"I thought some of the more senior players were coming, but obviously that isn't the case."

After asking his players to be ready for 4.30 p.m., practice finally began last night at 5 p.m., with a couple of senior players, a couple of under-18 and under-19 players, and a host of younger players.

And it isn't just the missing players who seem to be conspiring against Logie - practice had to take place at the far end of the North Field of the National Sports Centre so it didn't interfere with football, and the net area behind a set of temporary stands is unusable because it still hasn't been repaired months after being dug up.

It all came on a day when The Royal Gazette discovered that far from being ready for the upcoming game against Scotland, the pitch at the NSC is nowhere close to being fit for use.

As it stands, the four pitches that make up the square have large patches of dead grass, large patches of no grass, and several craters just short of a length that would make batting a lottery. And according to a source within the Bermuda Cricket Board, no work has been done on the pitches for some time.

That is a far cry from the encouraging sounds that have been made in recent weeks when it was suggested that the ground would be ready to host a four-day Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland in July.

There were even claims that the pitches couldn't be used for practice because they were being protected for July. Only yesterday the trustees claimed that the ICC had said that two of the wickets should not be used before the game against Scotland.

"The ICC specified in their report that we grow more grass on the wicket that has been designated for the Scotland match and also not to use two of the adjacent wickets," claimed an NSC spokesman.

However The Royal Gazette has learned that what the ICC actually said was the complete opposite.

The NSC were told that the pitch had to be constantly worked on, and that it was necessary for games to be played on the pitch so that it was bedded in properly.

So far very little work has been done to a pitch that, according to one member of the senior squad, 'would be lucky to last four hours, let alone four days'.

Also, contrary to what has been said publicly, there are no games scheduled for the wicket, and no reason why it could not be used by the national team for practice.

And to add insult to injury, far from protecting the wicket, the NSC has left it unguarded against the trampling feet of the footballers who use the pitch just yards from its position.

The entire episode left Young at a loss. "This is Gus Logie. He played for the West Indies for 12 years when they were the best side in the world," he said. "Do they realise how lucky they are to have him?"