Randy Butler yesterday.

The president of the Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association said that members of his association have long identified a few players as "chuckers'' but noted that nothing has ever been done about it.

According to Butler the claims have been included in the umpires' reports and handed to the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control, but for some unknown reason no action has been taken.

Butler though defended his umpires for failing to continue to no-ball the players in question. He claimed that the failure by the board to take action simply discouraged the umpires from calling players for throwing.

"The umpires and players here in the Island are aware of who `chucks'. There are a handful of them here and the board and clubs know about them but nothing ever happens,'' said Butler.

The president said that he does not expect the local umpires to closely scrutinise the suspect bowlers this season because it is already known who the guilty players are.

But there is a possibility that some umpires may be influenced by the incident in Barbados when the national squad was warned that Dale Fox and Gary Brangman would be called for throwing if they continued to be used.

On Saturday during a practice match featuring national team members at the Royal Naval field in Somerset umpire McDonald Swan called Bailey's Bay's Clarkie Trott for throwing the ball.

Swan is reputed to be the one umpire locally who would repeatedly enforce the law.

"If it is the opinion of the umpire that a player is throwing then the umpire has to call him for it, it is as simple as that. Unlike what occurred in Barbados, we will not be warning a captain that a bowler will be called, we will just go ahead and call him,'' said Butler. Butler said that some umpires felt threatened to penalise a bowler for throwing and were therefore reluctant to be put in this position. But he stressed that calling a player for throwing should actually help that same bowler correct his action.

"The problem occurs mostly when the bowler is trying to bowl faster. When he bowls with his body square to the wicket he cannot help but `chuck' the ball, it is as simple as that,'' said Butler.

While stating that both Fox and Brangman were among those who have been accused of illegal action in the past, two others who readily come to mind are Trott and Dennis Pilgrim of Bailey's Bay according to Butler.

However, he added that he was surprised to hear about Brangman's problems in Barbados, pointing out that the Western Stars skipper was not called in the last ICC Trophy Tournament nor was he called during the Bermuda tour to England last summer. "I thought he had done a lot to smooth out his bowling.'' Butler said that if local cricket is to continue to prosper then both the BCUA and the BCBC have to communicate better and follow up on problems that are identified in the reports that are handed in by the umpires.

Butler recalled that the board still has yet to deal with a matter that occurred at Sea Breeze Oval at the end of last season when two players were reported for kicking down the stumps.

"When these matters are not dealt with in a responsible manner it discourages the umpires and when the umpire becomes discouraged it affects the whole game,'' he said.

Bailey said that the board were concentrating on all-rounders for the opening game and that as a result they felt that the strongest possible team was chosen.

When questioned whether the two fast bowlers would be playing in the second Bermuda representative game, Bailey would not commit himself.

"I can't answer that question. The fact that they are not playing has nothing to do with anything specific, we just happened to go with the strongest team we thought was available,'' said Bailey.

While the chairman remained tightlipped about the situation regarding Brangman and Fox, Bailey did hint that it was the intention of the committee to meet with the two players in due course.

Brangman and Fox were omitted when the national team for Sunday's tour opener against Derbyshire was announced this week.

Joe Bailey, chairman of the BCBC selection committee, defended the team choisen.

"We are thoroughly committed to building a solid team for the ICC Trophy next year and the recent tour to Barbados showed just how good the team is playing at the moment. Most of us were encouraged by the results,'' he said.

GARY BRANGMAN -- The captain of 1992 champions Western Stars, and others accused of `chucking', faces a scrutinising season.