The question of how to improve the standard of cricket in Bermuda is not a new one, nor are the answers that have inevitably followed over the past few years.Depending on one’s point of view, the solution either lies in having fewer teams comprising of the better players, in ignoring senior players and focusing on the Under-17s, or ploughing all Bermuda Cricket Board’s resources into club cricket in order to battle problems both on and off the field.Cleveland coach Allan Douglas is one of those who believes in taking the latter course of action, and holds the opinion that only by sharing the wealth will cricket in Bermuda get stronger, eventually leading to a national team that can once again hold its own on the world stage.For Douglas that means making sure clubs have proper facilities, proper coaches, access to Bermuda head coach David Moore on a regular basis, and resources to help make their players become better people.“We’re blessed with a lot of players but a lot of guys are doing a lot of things in life that are impacting the game . . . a lot of things are happening socially now that are impacting the game,” said Douglas.“The guys are showing up (for practice) and their minds are elsewhere. Every club has the problem, guys don’t work (at their game) no more, we don’t get guys doing the extras. Yet, we’re expected to get out there and produced the goods.“Whatever you do in training you’re going to do that weekend, and that’s what we’re getting in Bermuda, and that’s filtering through to the national level.“We’re expected to have a national team that’s in top shape, it isn’t going to happen. My thing is, we need to . . . the Board, everyone needs to have a re-think on the league structure.“Not necessarily one division, two divisions, no, but we need to make sure each club is equipped with proper coaches, proper facilities, and the national coach I think should get around . . . if you’ve got the Clevies (Wade) the Herbies (Bascome) and the Clays (Smith) helping with the national teams, at times you need to get these guys into different clubs.”Douglas rejects the notion that there are too many teams on the Island, and is also reluctant to have a situation where all the best players are funnelled into the six Premier Division sides. Although in the case of Cleveland and Bermuda fast bowler Damali Bell, there is a good deal of self-interest attached to that viewpoint.“You can have the elite thing, which sounds fine, and if it works, it works,” said Douglas. “I don’t want to throw out the door that we don’t have good club cricket, because club cricket is going to tell you what your national cricket is about. We’ve got to stengthen that.“He (Bell) may be in a premier team that’s not getting the proper coaching, or he might not be getting the game time.“Devonshire Rec train once a week now, and that’s in your top tier. If they’re training once a week and they’re in your top tier you should tell them ‘get crackin’.“And why are they training once a week? Because they have other things going on, and we need to help them sort that out. If we get our national coach around to clubs more, that would help Bermuda cricket. I think now we should be concentrating and really getting these clubs sharp.”A lack of player commitment and an unwillingness to work hard at the game are also seen as significant issues in the decline of cricket on the Island. And Douglas said that the problems that affected the elite league in terms of player numbers was magnified at a domestic level.“All the issues you had with the elite league, magnify that with the clubs,” he said. “You want a strong national team, get the clubs going strong, then you’re going to have a national team.“I played all my cricket at Cleveland, but I committed, I worked hard. I respected the people around me, I didn’t do a whole lot of nonsense with my body, and I went up because I loved the game.“If we could get guys more committed and working hard, at any level . . . the wicketkeeper at Flatts, Regino Smith, excellent player, but if he had the commitment and everything, this little boy should be in the Bermuda team right now.“Any club has issues that have to be dealt with. Guys come to training and they are so tense from every day stuff that you sometimes have to put coaching aside and play games so that they can have some fun.“That’s why I think we need to put more resources to help out. If we can get these guys channelled there, you get a better person in life. If you get a better person in life you have a better cricketer.”Ultimately Douglas believes it is down to the BCB and the clubs to band together and start trying to find away to improve the problems that all clubs have. From a decline in training standards, to a lack of respect, to a lack of basic resources like enough coaches and enough equipment.“How can we raise the bar, how can we raise the standards. We should get together and put down a list of standards, for all the clubs to stick to,” said Douglas. “That’s where teams can help each other, with coaches getting around to the other clubs.“Everybody is looking for help. I could show up at Bridge, I could show up at Warwick, they’d accept the help. The more resources the better.”