BCB to review role of new committee
Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) will meet in the near future to review the role of its newly formed national selection/outreach committee whose terms of reference have come under intense scrutiny.According to a BCB member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, there are those within local cricket’s governing body who strongly oppose having the committee ratify proposed training or touring squads submitted by national coach David Moore.Although BCB president Lloyd Fray confirmed the terms of reference were rubber stamped in a meeting held last November, he confirmed that another meeting was being organised to further scrutinise the committee’s stated aims and objectives.“A meeting is being organised in the near future that will discuss terms of reference of the national selection/outreach committee,” he said last night.“The BCB executive committee ratified the terms of reference of the national selection/outreach committee on November 8, 2011.“An outline of the terms of reference will be provided subsequent to the meeting referred to above.”The national selection/outreach committee was established late last year and tasked with reviewing and ratifying training or touring squads submitted by Moore, who forms part of the five-man panel that also includes former top cricketers Clay Smith, Allan Douglas, Reggie Tucker Jr and chairman Derek Wright.But those who oppose the new committee have reportedly dismissed it as nothing more than an “advisory panel” to the national coach.In a previous interview with this newspaper, chairman Wright said one of his committee’s short-term objectives was to search for hidden talent and reach out to those players who, for one reason or the other, had either been omitted from the national programme or simply neglected to represent their country at the highest level.“We have to try and talk to any cricketers that feel disenfranchised to pull them in and let them know we want to start afresh and move cricket forward together,” he said. “We want to push to include other players and try and unify cricket.”Fellow committee member Smith added: “We will be looking to talk with all players who have been absent in the past for whatever reasons.“We realise that there are pressing issues out there and people have priorities, but playing for your country is a priority as well.”Wright said his committee had already received the blessings of the BCB’s hierarchy.“We are an official selection committee that has been ratified by the Board,” he added. “We decided that we needed a selection committee just to reach out to all of the cricket fraternity to help the coach assemble the best available team.”Meanwhile, in response to a report that Moore strongly opposed formation of the national selection/outreach committee, Fray said nothing could be further from the truth.“It is not true that the national coach strongly objects to the national selection/outreach committee,” he said.The Gazette understands the meeting to discuss the committee’s terms of reference could be held as early as this week.