The recruitment of a new national cricket coach and the Island's preparation for this summer's ICC Trophy were yesterday surrounded by financial uncertainty - less than six months before the vital 2007 Cricket World Cup qualifier.

Sports Minister Dale Butler and president of Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) Reggie Pearman appeared at loggerheads over the sporting body's annual allocation of funds from Government which are crucial to the Island's build-up for the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament in Ireland.

At issue is not only how much money BCB will receive but also the question of when the money will be forthcoming with Butler stating it would not be disbursed until after the start of the new budgetary year on April 1.

However, the BCB have long indicated that they wanted to get the national team's training programme rolling at the start of 2005, including the hiring of a new coach to replace Mark Harper who ended his three-year stint last September.

“I'm unable to say the exact amount (the BCB is getting) until the Budget is passed and that's April 1. They do not know the lump sum but they do know that they will be getting something.

“Legally you cannot state what anybody is getting (from the Budget) until it's passed by Parliament but, upon reflection, we will call them in and tell them in confidence how much they are getting. We are hoping to get a meeting with them next week,” said Butler, adding that whatever BCB decide to do with their portion of Government funds “is their business”.

He stressed also that the Board would not be able to access funds until after April 1, adding that the BCB “were aware of this when they made the request”.

“If you walk in after April 1 asking for money you won't get it before April 1 the next year. Well, when they walked in the Budget year was halfway. They came in last August or September and that's too late for that Budget year so they have to wait until the next one.

“That's standard procedure, full stop. And we can't give them any money between now and April.”

The minister noted that trying to get sporting organisations to submit financial requests in a timely fashion was “an ongoing issue” which he would like to see eliminated.

“We want them to give us a few years' notice when they are doing things. We keep on telling them that we need more time. Some groups are going off and getting into big tournaments and then asking for money and it's too late,” he declared.

Meanwhile, Pearman - who said he had not heard anything from Government since presenting them with a supplement of the BCB's financial needs - declined to comment on the time frame in which a new coach would be hired.

“I can't say anything, not until I know what we're getting from Government. And if there's a shortfall of let's say X thousands of dollars, we're going to have to pound the streets to get it.

“And if we aren't getting anything at all, we'll just have to go with what we have.

“The whole thing is we have the minister saying one thing, the director (of sports) saying something else and then we have the permanent secretary saying something else still. So who do I believe?”

The BCB chief contended that if it's April before the Board receives its annual budgetary allocation, they should be told beforehand “so we will know how much we have to go out and raise”.

Asked if this uncertainty jeopardised the recruitment of a coach and the ICC Trophy campaign, Pearman replied: “A lot of things could be put in jeopardy but we just have to work through what we have to do.

“I can't give you anything more . . . the minister has talked to you, he hasn't talked to me.”

Recently BCB official Neil Speight made a conservative estimate that the Board would require$200,000 - salary and benefits - to attract a decent coach. Sources have suggested former South African batsman Daryll Cullinan and Bermudian Sports Hall of Famer Clarence Parfitt as frontrunners for the vacancy.