Test samples of the controversial cricket pitch at the National Sports Centre (NSC) are to be analysed by International Cricket Council (ICC) experts in an overseas laboratory, learned yesterday.

Amid escalating concerns over the standard of the pitch on the NSC?s northern field, the ICC?s leading pitch consultant Andy Atkinson has offered to lend his services and is due to arrive in Bermuda today.

He will assess the controversial pitch over the weekend before returning to the UK early next week with various samples of clay, revealed deputy chairman of the Sports Centre?s Board of Trustees, Sean Tucker, yesterday.

Atkinson is making the brief stopover in Bermuda having recently conducted pitch inspections in the West Indies, venue for the 2007 World Cup tournament, and he will be assisted by local turf expert Sheridan Raynor.

The Sports Centre?s cricket pitch drew heavy criticism earlier this summer during the ICC Americas Regional Championships and the ICC Inter-Continental Cup tournament and later during tours of the Island by the West Indies and Barbados.

Players claimed it had uneven bounce and a tendency to disintegrate into dust during the early stages of matches.

?The pitch we played on today was not suitable for this level of competition. Earlier balls were popping up from a good length and batsmen were getting hit in the throat. It was pretty dangerous out there,? Cayman Island skipper Ryan Bovell told during the Americas Regional Championship in July.

Those sentiments were echoed by West Indies touring manager Tony Howard in September after the visiting Windies and Barbados could only muster a combined 256 runs during a day/night limited overs contest at the NSC.

Armed with Atkinson?s advice, Tucker hopes to finally put the matter to rest.

?It is very clear that we have encountered some problems and we wanted to obtain an opinion from top consultants to get the situation rectified,? he said.

?Atkinson has been in the Caribbean and was actually on his way back to the UK but I believe he heard about our problems and then offered to have a look at it (pitch), later run some tests and then give us some advice on what we can and need to do in order to improve the current conditions of the pitch.?

Tucker further stressed that this was all part of the whole process of trying to provide the Island?s athletes with a first-class facility.

?We would like to obtain the best advice on what to do and at the end of the day ensure that we get it right,? he added.

Veteran local groundsman Raynor will assist with the pitch at the Sports Centre. Raynor has over 50 years of experience under his belt and also helped lay the batting surface at the facility several years ago.

The former Southampton Rangers and Somerset Cup Match all-rounder played an integral role in introducing turf wickets to the Island along with uncle Harley Raynor in the 1960s following a brief tour of Queen?s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago.

?Sheridan has helped us before when we actually put it (pitch) in,? Tucker added. ?And when we encountered difficulty this past summer we called on him to assist us ? though at the time I believe it was a bit too late to really do anything substantial with the pitch.

?But Atkinson will take soil samples with him back to the UK and then determine what will be the best way for us to go forward in the future.?