The Premier and First Division finals of this year?s Knockout Cup could be played at the National Sports Centre ? though whether the playing surface will be turf or artificial has yet to be decided.

The surprise announcement came during the competition?s first round draw yesterday at the Bermuda Cricket Board, with chief executive Neil Speight also revealing that negotiations are underway with the NSC to see whether it would be possible to make the finals ? on the weekend starting September 9 ? into day-night affairs.

?The head groundsman up there Trevor Madeiros is away until Monday and when he returns we will be able to better assess the situation,? Speight said.

?I don?t see any problem with playing the games on the matting wicket, but we will be speaking to Trevor to see if it would be possible to prepare a turf wicket and which would be the better surface. Getting the games played under floodlights is also an option we are looking at.?

The BCB have made no secret of their frustration at the lack of an accredited international venue on the Island, as the ?soil saga? at the NSC continues to rumble on without any noticeable progress.

And Speight yesterday said they were eagerly awaiting the report from the Ministry of the Environment regarding the options available to the NSC for the importation of foreign soil to re-lay the much-maligned square on the North Field.

?We know that some members of the Environment Ministry have been down in the Caribbean looking at how a couple of other Islands have successfully imported foreign soil for their wickets,? he said.

?It?s important to emphasise though that this is not just about re-laying the wicket at the Sports Centre but this also represents a potential opportunity to improve the quality of wickets across the entire Island. So we certainly hope the report is released as soon as possible.?