Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) officials are expected to announce plans in the near future to have former New Zealand Test skipper Jeffrey Crowe visit the Island next month to assess potential One-Day International venues, can reveal.

Crowe, who made his Test debut for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in 1983, will provide a thorough assessment on the overall facilities at White Hill Field, Lords and the National Sports Centre (NSC).

The former Test star?s visit will be timely as it is understood Zimbabwe and India are both interested in touring Bermuda in April or May of this year.

BCB president Reggie Pearman could not be reached for comment last night. However, can also reveal that top ICC cricket turf expert Andy Atkinson ? who visited Bermuda in late 2004 ? has been handed responsibility to bring the existing pitch at the NSC up to international standards.

During his previous visit to the Island, Atkinson, 50, described the NSC pitch as more suitable for ?growing carrots? and later provided NSC trustees and Government with a final assessment of the controversial pitch.

The former cricketer, who joined the ICC in 1999, is responsible for overseeing pitch preparations for next year?s World Cup Finals in the West Indies.

During a career stretching back to the 1960s, Atkinson has produced some of the finest pitches in Kenya, Australia, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and is also a former groundsman at Lords, perhaps the most revered ground of all.

Crowe, 47, represented New Zealand in 39 Test matches, scoring 1,601 runs with a high score of 128.

The ICC One-Day International (ODI) official is the elder brother of gifted former New Zealand all-rounder Martin Crowe.

Crowe presently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Meanwhile, sources have confirmed that various samples of virgin clay taken from different locations around the Island that were sent for laboratory tests in the UK last December failed to meet international standards.

However, it is understood NSC trustees will go ahead with interim plans to use the best local clay at their disposal until an alternative option has been established.

Existing Government laws prohibit the importation of foreign clay to the Island. Under the Agriculture (Control of Plant Disease and Pest Regulation) Act 1970, strict regulations have been imposed to help protect the local environment from undesirable fungi, bacteria and nematodes (worms).

And these regulations are central to the rebuilding of the NSC pitch which came under heavy criticism during a hectic summer of international cricket which saw Bermuda host the Americas Championships, inaugural Inter-Continental Cup along with Lloyds Cricket Club, West Indies and Barbados cricket tours in 2004.

Then West Indies manager Tony Howard and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan along with Bermuda skipper Clay Smith all raised concerns over the controversial strip located at the Sports Centre?s northern field.

During an Island-wide hunt for ?suitable clay? desperately required to create a wicket that meets ICC standards late last year, NSC trustees solicited the public?s direct input to assist them in their quest.