Two-day cricket has received resounding approval from those involved after just one round of matches.

What?s more, younger players ? who are expected to be the primary beneficiaries of this longer format ? are already taking to it.

?I think the two-day game went off better than most of us expected and I think it?s going to be good for Bermuda?s cricket because it gives the youngsters more opportunities,? said Bermuda and St. David?s skipper Clay Smith.

?That?s our focus at St. David?s ? to concentrate on the youngsters for the two-day game and develop them, allow them to bat and bowl longer. Hopefully, in the end, we will reap the rewards of it.?

Smith praised the youngsters in his line-up for ?acquitting themselves extremely well? in their drawn encounter against Willow Cuts at Somerset on Sunday.

He highlighted half-centuries by bowlers Loren Marshall and Mackie Crane and solid contributions of 40-odd by both Delyone Borden and Justin Pitcher. The bowling fared well also.

Bailey?s Bay player/coach Ricky Hill too gave a thumbs-up to his team?s overall performance in a winning cause against Cleveland at Sea Breeze Oval ? though there was some concern about the lapses in concentration at the crease.

?It wasn?t too bad actually. It?s definitely good to help develop the sport and the youngsters. The combination of youth and experience worked out well for us but I wasn?t completely happy,? said Hill.

?We had spurts. One thing was that we didn?t bat our 70 overs in the first innings. Our top batsmen got into the 30s and 40s and didn?t carry on. However, I am happy they got those scores and now I hope they can go on and get big totals.?

Bay?s bowling attack of senior players, including Irving Romaine and Corey Hill, linked up well with teenagers Rodney Trott (who bagged a five-wicket haul) and Keron Trott to oust the opposition for 72 and 158 en route to a six-wicket victory.

Though they were in a good position to press for an outright win after securing first-innings points, Smith said St. David?s were not too preoccupied with beating Cuts.

?We were a bit unfortunate not to win. We could have declared ten or 15 overs earlier but our main goal this week was to fine-tune our batting for the Belco Cup this weekend,? he disclosed.

In this regard, the St. David?s leader wanted to see if his club could last the 70-over maximum allotted to teams in the first innings.

?I wondered how many teams around the Island would be able to bat 70 overs. I thought we did well batting 68.2 overs. That?s an achievement in itself to be disciplined for that long.?

That batting goal was connected to the team?s other priority of getting players to focus on their roles for longer periods.

?That?s why over the last month we have been putting in a lot of work in terms of physical conditioning and ? when players are tired ? doing drills that would help them still concentrate on what they have to do.

?That?s what the two-day game requires ? overcoming mental tiredness at critical moments.?

In the same vein as Cleveland, both St. David?s and Bailey?s Bay have opted to let their talented youth have a chance to call the on-field shots in two-day fixtures. Borden led St. David?s while Stephen Outerbridge took over Bay?s reins from his big brother, Jermaine, for the weekend.

?One of my mandates as coach at St. David?s is to groom someone for the future and we have been looking at Delyone and O.J. (Pitcher) over the past couple of years. These two have the mentality and the cricket knowledge to lead St. David?s in the future.

?We want to give them some exposure of captaining with me out there so if they have any concerns they can consult me while the game is going on,? explained Smith.

The reasoning at Bay is exactly the same.

?There was a suggestion that Stephen be the captain as an upcoming player who needs to be more involved in that capacity,? said Hill, adding that the former national youth skipper ?handled himself very well?.

Smith too complimented Borden ? his regular vice-captain ? on the manner in which he warmed to leadership.

?I thought he handled the team really well. It?s extremely hard to captain at St. David?s because there are so many all-rounders and you have so many persons to choose from but I thought he did well for his first time.?

Coach of First Division outfit Warwick, Alan Douglas, was ?very pleased with the many lessons? his young players learnt in their two-day game against Leg Trappers.

?I thought it went very well. They got a feel for what two-day cricket is like,? he said, adding that Warwick players quickly realised how rapidly fortunes can change in cricket.

?In the first innings we bowled well and wickets went down as our guys would have liked so they were elated.

?But in Leg Trappers? second innings, things didn?t happen like that and we had to dig deep?

Admitting he laughed as his team trudged off the field on the first evening, Douglas said he has played enough cricket to know the mental and physical toughness required and it?s obvious Warwick players are now discovering that also.

?They all told me they went right home and went to sleep,? he said chuckling.

Meanwhile, coordinator of Bermuda Cricket Board?s (BCB) Technical Committee Marc Wetherhill ? who plays for Leg Trappers ? termed their match against Warwick ?an enjoyable experience? despite losing.

Throughout the game, he and Douglas discussed the two-day structure and acknowledged there were ?little things which probably need to be looked at again?.

Wetherhill, whose committee spearheaded the reintroduction of two-day cricket after a 20-year absence, said he hoped anyone with queries or suggestions would raise them with the Board.