The Island?s Under-19 national youth squad could be thrust into Bermuda Cricket Board?s (BCB) Two-Day League next season, BCB senior executive Allen Richardson disclosed yesterday.

As part of an ambitious bid to qualify for the 2008 Under-19 World Cup Finals, Richardson said the Board was currently flirting with the concept of having the Under-19 squad represented in either the First or Premier Division Two-Day competitions to help local youngsters gain ?valuable? exposure to the longer version of the game.

?One of the goals of the youth coaching philosophy is to have our Under-19s qualify for the next World Cup and there has been some thought given to possibly having an Under-19 youth team represented in Two -Day cricket,? Richardson told .

In 1997 an Under-19 youth squad, captained by St.George?s spinner Travis Smith, competed among the BCB senior ranks in preparation for the ?97 International Youth Tournament (IYT) held on local soil.

Former national coach Mark Harper was also keen to reintroduce the concept, but the idea fell by the wayside as a result of the declining numbers of junior cricketers.

Richardson also revealed various other ambitious schemes, including a major drive to implement a ?structured? youth programme within local schools and next month?s Level One and Two coaching courses to be held at a venue yet to be determined.

?These are some of the ideas we are currently looking into that will be overseen by the National Academy Director,? he added, nting that the Board were currently advertising for such a director.

Encouraged by the large turnout at last week?s coaching seminar, Richardson said: ?Everyone who participated in the seminar provided some of their own suggestions as to how we can move forward and improve youth cricket because last summer was basically our first year and so we did encounter teething problems.?

One of the primary objectives of the seminar was to prepare coaches for next month?s courses, Richardson added.

?We will have a representative coming from the England and Wales Cricket Board to conduct a Level One coaching course from December 9 to 11. There will also be a Level Two coaching course taking place from December 12 to 14,? he said.

?The first thing we want to ensure is that all of our coaches possess at least a Level One coaching certificate because we want to have persons in place who can deliver a good product.

?Our aim is to lay out the Board?s demands and the level of commitment we expect from the coaches for the upcoming season.?