It's a case of night and day in terms of how much money Bermuda is investing in the training and development of its cricketers compared to the days before Government committed $11 million to the sport in late 2005.

The multi-million dollar promise, which is being delivered in tranches over a four-and-a-half year period, has already increased the amount of resources that are available to the Bermuda Cricket Board, the various national team set-ups and cricket clubs on the Island.

Government pulled out its wallet to reward the sport after the Island beat the odds to qualify for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The cash is also aimed at keeping things on track as the national team aims for next year's ICC Trophy.

In the current Government fiscal year $2 million is being delivered to the BCB via the special grant, bringing the running total since October 2005 to around $7 million.

Financial figures for the immediate past 12 months have yet to be audited and released, however the most recently audited accounts for the year ended December 2006 show the BCB made revenues of $3,669,709 (just under $3 million directly from Government) compared with $1,176,102 in 2005.

The arrival of Stanford 20/20 cricket brought a $213,489 boost to the board's coffers in 2006.

So how has the money been put to use?

For a starter the wages and expenses bill - which includes players and BCB staff - topped $1 million, a five-fold rise on the previous 12 months.

A large chunk of this is due to a switch towards sports professionalism with players being paid - something that was not the case in 2005.

During 2006 some $620,000 went on payments to players, including match fees, reimbursement for lost wages, win bonuses and contract payments.

Wages, salaries and other benefits for BCB employees more than doubled in 2006 to $563,713 compared to just under $200,000 the previous year.

Other operating costs, rounded to the nearest thousand dollars, saw near or more than doubling; with administration up to $461,000 from $276,000, player development and preparation ($455,000 from $169,000), tournament and competition expenses ($432,000 from $191,000) and infrastructure improvements for clubs ($311,000 from $63,000).

Women's cricket received no audited cash in 2005, but was given $53,000 in 2006. The BCB's coaching and education costs rose from $7,000 to $104,000 and youth development went from $14,000 to $270,000.