While contract wrangling between the Bermuda Cricket Board and their top players was finally resolved on the eve of this week’s trip to Africa, the Board have taken another step to ensure a more professional approach to next year’s World Cup.

Manager Lionel Tannock, it was revealed yesterday, has now been entrusted with that post on a full-time basis through to the conclusion of the Caribbean showpiece next March.

Rushed into the job at just a couple of days’ notice prior to the tour of England and the Channel Islands last May when El James stepped down, Tannock, a former club cricketer with Warwick who still plays in the recreational evening league, has impressed Board executives and players alike to the extent that he’s now been given a permanent role within the squad.

A corrections officer at Westgate, he’s reached an agreement with the Board who will compensate him for his salary while he takes a leave of absence until the squad’s World Cup commitments are complete.

In addition to the UK trip in May, Tannock has since travelled with the team as manager to the Stanford 20/20 tournament in Jamaica and to Canada throughout August for the Intercontinental Cup and Americas Cup matches.

And the deal struck with the BCB means he’ll also be taking care off all off-field matters throughout the current tour and the trips to Trinidad, South Africa and Dubai early in the New Year.

“I’ve got to admit it’s a role I enjoy,” said Tannock from the hotel lobby of the Nairobi Hilton yesterday where he was due to meet with officials from the Kenya Cricket Association to finalise details of this Sunday’s opening Intercontinental Cup match against the hosts.

“But I really came into it by accident. I started helping (former national coach) Mark Harper with the under-15s a couple of years ago and things just progressed from there. I’d never thought about getting involved at this level.” Now he finds himself as the man every player turns to whenever anything goes wrong.

“Basically I’m their servant . . . I keep everybody up to date on what’s happening, try to keep them motivated and at the same time take care of all of their needs. They need to focus on the game so it’s important I take care of everything else.

“There are a lot of little things that need attending to, such as their laundry, special meals, the right diet, transport . . . things that they don’t need to be on the field worrying about.

So far Tannock said he’s encountered few problems with the players, and expects even less as they appreciate their responsibility as full-time professionals.

“They’re a good bunch, I’ve had no problem with curfew times or discipline. I think they all realise they’re here to do a job.” What Tannock said he had noticed during the long trip over from Bermuda was a sense of relief felt by all of the players now that the contract talks had finally been settled.

“It seems like a weight off their shoulders, they’ve always wanted to concentrate just on their cricket and they believe they can do that now. It’s a huge relief for them and that’s been very evident in the last couple of days.

“This tour is about cricket, cricket, cricket . . . we only have 15 players to work with and the focus has to be on the game and nothing else.” Facing five weeks away from friends and family, the players, said Tannock, would have to adjust quickly to the lifestyle of professional athletes.

“This is what the job entails. I’m married with children too, but Bermuda’s on the big screen now, we’re being watched around the world, people can keep up to date with what the team’s doing through the internet, the media. We have to conduct ourselves in a professional manner in everything we do.

“I think they also realise that they’re being looked upon as role models. In the last month before we came on this trip, the players sold tags for the Physical Abuse Centre, they visited patients at the Bermuda Wellness Centre, they tried to get involved with a lot of community work.

“I think they understand they’re not just cricketers, they’re ambassadors for Bermuda.”