Roland Butcher as national coach appears to have widespread support.

A number of cricket officials and former players contacted by The Royal Gazette this week voiced their approval of Butcher's appointment.

The Barbados-born coach has been offered a three-year contract, starting next month.

Of those approached by The Gazette , many believed the appointment was long overdue, Bermuda's last full-time coach having been Englishman Bob Jones, who left almost 20 years ago.

Several felt Butcher to be highly qualified in that he comes to the Island with experience from playing for Barbados and England as well as having coached various teams overseas.

Following are some of their comments: George Bremar, former Southampton Rangers fast bowler: "Having somebody with the experience of Mr. Butcher is something that will benefit our cricket programme because I don't think we were going places with Alan Douglas, especially our bowlers. I would have supported somebody like Clarence Parfitt as well. He has experience and only needed to get the respect of the players.

But in Butcher the cricket board have made a good move.'' Mansfield Smith, former St. George's club official: "Bringing in a coach is overdue. Looking at our coaching situation in the past, I strongly feel that the coach must travel with our national team to international competition.

That's been a major mistake in the past. Butcher's credentials show that he is highly qualified and if he gets the cooperation from the players, then our standard of cricket should improve tremendously.'' St. Clair (Brinky) Tucker, Testimonial Committee official: The cricket board have taken a positive step by getting somebody like Mr. Butcher. I just hope that the players give him their support. If this happens then I firmly believe that our cricket will improve immensely.'' Randy Butler, cricket umpire: From what I have read about him, it appears that he has a lot of experience coaching in areas where Bermuda needs help such as the schools. Coming from England I expect him to be extremely thorough. The coach must start from grass roots such as the schools and then visit the clubs to help upgrade their programmes. I would hope Mr. Butcher will not take long to recognise that we don't play enough cricket in the Island. Personally I feel that we need a Second Division for grooming players along with the junior league.'' Charles (Buster) Trott, Bailey's Bay fan: "I think having somebody with the qualifications of Mr. Butcher is a good idea. I know there was some talk about getting someone like Clarence Parfitt for the job, but I firmly believe that Bermudians are not going to listen to Bermudians when it comes to coaching and the decision by the cricket board to go for a foreigner at this time can do nothing but help our cricket programme.'' Richard Austin, Police player and official: "It's a very positive move, there is no doubt that he has good cricketing knowledge and comes highly recommended. I am sure that with a programme that has already been revised like the one we have here, he can give it the extra boost that was lacking in the 10-15 years prior to El James and his new committee moving in position. In getting a full-time coach let's see that he gets the full support of the administration, players and the entire cricket community.'' Reginald (Pegs) Philpott, scorekeeper for Southampton Rangers: "He appears to be an ideal choice for Bermuda, let's hope that our senior players, in particular, will listen to him more so that he can help us make progress and be successful in such important international competitions as the ICC Trophy tournament and the Red Stripe Bowl.''