Bailey to resign.

And another former Cup Match player and cricket official, St. Clair Tucker, added his voice to the growing clamour for fresh faces at the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control.

They lashed out as the Malaysia drugs controversy continued to engulf the BCBC.

Mr. Tucker said Mr. Bailey's continued leadership of the BCBC jeopardised business backing for cricket.

"How can you gain the confidence of the corporate sector and how can you gain cooperation acting like this? He should resign and call it a day.'' Mr. Symonds, a former BCBC official and St. George's Cup Match captain, said: "Mr. Bailey should be man enough to bow out gracefully.'' BCBC president for 14 years, Mr. Bailey was off the Island over the weekend and could not be reached for comment.

He has been in the firing line after news at least two Bermuda cricketers may have smoked marijuana in their hotel room during a World Cup qualifying tournament in Malaysia.

In particular, he has been criticised for not ensuring the team was tested and drug searched before or after the tournament.

The death penalty is mandatory in Malaysia for drug traffickers.

BCBC officials are now forming a committee headed by lawyer Michael Mello to look into the drug suspicions.

Yesterday Cricket Testimonial Committee member and former Somerset player Mr.

Tucker and Mr. Symonds turned up the heat on the cricket board.

The pair, former players for Bermuda, accused Mr. Bailey of presiding over a fall in cricketing standards and failing to command the respect of players.

Cricket legend blasts testing failure Mr. Tucker, 55, said his service in the Police for 30 years made him fully aware of Bermuda's drug problems.

And he could not understand why the Bermuda team was not drug searched or tested.

"It is laughable that only one player was tested and not the rest. It does not make any sense. Why weren't they all searched? In my opinion this is poor administration.'' Mr. Tucker said the reports on the Malaysia tournament by Mr. Simpson and coach Allan Douglas should be made public after being seen by Sport Minister David Dyer.

"The public should know what is going on...we should have a full inquiry into the whole episode.'' A player of premier league cricket for some 30 years, Mr. Tucker said the current BCBC members should be replaced by a group of ten to 15 "competent'' people.

Mr. Symonds said he joined the BCBC in 1990 but left disillusioned after four years.

"I got off because I was getting uptight about what was going on.'' He added: "Mr. Bailey has been president a long time and it's time for him to step down. I believe we should have a multi-racial committee on the board.'' Mr. Symonds and Mr. Tucker questioned the BCBC's hiring of Bermuda team adviser, former Australian captain Bobby Simpson.

They wondered whether Mr. Simpson -- currently said to be holidaying in Europe -- had earned the undisclosed amount he was paid.

"I thought he had been hired for six months to prepare Bermuda for Malaysia,'' said 65-year-old Mr. Symonds, a cricket all-rounder who also played professional soccer in England.

"Our players suffer from mental lapses and need to toughen up. They should go into the cricket nets to prepare themselves for longer innings.'' Mr. Symonds bemoaned the lack of youth programmes and called for Bermudians to become masters of 50-over matches.

"When I played cricket we had better players, better discipline and the players hardly smoked or drank. We just loved to play the game.'' DRUGS DGS