Windball cricket is gaining in popularity in the Caribbean and could be a key to boosting the interest in the sport in the region.

So says former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop who is in Bermuda this weekend to help promote the sport, a form of back yard cricket played with tennis balls.

Yesterday Bishop staged a Windball clinic at Spice Valley Middle School for some of their eager students and today at Shelly Bay field, starting at noon, there will be two exhibition matches for men and women.

"It's an introduction to the game and to let them have fun,'' said Bishop after the hour-long session at the school field.

Bishop, now retired from the international game, is employed as a communications officer for British American in the Caribbean, the company that has been sponsoring Windball cricket for the last three years.

British American brought Bishop to Bermuda this weekend to help promote windball here and he is excited about the possibilities.

"It is to develop interest at the school level, not so much about coaching them but as an introduction to the game and allowing them to have a lot of fun,'' said Bishop.

"Once they have fun they will want to do it again and again and then you can start coaching them. The way the kids play and the way the adults play is much different. It just creates an interest in cricket across the board and is building very, very well throughout the Caribbean.

"Windball has been around many, many years but for ten years this tournament has been going on and has become more organised. The president of the Windball Cricket Association in Antigua says it's the fastest growing sport in the Caribbean.

"It has grown phenomenally over the last three years that British American have come into the sponsorship.'' Windball cricket is similiar to Kwik Cricket which came onto the scene several years ago and quickly grew in popularity in Australia and England. "The rudiments are still the same,'' Bishop stressed.

"People talk about cricket changing but certain things stay the same. While we respect the fact that things are changing socially around us there are some things that need to be brought back to take Bermuda back to when cricket was really the in thing.

"This backyard cricket is one of the things that can get that resurgence going again.'' Eddie Figueirado, general manager of British American, is excited about the possibility of Windball cricket catching on in Bermuda.

Already there is talk about a team representing Bermuda at the Millennium Cricket Festival staged at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando from June 3-8 as they, too, make a bid to introduce the sport to a curious American audience.

Several Caribbean teams as well as teams from Atlanta, New York and Canada are expected to participate.

"It's the stepping stone into regular cricket,'' says Figueirado. "Women are into it and are a very big part of Windball. Disney saw it as a opportunity to get something Caribbean into their facility. Just about all of the Islands in the Caribbean will be represented.'' Darrin Lewis, PE teacher at Spice Valley and a former Bermuda youth team captain, says it was this form of cricket that got him interested in the game as a youngster.

It can have the same positive effect on today's youngsters, Lewis believes.

"One thing which I always had problems with, especially in the Middle Schools, was kids getting hit with a hard ball early in their careers,'' said Lewis.

"The interest deteriorates because of the fear factor of getting hit. But if the kids enjoy doing something they will come back and do it again.'' On Monday, Bishop speaks frankly about the latest developments in West Indies cricket and makes a bold prediction about former captain Brian Lara who announced his decision yesterday to take a break from playing.) Catching practice: Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop passes on some technical tips to youngsters at Spice Valley.