Club versus country.

It's a contentious issue which continually crops up among players from both cricket and football.

But this time, it's not the players but the fans who have made their choice. And again it's the country that loses out.

While no more than a couple of hundred turned out at the National Sports Centre for last weekend's Intercontinental Cup cricket match against Scotland – the first international played on local soil in some four years, and a game which ultimately saw Bermuda put up a brave performance with Stephen Outerbridge stroking an impressive century – it was a different story elsewhere.

On Saturday, with Bermuda battling to stay in their match, right next door at Devonshire Recreation Club, a bigger crowd witnessed Young Men's Social Club retain the Central Counties Cup at the expense of Western Stars.

On the same day, even more spectators flocked to White Hill to watch Southampton Rangers beat PHC in the second round of the Western Counties.

And you can bet that attendance at tomorrow's Eastern Counties clash between St.David's and Bailey's Bay will attract a much bigger crowd than last weekend's three games put together.

For some reason, Cup Match and Eastern Counties, even Western Counties, continue to be the most popular attractions during the cricket season.

That's tradition, and international or not, that's seemingly not about to change.

It's a great pity for the national team players, in particular Outerbridge, who have been relishing the chance to play in front of their home crowd for several years.

Given the opportunity to perform on a controversial NSC pitch which defied the critics and thanks to some diligent work by local groundsmen showed that it could easily handle the rigours of a four-game match, the miserable turn-out must have come as a huge disappointment.

The problem, of course, is that the NSC North Field and the more sophisticated South Field can't generate the same kind of atmosphere created by the clubs.

Ask the national football team or the Hogges. Apart from the recent World Cup match against Trinidad, games are often played in front of a long line of empty seats.

A day out at Lord's, Sydney CC or Sabina Park is usually a day to remember. Similarly, a visit to Wembley, Old Trafford or Anfield is well worth the experience.

The NSC, which has taken almost 20 years to build and is still nowhere near complete, remains a bland, unattractive, not to mention hugely expensive piece of real estate, which has still to show that it's a worthy replacement for its predecessor, the much more inviting former National Stadium.

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BERMUDA'S team travelling to Beijing for the Olympic Games will be officially announced in the next few days and will no doubt confirm what we already know – it's one of smallest and, sadly, one of the weakest we've managed to put together in 30 years or more.

Domestically, the six selected might be among the best, all are talented, totally committed and dedicated to their respective sports.

But on the international stage they haven't quite reached the next level.

Triathlete Flora Duffy performed brilliantly at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne a couple of years ago but for various reasons hasn't been able to replicate that form since, although she remains one member of the Games squad who could still spring a surprise.

Long jumper Arantxa King finished fifth at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Poland earlier this week, showing that she's rounding into form at the right time and fellow jumper Tyrone Smith has also posted some encouraging results, coming within a whisker of the Olympic standard.

Swimmers Kiera Aitken and Roy Allan Burch, who could almost be considered veterans, have a wealth of international experience, but will probably both realise they might be out of their depth when they dive into the Beijing pool. If either can advance out of their heats, it would be considered a major accomplishment.

And equestrian Patrick Nisbitt, who survived a jump-off with Jill Terceira – a selection considered by some to be controversial – will probably be happy to enjoy the experience when he mounts his horse in Hong Kong, where the Games' show jumping will be held.

King, Smith, Aitken and Burch have all been offered wild cards, which means they haven't had to reach the qualifying standard.

Duffy and Nisbitt were also handed spots by their international sports federations, taking into account past performances as there were no standards as such.

Yet, Tyrone Smith might have been speaking for all six when during an interview with this newspaper earlier this week, he noted that those entering the Olympics by means of a wild card can't expect to be as confident or competitive as those who have earned their right to travel to Beijing as a result of winning Olympic trials.

With so few athletes capable of getting anywhere close to Olympic standards here in Bermuda, such trials would serve little purpose.

But Smith, not content to accept his wild card, has said he will take part in European meets over the next two weeks in a last-ditch effort to reach the standard.

He desperately wants to earn his entry on merit, rather than by way of a gift.

It's an admiral attitude which can only make him a better athlete.

– ADRIAN ROBSON