Former star batsman Wendell Smith believes the time has come for captain David Hemp to be dropped from Bermuda’s senior national cricket squad.Smith feels that more priority should be placed on nurturing the potential demonstrated by a number of fringe players at the senior national level rather than continuing on with older players like Hemp who at 41 is past his prime.“David Hemp is a wonderful professional and a really nice guy, but hasn’t he served us long enough? When are we going to say, ‘OK . . . it’s time to move on?,” Smith told The Royal Gazette.“You have to wonder is the Board going to wait for Hemp to say’ I’ve had enough’ and then thank him or continue to milk his services as long as he’s willing to play.“I think it’s time to let another individual who may serve us for another ten years plus have the opportunity to gain some experience. Hemp is finished playing English County cricket, he’s been all over the world and played in the World Cup 2007 but it’s now 2012 and we have some young, promising players coming through.“We have a lot of extremely young, good players coming through like Kamau Leverock, Tre Manders and Greg Maybury and the only way these guys are going to get better is through international exposure.”Hemp has been named in a training squad of 45 players bidding for a place in Bermuda’s team that will compete in next year’s ICC World Cricket League Division Three Tournament to be held on local shores.But in recent times his role as Bermuda captain has been a hot topic for debate with a number of influential cricket personalities calling for the former Glamorgan batsman to be replaced by Bailey’s Bay’s Stephen Outerbridge.In response to recent calls for Hemp to be replaced as Bermuda’s captain, BCB president Lloyd Fray said: “At this point there has been no decision to replace David. The Outreach\Selection committee and the Board are working together to bring about a result.”The BCB have approved a captaincy criteria to be used as an “objective tool” in the selection of future Bermuda captains. Criteria for assessment of captain are designed to ensure that the captain is a competent, committed and accountable leader both on and off the field who demonstrates a high level of tactical and strategic understanding, has the ability to educate players and demonstrates the highest degree of professionalism.Smith believes that Outerbridge meets the BCB’s captaincy criteria and has backed calls for the top batsman to be appointed as Bermuda’s skipper.“I think it’s time to let Stephen assume the captaincy,” he said. “The truth is you’ve got a local lad who to me has proven himself without a doubt that he’s finally arrived so I don’t understand why they (BCB) would not give it to him.“Stephen is a very professional guy and obviously he’s going to be educated in cricket because the Board have sent him all around the world to cricket academies. He has been to a number of places so he’s very knowledgeable.“For years Stephen was that person who people have felt the Board had invested so much money in and he showed a lot of promise and was somewhat of a fringe player. But this year Stephen was the impact player in the league and he was the personified model of consistency and as a captain he led by example.”