The Bermuda Cricket Board has seemingly not closed the door on Clay Smith’s involvement in the national programme.

Two days after Smith submitted his resignation as national cricket coach, saying “I will no longer be working with the Bermuda Cricket Board, indefinitely”, the Bermuda Cricket Board tried to get him to reconsider his decision.

Yesterday Lloyd Smith, the president, said the former national coach “will be warmly welcomed back whenever he is ready”.

Smith, who took over the post in December 2015, submitted a letter to the BCB on Tuesday stating that he was withdrawing his services after his contract expired three months ago and he was left in limbo through the summer over whether a new deal could be struck.

Yesterday the BCB clarified its position, confirming there was a reply on Thursday to Smith’s letter. “On October 4, the BCB responded to the correspondence confirming that in our view that Clay is a highly qualified coach with an outstanding playing career and has brought excellent value to the BCB programmes,” the board said in a statement.

“He was urged to reconsider his position in the light of the vast amount of development and high performance work that remains for all of us.

“The BCB confirms that former national coach, Clay Smith, was on a fixed-term contract that expired on July 7. Prior to the termination of the contract, Clay was advised that the post was not continuing due to financial considerations and the review of the High Performance programme, which would be revisited after the completion of the domestic season.”

Yesterday, Lloyd Smith, the president, thanked Smith for his services to the national programme.

“We thank Clay for his tireless service to cricket across the breadth of our programmes — from PD [player development] right up to the national squad,” he said.

“I wish Clay all the best in his future endeavours and reiterate that he will be missed and surely will be warmly welcomed back whenever he is ready.”