Clay Smith insists he is simply a fierce competitor and far from cricket's "bad boy" as some would have him labelled.

The top Bermuda and St. George's Cricket Club Cup Match batsman yesterday responded to reports and public comments made following the mid-summer classic, including allegations that he conducted himself poorly in reacting to the umpires' decisions

He also took issue with reports that he trashed the club's dressing room after being given out to a hotly disputed catch made by Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock.

Smith, in an interview conducted yesterday and in a letter to Sports Mailbox (see Page 24), said he felt that he had been unfairly branded as being brash, arrogant and sometimes disrespectful, and strongly believed that some of his critics were making negative comments in an attempt to chase him out of the game.

But he warned that he wasn't about to quit, pointing out that as club coach at St. David's he and the team had many goals - and he personally had every intention to continue as a member of Bermuda's national team which he hoped to one day skipper.

Smith said he felt it was important for people to understand the difference between being a battler on the field of play and being arrogant.

"It's definitely a thin line between being a fierce competitor and showing signs of being arrogant or rude and I strongly believe that in order to be a good cricketer you must have attitude and that's attitude in a positive way . . . meaning to be able to display yourself and give 150 percent when on the field," said Smith.

"A lot of times when I am out there I am bubbly and enthusiastic and I am always trying to keep the team alert, doing things on the field to motivate my players and a lot of times people think I am just out there being rude and this is really not the case. They mistake my confidence or actions, all good players have that little streak in them, whether playing locally or internationally."

Smith noted that Cup Match was the number one game on the Island and players were always on edge going into the match and remained extremely competitive right until the end. Consequently it was hard for some to control their emotions.

That's why, he said, there were often heated exchanges between players and between players and umpires _ but at no time was there any intention to become over aggressive.

"Cup Match is `D' day, we all go out there before a big crowd to win and for that reason alone. The umpires are human and they are going to make mistakes or whatever but we as players, because of our enthusiasm and the importance of the game, we get over zealous at times with our appeals, but we don't mean to be harsh against the officials," said Smith.

Many Cup Match observers felt that Smith overacted by not leaving the wicket immediately after being given out. It was then upon arriving in the dressing room that he was alleged to have hurled his bat, causing some damage.

Smith was reluctant to give any details about what actually happened in the dressing room, although he denied breaking either his bat or any windows. But he did recall the incident involving Leverock that led to his dismissal.

"I was basically upset because Sluggo didn't overturn the umpire's decision. I realise that umpire Mr. Wilbur Pitcher couldn't see it from his end because he was blinded by Sluggo but the second umpire Mr. Roger Dill gave the out signal from the square leg position. I hesitated while I was at the wicket because I was so sure that Sluggo was going to call me back, and when he didn't I just walked off.

"I was really frustrated because this Cup Match was special being that Janeiro Tucker had scored his 186 and when we left the hotel on the Friday morning Glenn (Blakeney) and I had got talking with our skipper who said that he wanted one of us to go out there to break Janeiro's record and when we left that was our plan."

Smith added: "We felt we had the whole day to bat and I believe that I was robbed off that opportunity because I was set at the wicket and knew that if given the opportunity I could have possibly achieved my goal . . . and that's why I was more frustrated at that than just the unfair catch.

"I think the public know it was an unfair catch, these things happen in cricket. These things happen in sports and players at times get away with it.

"I guess people get caught up in all the hype about winning and forget about what's right and wrong. But I personally will not call on Sluggo to come forward and publicly admit it was not a catch, he knows and I know and that's all that really matters.''