If Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) officials Allen Richardson and Wendell Smith can reproduce stunning past achievements at the crease at the administrative level, then it?s a safe bet local cricket is in good hands.

The two former St.David?s and St.George?s Cup Match opening batsmen have now been reunited on the Board in the roles of second vice president and national academy director.

Smith, who is also assistant to national coach Gus Logie, was appointed to the new post last month.

In 1993 Smith became the first ever batsman in Cup Match history to surpass 1,000 runs while Richardson carved his name in Eastern Counties folklore by becoming the second batsmen in the popular summer classic to reach the milestone behind Bailey?s Bay?s Noel Gibbons in the mid-1990s.

In 1983 Richardson provided the backbone for St.George?s? memorable three-wicket Cup Match triumph over John Tucker?s Somerset at Somerset Cricket Club in trying conditions.

Richardson fashioned a defiant unbeaten innings of 24 that thwarted a Somerset attack spearheaded by Anthony (Pacer) Edwards, Stevie Lightbourne, Robert (Jumping Jack) Hinds and Winston (Coe) Trott Sr from mopping up the East Enders? tail.

It was a performance that earned the player the coveted Camel Cup Award for the classic?s Most Valuable Player.

?I remember we had a fairly decent start (24 run partnership) and then wickets began to fall,? recalled Richardson, 48.

After dismissing Somerset for 165 runs in their second innings, Clevie (Palmer) Wade?s St.George?s side were set a winning target of 124 runs for victory in Tucker?s second year as captain after taking over at the helm from Joe Bailey in 1981.

?I can?t remember the wickets actually falling but the only thing I do recall was that we couldn?t lose wickets at both ends,? Richardson continued. ?My thing was not to get out and I truly felt as long as I stayed there we would win or at least come very close.?

St.George?s slumped from 24 for one to 69 for five, giving Somerset a glimmer of hope.

?It wasn?t an easy task at all and I think the real crowning moment for me came when Winston Reid finally bowled a loose delivery and I swept it over the square leg boundary for six,? Richardson smiled. ?Back then Somerset had bowlers who never gave up anything. They made things so tough.?

Incidentally, both Richardson and Smith scored 31 in their team?s first innings to set the platform for one of the most dramatic upsets in Cup Match history.

?In those days the teams were so evenly balanced and competitive and so to actually get a result it had to take something special to happen and Charlie Marshall was that something special taking those two catches.?

Fielding in the covers wearing his trademark floppy cap, Marshall executed two spectacular first innings catches to dismiss Gladstone (Sad) Brown and Colin Blades, making their final appearances for Somerset in the annual classic.

Well known West Indies cricket commentator Tony Cozier later described Marshall?s catches at cover point as ?world class?.

As for Smith?s appointment on the Board, Richardson said: ?I think these are very rewarding times even moreso now since we have someone of the calibre of Wendell Smith. His playing and coaching career speaks for itself.

?Many people hold Bummy Symonds (former St.George?s Cup Match skipper Cal Symonds) in high esteem as a captain and so do I. But to a certain extent I actually rate Wendell higher simply because he took a bunch of nobody?s (at St.George?s) and formed them into a very good team whereas Bummy had some of the greatest cricketers ever to grace these shores.?

The opening pair of Smith and Richardson, who attended Saltus Grammar School together, also made their presence felt in the Eastern Counties competition, producing record stands of 260 (against Flatts) and 163 (against Bailey?s Bay) at Lords.

Smith also featured in a record 200-run second wicket Cup Match partnership with brother and current national team skipper Clay Smith in 1992 a year after setting the record for the first wicket (143) along with Arnold Manders.

?I think we are all aware that Bermudian cricket is heading in a very exciting direction,? Smith told

Smith has now been given the job of heading youth cricket development on the Island.

?It will be my responsibility to deal directly with the grassroots and make sure that cricket in Bermuda remains strong and successful way beyond the World Cup next year,? he added.

?I want to identify talent as early as possible and bring it to the national youth ranks. Gus (national coach Gus Logie) and I have very similar coaching philosophies so I want to be handing young players over to him who have been properly groomed and have the dedication to succeed at a senior level.

?Sport offers young people so many opportunities and with Bermuda cricket now in such a strong financial state those opportunities will only increase. And now I have been given an opportunity to work with young people and to make a difference across the whole country which I am looking forward to immensely.?