Dear Sir,

In February of this year Mr.Colin Thompson's choice for a sensational lead article target was Mr. Elvin James. Now in April, the “chosen one” is Mr.Clay Smith.

Once again I feel compelled to respond, although cognisant of the fact that controversy sells newspapers.

Before addressing the Clay Smith issue, let me first of all applaud Bermuda Cricket Board for the excellent choice of Mr. Gus Logie as their national coach. He is intelligent, personable, professional, tactically shrewd, experienced, a good motivator, an articulate communicator and possesses a wide array of superb match-related drills.

Alongside Mr. Elvin James, a proven administrator, and also a prudent choice as the ICC tour manager, our squad will have a strong administrative team.

Now, to Clay Smith - what does the Board have as a skipper? A tactically sound leader? One with the ability to lead from the front? A fierce/determined competitor? A motivator? Someone who has a good rapport with his team? A proven winner? An experienced campaigner? A confident individual?

I pose these questions to those knowledgeable members of the sporting public. Such persons will recognise why Clay Smith is reported to have stated “I have nothing to prove to anyone”.

Cocky - yes, capable - even those who don't like him, have to give him his due.

In respect to Clay Smith's injury, Mr.Logie has conducted some intense fielding sessions, of some ninety minutes duration. During these sessions Mr.Logie would have seen his skipper work through every drill. Where was Mr.Thompson's “source” while these sessions were transpiring?

As Mr. Manders so correctly stated, injuries have crept up throughout this pre-tourney training regime. Wise decisions have been made by a management team that also includes a qualified physiotherapist, Mr.Daniel Morgan. I refer to such instances as the resting of Dean Minors, from the Trinidad training camp, so that his injury could have time to heal.

As the cricketing public anxiously awaits the announcement of the “final fourteen”, perhaps your journalist might consider informing us about the probabilities and possibilities of the impending selection.

What bowlers, batsmen, all-rounders and ‘keepers are likely to gain selection? What type of balance will the selectors opt for?

I'll conclude this response with a little story to help Mr.Thompson understand what Mr.Manders means by the term “warrior”.

St.George's played Western Stars on a Saturday afternoon at Wellington Oval during our championship-winning years. Mr.Clay Smith, fielding on the long-off boundary, decided to dive forward, full-length, to snare a chance offered by the same Mr.Manders. In doing so, Clay was hospitalised and given a sling to wear for the next couple of weeks.

The very next day, St.George's had a crucial away match with Southampton Rangers. Clay Smith took the sling off, told the skipper he wanted to play, and proceeded to score a century. Chasing 220 to win, St.George's replied with 220 for one.

Finally, let me humbly offer this thought. Bermuda's success or lack thereof, in Ireland will not depend on Mr.Clay Smith's knee. Instead, and much more importantly, the following factors will be significant: self-belief, application, an ability to accept and carry out respective roles, and the ability to “read” situations and consequently adapt to requirements.

Thanking you for your space,

WENDELL SMITH

Sports Editor's note: Reporter Colin Thompson attended Wednesday evening's national team training session before writing the article on Clay Smith's injury which appeared in yesterday's newspaper.

Dear Sir,

On Wednesday I was listening to the People's Show with host Everest DaCosta when my good friend Mr. Michael Jean-Jacques called up and claimed that the decline in West Indies cricket can be directly attributed to the fact that English County cricket teams no longer welcomed West Indian cricketers into their teams.

While I would concede that the English County Championship acted as a type of “finishing school” for players from the Caribbean, helping them to hone and polish their skills, I don't believe participation in the County Championship was the primary reason West Indies dominated world cricket from the late 1970s to the late ‘90s.

Indeed there was a time prior to West Indian cricketers playing county cricket when the standard of the regional tournament then called the Shell Shield was higher and certainly more competitive than county cricket.

Further players such as Sir Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Lawrence Rowe and Michael Holding established themselves as Test stars long before they played county cricket.

In fact I don't believe greats like, ‘Sir' George Headley, Lord Learie Constantine and later the three Ws Worrell, Weekes and Walcott ever played for a county.

Finally I am much more inclined to agree with Windies coach Bennett King who attributes the decline to the low standard of regional cricket. I intended to make these points on the air but unfortunately the host was getting a bit ‘cranky' so I decided not to.

With respect to the Clay Smith ‘injury' issue, I am minded to agree with convenor of selectors Mr. Arnold Manders. I think Clay has time to get over it and certainly as our leading batsman he should be given the benefit of the doubt.

It must be remembered that when the final 14 are selected, a few standbys are chosen as well and in the unfortunate event that Clay succumbs to injury prior to the ICC tournament he can be replaced.

On another note, while attending the game at Southampton on Sunday I told a few people around me, not to be surprised if Bermuda qualifies for the World Cup this time around.

I must confess I ran into some serious scepticism. One ex-cricketer told me I was dreaming and in so many words they didn't stand a chance. Unfortunately most of the people who heard us agreed with him.

Now while I will confess that the team selected won't be the most talented to leave our shores, I doubt there has been one more committed. Most of the players know that this is their last ICC and are determined to make the most of it. They appear to be listening to what coach Gus Logie has to say and look sharp in training.

Finally my team would be as follows: Clay Smith, Dwayne Leverock, Charles Marshall, Albert Steede, Delyonne Borden, O.J. Pitcher, Kevin Hurdle, Dean Minors, Dennis Archer, Saleem Mukadeem, Janeiro Tucker, Kwame Tucker, Lionel Cann, Cory Hill

My standbys: Irving Romaine, Chris Foggo, Ryan Steede, Hasan Durham

RECMAN

Devonshire