Former Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) executive George Holdipp has now called for the heads of Bermuda skipper Irving Romaine and vice-captain David Hemp to roll ahead of today's second one-day international (ODI) against Kenya in Nairobi.

Both players have been out of touch with the bat on the Islanders' current tour of Kenya and have yet to reach double digits in three visits to the crease against Uganda and their hosts. And their dip in form has sparked widespread criticism and fuelled heated debate over whether or not the time is ripe to pass the baton over to the next generation of cricketers waiting in the wings for their chance to prove themselves at this level or stay the present course with a team laregly comprised of senior cricketers whose best years are perhaps now behind them.

Holdipp said: "Bermuda's national cricket team's performance thus far in Kenya has not been very encouraging. The middle order batting in particular appears brittle while captain Irving Romaine and vice-captain David Hemp, in particular, have failed to score 20 runs between them in three matches.

"In light of this I believe if both fail in the next game (today's) then they should be dropped for the remainder of the tour as I believe to persist with them would be unfair to others in the squad and to themselves as it could seriously erode their own confidence.

"After today Bermuda have one more match (ODI) and the Intercontinental Cup against Kenya before travelling to Dubai for another Intercontinental Cup match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). So this would afford their replacements with what we in the cricket world refer to as 'a good run' and fair chance to demonstrate what they can do at this level."

Reinforcing Holdipp's argument are the recent notable performances by youngsters Rodney Trott, Malachi Jones and to some degree Jekon Edness and Stephen Outerbridge whose 83-run opening stand laid the foundation for the Islanders' sole win on tour thus far.

Holdipp even went as far as to suggest sacking Romaine and his deputy Hemp as skipper and vice-captain - sentiments that were echoed by Western Stars and Bermuda national youth team manager Milford (Ju Ju) Waldron - and replacing them with the proven pair of Janeiro Tucker and Lionel Cann.

Tucker was the skipper who guided Bermuda to World Cup qualification in Ireland in 2005 in the absence of the injured Clay Smith but eventually lost interest in the position while St. David's player/coach Cann has openly expressed his desire to one day lead his country at the highest level.

"Janeiro has led the side before and Lionel - who skippers St. David's and St. George's' Cup Match team - could easily replace them as captain and vice-captain," Holdipp argued.

Bermuda began their current tour of the 'Mother Land' promisingly last weekend with a narrow seven-run win over fellow ICC Associate country Uganda - their first win at this level in eight months. But the Islanders quickly returned to familiar territory when they lost to the same opponents two days later and were then thrashed by the Kenyans who stormed to a bruising eight-wicket win with 130 balls to spare to go one up in the best-of-three series that could be decided today should the hosts again prevail.

So far the Island's top order, that boasts the likes of Romaine and Hemp, has been shackled with the team having to rely heavily on the middle order to achieve some measure of respectability in terms of runs.

But relief has come in the form of the swashbuckling Cann who has smashed half-centuries in his last two knocks and Tucker who hit an unbeaten 59 during last Sunday's narrow win over Uganda. Under-19 national team skipper Trott and vice-captain Jones have also been reasonably steady with the bat lower down the order with veteran pacer Kevin Hurdle the king pin in the team's attack.

Following Bermuda's 18th ODI loss to Kenya last Thursday, national coach Gus Logie lashed out at his senior players for not applying themselves in the manner he feels they are capable of. It is an ailment that plagued the team earlier this year at the World Cup and subsequent tours of Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland - and one the former West Indies Test player and his team can do without as they bid to turn their fortunes around today at the Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi against the high-flying Kenyans.