surfaced yesterday that he has been sacked as Bermuda's captain.

Wendell Smith, captain of Cup Match club St. George's, will soon be official announced as the new man in charge and his first major assignment will be the tour of England in June.

Douglas, who took over the captaincy from Arnold Manders last year, also confirmed that he has informed selection committee chairman Joe Bailey and new captain Smith of his unavailability for the tour, which should signal the end of a lucrative international career.

"The board felt it was time for a change and I'm not surprised though they didn't give me a solid reason,'' said Douglas. "Joe told me what was happening, that they had some concerns, whatever they were. It hasn't been officially stated that Wendell's taking over or that I'm no longer there.'' Douglas, 34, sees this as the perfect opportunity to stand down and allow Dean Minors to be groomed on the England tour, as the board sets its sights on the 1995 ICC Tournament in Kenya. Douglas has been Bermuda's number one 'keeper for the past decade, playing in three ICC Trophy Tournaments in 1982, '86 and '90.

"There's no way I can make it in 1995, and if I can't do that I might as well get out of the way now and make room for someone who can,'' said Douglas, who also cited family responsibilities for his reason to withdraw from the squad.

"The selectors should take players like him (Minors) to England to prepare him for 1995. He has more to gain on that tour than Allan Douglas. If they're going to rebuild they should do it properly.'' Douglas will also be stepping down as captain of Cleveland County, the position going to Peter Philpott. Aaron Adams will be the vice-captain.

Douglas, who has coaching qualifications, plans to continue coaching at youth level at his club and with the national youth squad.

"I'm going to take a greater interest at Cleveland and hopefully at the Bermuda level,'' he said. "The youngsters need the proper guidance from good role models.'' Board vice-president Reggie Pearman confirmed that the selectors chose to relieve Douglas of his Bermuda captaincy. "They felt coaching and the captaincy took too much out of him,'' said Pearman. "He has not done anything wrong as such but as far as assisting with coaching and the captaincy it was felt his performances lack a bit.'' Smith, the man who many tipped to replace Manders, will finally get to realise his dream of leading his country.

"I have been informed by the chairman of the selectors (Joe Bailey) by word of mouth and I'm just waiting to receive official notification from the board,'' Smith said when contacted yesterday.

He admits to be excited about leading Bermuda on their two-week tour of England, when the Bermuda team will play six matches against County second teams between June 6 and 20.

"That's probably the one most exciting prospect,'' Smith said of the upcoming tour, "to have the opportunity to take over the leadership at a time when the administration is doing a first-class job.

"We've had the Australian tour, the England `A' tour and now this tour to England to play against County teams. Imagine the football team going to England to play against teams like Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

"That's what has got a lot of players motivated to go. I think it's important that the Bermuda team do well after the England `A' tour.'' Smith, who rates Douglas as one of his best friends, added that there is no animosity between them over the latest development. "He and I had a couple of very good discussions and he told me he felt I was going to be the next Bermuda captain,'' Smith explained.

Smith's club record, which showed three straight Camel Cup triumphs between 1988 and '90 and two league championships in three years, made him a hot favourite for the Bermuda captaincy a year ago.

"When he was selected captain over me, I went and talked to him and told him I had no animosity and would give him my support,'' Smith, 32, said. "I have a lot of respect for his cricket ability.'' Ironically the captaincy comes when St. George's are going through another rebuilding stage having lost key players in the last couple of years. "The energies will still be there but my prime focus will be at the national level,'' Smith said.

Richard Basden of Willow Cuts has accepted the offer to replace Anthony Amory (unavailable) in the squad, which is presently training for the England tour.

IN -- Wendell Smith.

OUT -- Allan Douglas joins Arnold Manders, right, as a former Bermuda captain.