January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Hemp high on Bermuda
Hemp, who has 15 years of experience for Warwickshire and Glamorgan, flew in on Thursday.
The Bermuda-born middle-order batsman has already been for a night out with captain Clay Smith and started work as a consultant with the Bermuda Cricket Board.
He will be eligible to play for Bermuda from October next year - after he has completed a total of 100 days work on the island.
The 34-year-old left-hander dismissed any criticism that he had been brought in as a 'ringer' or that he was taking opportunities away from Bermudian cricketers and said he was here for the long haul.
“Having been born here and spent the first five years of my life here, whether people like it or not, I have got a right to play. It's not as if I'm an outsider.
“I felt it was unfair to come in and play just for the World Cup so I have made a commitment to get involved before and afterwards.
“I see it as a long term thing to help develop cricket on the island.”
He added that it was a two-way street. Bermuda, he said, had been kind enough to give him the opportunity to compete for a place in the World Cup.
And he had put a marketing and public relations career on hold, postponed his coaching qualifications and left behind his wife Angie and three-year-old son Cameron for four months to help the Bermudian cause.
He said he hoped that, rather than taking opportunities from young cricketers, he could use his experience from county and international cricket and his contacts in the game, to help them improve and to make new opportunities for the next generation.
Hemp's current role with the BCB is to assist chief executive Neil Speight in improving the infrastructure of the domestic game.
He will be doing some physical training with the team, but can't play until he has completed his 100 days work in Bermuda.
His county commitments in England mean that won’t happen until October.
Then he will be eligible for selection, possibly for the Carribbean 20-20 tournament, tentatively scheduled for next winter.
Hemp’s eligibility to play for Bermuda surprised him as much as it did everybody else.
Having played for England A, he assumed he had nailed his colours to the mast and could not play for any other country.
It wasn't until he chatted with former team-mate Dougie Brown that he found out, that was not true.
Brown played for England's senior team but was still representing Scotland in the ICC Trophy. He explained that Hemp could do the same for Bermuda.
“Bermuda were already out of the competition by that point, but Dougie was going back to Ireland for the final.
“I sent a message back with him to say if he could get hold of anybody from the Bermuda camp to let them know I was interested, and it went from there.”
Hemp, who cites Viv Richards, Brian Lara and Alan Donald as the best cricketers he has played with, has met the Bermudian team a few times and has been out with Clay Smith and Dean Minors.
But it was not the first time the three players have met.
In fact they were on opposite sides when Hemp represented England South against a Bermuda under-19 squad more than 15 years ago.
Though he was born in Bermuda, Hemp has not visited the island since he was a teenager.
“Funnily enough, the last time I was here was for a football competition with a school side when I was 18 or 19.
“I left Bermuda when I was young but came back five or six times since then. The water is still as blue as I remember it and the people are still as welcoming and friendly.”[[In-content Ad]]
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