---

Deposed skipper Irving ­Romaine claims there are "no hard feelings" about the decision to replace him as captain of Bermuda's ­national cricket team.

Romaine, who led Bermuda at the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, believes he still has ­plenty to offer as a player and hopes to be selected for the Uganda series later this month.

But the Bailey's Bay batsman, who turns 37 this weekend, ­admits he understood the ­decision to remove him from his job as captain after three years in the wake of Bermuda's failure in South Africa earlier this year.

The man likely to be named his successor, David Hemp, yesterday said that he would be honoured if he were to be appointed skipper - but he admitted he had not ­formally been offered the role.

Hemp, at 38, hardly represents the new direction the Bermuda Cricket Board is looking for, with the emphasis on youth following a slew of retirements after the World Cup Qualifiers. But it is ­understood he would be asked to groom a deputy, potentially 26-year-old Stephen Outerbridge, as his successor.

Bermuda coach Gus Logie ­confirmed that Hemp had been recommended as the next skipper for the squad.

But he said that, contrary to ­reports on Monday, he had not been officially appointed. Hemp's captaincy and the ­selection of the squad for the Uganda series has to be approved by the BCB's executive committee, with a decision pending in the next few days.

Hemp said: "Obviously if I do get the job it would be a privilege to do it.

Honour

"I was fortunate enough to ­captain at county level in ­England and to step it up and do it internationally for Bermuda would be a great honour.

"It would need someone who is a bit younger than me that could be an understudy for a few years and hopefully learn from my ­experience."

Hemp claimed he understood that some fans might have a ­problem with someone who didn't live or play cricket on the island captaining the national team.

But he said he hoped most would accept him and value the experience he could bring to the role.

He added: "It is a decision for the executive and if they made me captain I would honour that and do the job to the best of my ability.

"Bermuda is rebuilding after losing three key players to retirement.

"It's an exciting time and a challenging time."

Hemp, who arrives in Bermuda on August 13, revealed he would take confidence from Bermuda's eight-wicket win over Uganda at the World Cup qualifiers.

But he admitted that the Africans, who have beaten Bermuda before, should not be underestimated.

Romaine, who will also ­relinquish his development role with the Bermuda Cricket Board to return to the school system in ­September, revealed that he was looking forward to playing ­without the responsibility of skippering the side.

Regrets

He said: "If Hemp is taking over then I will support him 100 per cent.

"I've enjoyed every minute of my time as ­captain - I did my best and I have no regrets.

"I'm still in decent shape and I'm looking to play for another year or two as a batsman and ­enjoy my cricket for a while ­without having to worry about all the other stuff that goes with ­being captain."[[In-content Ad]]

---