Hemp: Bermuda has good young talent

David Hemp believes Bermuda need time to reflect on their failure to reach the World Twenty20 finals in Bangladesh.

Bermuda finished 14th overall in Dubai at the Qualifiers — way off the top six who made it through.

However, he believes the island’s young players have the ability to take the country forward — as long as they are given time to develop.

Hemp told the Bermuda Sun: “There was a little bit of inexperience from us [in Dubai] and of us not playing enough practice games. 

“A lot of the other sides play a lot more games than us but that’s the position we find ourselves in at the moment. Once you are outside the top 12 [associate nations] then it’s harder to organize tours.

“Experiencing the different conditions will benefit the younger players but we needed to progress from this tournament.

“We have to have a sit down, individually and from the Board’s perspective, and see what we can do to improve things.”

He added: “There are some talented young players. It’s important that they are nurtured and play in a side that is kept together as long as possible and given enough time to improve and grow.

“Tre [Manders] is certainly one, Kamau Leverock, Terryn Fray, who didn’t get much of an opportunity out there, Christian Burgess, Chris Douglas and Allan Douglas,  and Malachi Jones is still young. 

“There are some good young players who can play for the next seven to eight years.”

Hemp, meanwhile, took little consolation from his own form, which improved as the tournament went on.

He said: “I finished reasonably well and felt comfortable but unless you progress as a team it doesn’t really mean anything.”