the competition that provided the platform for his distinction as Athlete of the Year.

Gladstone (Sad) Brown, chairman of the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control's disciplinary committee, confirmed yesterday that there was no way that Smith would be eligible for selection until he had served the ban, which calls for him to miss five matches with his club St. George's.

"Mr. Smith has been banned from all cricket, this includes representing the country in the Red Stripe also,'' said Brown.

He was unwilling to comment on any details of the case, indicating that it was not the Board's policy to discuss what went on during the meeting.

This came as a double blow to the 27-year-old who was the strong favourite to be named captain for the limited overs tournament which begins early next month with Bermuda due to play their group matches in Guyana.

The St. George's league and Cup Match captain was penalised after being found guilty of bringing the game of cricket into disrepute on August 9 in a league match against Willow Cuts at Wellington Oval.

Smith allegedly made disparaging remarks to umpire Ronald O'Hara after he was given out leg before wicket.

The player's defence was that his comments were directed at Willow Cuts players and not the umpire, but the ICC Code of Conduct supports the board's verdict.

Board president El James refused to comment or whether he thought the sentence was overly severe. But he expressed disappointment at having the Island's top cricketers involved in disciplinary cases when they are being looked at as role models for aspiring cricketers and the youth at large.

Another concern of James was the fact that Smith, who hit two centuries in the Red Stripe tournament in Jamaica last year, would be deprived of a chance of becoming the first local player to be considered for a place in the West Indies team.

"It's obviously a big blow to the player and perhaps Bermuda cricket in general as it could have been the year he may have caught the eyes of the selectors in the West Indies and made the big breakthrough in terms of gaining recognition,'' said James.

"But there is no witch hunt by the board. We are only doing what we said that we would do at the start of our term, which was to deal with any report that we were to get from the umpires.'' James said that the Smith case was similar to that of Richard Basden who was also banned for five matches before having it reduced by a match on appeal.

"We are not out to penalise anybody for nothing. Hopefully all disciplinary action is handed out so that a player can realise the severity of what they have done, making them aware that it is not right and is something that is not going to be tolerated,'' said James.

"Cricket has always been a gentleman's sport, a character-building sport and these are the qualities were are looking to have exhibited on the field of play at all times. It's unfortunate that this has happened to our top players like Clay and Richard Basden, but that's the way it is.

"The disciplinary committee is ready to deal with all cases in a responsible, fair and consistent manner; and I feel that they have on these occasions.'' Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association secretary Randy Butler said that they were pleased that the Board were dealing with disciplinary matters.

He said that local cricket authorities had recently been sent a circular from ICC entitled "The Spirit of Cricket'' which specifically deals with disciplinary cases and puts the major responsibility for ensuring the spirit of fair play on the shoulders of the captain.

Under the heading Players' Conduct, it read: In the event of any player failing to comply with the instructions of an umpire, criticising his decisions by word or action, or showing dissent, or generally behaving in a manner which might bring the game into disrepute, the umpire concerned shall in the first place report the matter to the other umpire and to the player's captain requesting the latter to take action.

It added that the umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play and may intervene at any time.

Also noted and ruled as being against the spirit of the game was the attempt by a player to question the umpire's decision by "word or gesture'' and to direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire.

"These growing trends against the spirit of cricket have been brought to the attention of ICC countries and is something that even us here in Bermuda must attempt to deal with,'' said Butler.

CLAY SMITH -- Will have to wait until 1999 to add to his Red Stripe Bowl legacy.