Bell in to replace banned Douglas
Damali Bell has been drafted into the senior national team as a replacement for Chris Douglas.Douglas was kicked off the squad for next week’s ICC Americas Division One tournament in Florida for ‘failing to meet tour standards’, and Bell will now take his place.The Cleveland fast bowler is hardly a like-for-like replacement for Douglas, but head coach David Moore believes he has enough batting in the side to accommodate a player he views as an all-rounder.“We’ve got a lot of batting, and again, with the T20, one of the important things is you need to get as many all-rounders as possible, and I think he’s (Bell) a good option,” said Moore.“His batting has been very good since he’s returned, it was good anyway, but it’s improved. Not everyone is going to be what you would class as a traditional all-rounder, but they need some all-round abilities.”Despite the absence of players such as Chris Foggo, Jason Anderson and Dion Stovell, Moore could have opted to take another batsman in the form of Terryn Fray or Irving Romaine, both of whom have international experience.However, Moore sees Bell as part of the national team’s long-term future, and his bowling since his return from a spell in England has impressed the head coach.“The bottom line is that we have a lot of faith in Dalami being one of those players who will play for Bermuda for a long period of time and we like to keep him around the team,” said Moore. “We hope and expect that his stint in the UK will see him come back with some improvements in his game.“I’ve watched him in a Cup Match trial the other day, when he played for Cleveland, I’ve watched him at some practices, and I think he’s bowled quite nicely.”Meanwhile, Bermuda skipper David Hemp arrived on the Island last night, and will join the team for their three-day mini-camp starting tonight. The team fly out on Sunday, with their first game, against Suriname, scheduled for Monday.Bermuda squad: D Hemp, D Hollis, O Bascome, D Bell, L Cann, F Crockwell, OJ Pitcher, J Gilbert, M Jones, K Leverock, D Minors, G O’Brien, S Robinson, R Trott.