Last week I asked readers of my column to e-mail me topics for discussion that they would like to see me write about.

I'm glad to say I did receive a few e-mails focusing on various topics, but there was one which stood out more than others.

People seemed to be concerned with one of my categories more than the rest, and that was who was the best captain in Bermuda.

In last week's article I had Lionel Cann as the best captain with current Bermuda captain Irving Romaine as second and Rodney Trott third. I have been asked by my readers to please explain my reasons publicly and so I shall.

As we aim to qualify for the next World Cup, we need a captain who is sure of himself on and off of the field. There will be times when not everyone will agree with your tactics, but you must have the respect of the players, coaches and administrators to back you 110 percent, regardless of your decisions on the field.

As captain you have to be ready to defend your bowling changes, field placements, etc, without the fear of "is it going to work". This is where you gain the respect from your players and your coach.

In order to remotely have a chance to succeed, the person who captains this team has to be fundamentally sound, have passion for the game and be very knowledgeable. In addition to these aspects the captain must also have a winning mentality, be able to motivate players around him and not be afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way.

So with all that in mind it made it very easy for me to choose Lionel Cann ahead of Irving or Rodney.

What Bermuda needs is a captain who is a winner - who is proactive rather then reactive, who can instil a belief mentality in his players, who can identify strengths and weaknesses in opposing players while also knowing his own players' strengths and weaknesses, and lastly someone who when a game is tight can rally his troops and fire them to victory.

I just feel Lionel has more of these qualities than the other two at this time.

In addition, Lionel currently captains St. David's thus giving him practice week in and week out, allowing him to master the art of captaincy. However, in Irvin and Rodney's case, they currently do not captain a league team which limits their ability to practise their skills of captaincy and learn from their mistakes.

If Lionel has a weakness, it is that he can be over zealous and needs to show more professionalism at times. There is no doubt in my mind that the captaincy would curb those tendencies, though.

One thing that I do admire about Irving is his relationship that he has with his players. He is very mindful of his players' feelings and concerns which is important. On the flip side, I think he could improve technically and has to know when to get tough with his players.

Another concern that I have with Irving as captain is I feel it hinders his batting and one only has to look at his batting stats before he was captain to after he was captain to confirm this. I can tell you from my experience that batting as a captain puts you in a whole different frame of mind and unfortunately for him I feel it has hindered him and Bermuda tremendously. If you know Irving like I do, I know he will try to prove me wrong.

Rodney is simply a class player. Out of all the youngsters in Bermuda, I think he has the most potential to be successful at the highest level.

What Rodney has that I love is mental toughness and a level head. He is a student of the game and in the future will definitely captain Bermuda. If we were simply looking towards the future, I would definitely make Rodney captain now.

However, with so much at stake, the timing is just not right. His biggest asset is that he seems to relish being captain as his performances at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup verifies that.

In closing, even though Irving has been reinstated as captain for the time being, I am sure he will be closely monitored. I am glad to see Rodney inserted as vice-captain as this lets me know the selectors have one eye on the future.

My only concern though is that Bermuda has had a string of poor results dating way back and, for anyone who knows sports, that losing can become a habit. Is it time for a change?

Motto for the week: 'There is no place for politics in sports when it comes to winning and losing' - Clay Smith.