Bermuda captain David Hemp has stepped down from his post, Bermuda Cricket Board president Lloyd Fray confirmed today.Hemp, born in Bermuda when his parents were living here but raised in England, has indicated his willingness to continue to represent Bermuda as a player and to help groom a future captain.BCB President Lloyd Fray announced that Hemp will be stepping down from his position as captain with immediate effect. The former Glamorgan captain, who joined the Bermuda team in 2006 and took over from Irving Romaine as captain in August 2009, has indicated his willingness to continue on as a Bermuda player and assist in the mentoring of the future captains. There have been numerous calls in the last few weeks for the 41-year-old Hemp to stand down to make way for Stephen Outerbridge, calls which intensified after the 29-year-old Outerbridge completed a successful season in which he led Bailey’s Bay to a first league title in 18 years and also won the Player of the Year award.Those calls have not fallen on deaf ears, though there was no confirmation from the Board yesterday as to whom the new captain will be. The BCB Executive has recently approved a ‘captaincy criteria’ document that they say will be used to assess and select future captains. Fray admits Hemp’s “leaves big shoes to fill” as captain."This decision was made after extensive reviews and discussion involving the national coach, the CEO and David himself,” Fray stated yesterday.“The high performance programme of the BCB is a vital part of the BCB's activities and is always in the process of continual review and performance improvement. The BCB is well aware of the importance of succession planning and it was unanimously agreed that the timing was right for David to allow the next generation of leaders to have an opportunity to captain the national side.”Fray added: "David has been an outstanding leader and role model for the Bermuda senior and junior cricketers and he leaves big shoes to fill. His technical awareness and game-sense are second to none after being finely honed after nearly two decades of professional cricket in the English County system. David is the ultimate professional and his approach to the game, and the passion and commitment that he continues to display, is a perfect example for our young men."We are very fortunate that David has welcomed the timing of this change and embraces the importance of succession planning. He has admirably displayed complete selflessness in his discussions with us about the team's future. David is fully committed, as the BCB is, to regaining a place in the top tier of international cricket and understands the importance to the country of the next 18 months of both 50 over and T20 cricket."The change has come as the Bermuda team begins preparation for the ICC Division 3 Championships next April here in Bermuda involving six teams as qualification for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand begins. Hemp was a member of Bermuda’s World Cup team in the Caribbean in 2007 and the indication is the veteran left-hander will continue to play a key role for Bermuda even with several youngsters beginning to break into the national squad."It has been a privilege and an honour for me to have had the opportunity to captain the Bermuda national team and has without doubt been one of the highlights of my playing career,” said Hemp who scored 21,000 first-class runs, including 30 centuries, in a 17-year career at county level. In 2009 during World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, hemp amassed the most runs in the tournament (557), including 170 against Uganda and topped the averages with 185.67.“I also would, on a personal level, like to say a special thank you to all the coaches and back room staff during my time in this role. All have demonstrated professionalism and a complete desire to move cricket forward at the National Squad level.“As I have done from the outset, I am fully committed to providing Bermuda cricket support in whatever fashion, particularly now as we have multiple global opportunities in tournaments in our immediate future. I will continue to be fully supportive of the BCB and its members, both of its development and its high performance programme. If I have a chance to assist in a mentoring role any player will receive my full assistance. I still have great passion to play for Bermuda and be part of a team, which currently has many young players, who can aspire to a return to the top level of Associate cricket in the near future."nThe national training squad is holding a ‘game-sense and match scenario’ session at National Sports Centre today from 10am to 1pm.