A debate, which began over a year ago, is ongoing over the captaincy of the Bermuda national cricket team.Should England-based David Hemp, the only professional in the squad, step down or, as some have suggested, be relieved of the captaincy and omitted from the team completely?This week former Bermuda international and Cup Match captain Wendell Smith, whose opinion will be respected by many given his own illustrious career, sided with the majority who believe it’s time for the former Glamorgan English County player to be forced into international cricket retirement.He and others are of the opinion that Stephen Outerbridge would be the ideal replacement.The Bailey’s Bay skipper has attended cricket academies around the world, is currently one of the best batsmen in the country, and has demonstrated he’s also a shrewd tactician.Most importantly he has the respect of his peers.Yet the argument isn’t totally convincing.At 41, Hemp is by far the oldest player in the national squad. But these days that isn’t considered unusually old in professional sport, and certainly not in cricket.In football, a perfect example is Tottenham Hotspur’s evergreen Brad Friedel who, like Hemp is 41, and still is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.His outstanding form this season has been such that his would-be replacement, French captain Hugo Lloris, bought by Spurs for $8 million in the off season, can’t play his way into the team. Age hasn’t been a factor when manager Andre Villas-Boas has been selecting his team.The American has shown that provided a player is physically fit and can produce the goods there’s no reason to retire.The comparison with Hemp is slightly skewered in that the Bermuda-born player is no longer active at county level. Indeed, he’s playing little competitive cricket.But he’s probably fitter than more than a few in the current national team here and the record shows that over the past few years he’s contributed more runs than any other player, often rescuing the side from complete humiliation.He isn’t the most adventurous batsman but that’s never been his role. Lionel Cann and Janeiro Tucker will beat him hands down when it comes to entertaining the crowd.Hemp has been the anchor whenever the team have appeared to be drifting into oblivion. And he’s played that part admirably.His one shortcoming is that because of commitments in England he hasn’t been able to train on a regular basis with the players here in Bermuda and hasn’t got to know them as well as he should. He’s certainly not too familiar with the up and coming players.As such, he hasn’t always commanded the respect of others in the team, those who train and play each other week in and week out.Smith made the point that Bermuda now have some promising youngsters who need to be blooded on the international stage.But history shows too many of our youngsters have been thrown into the deep end too early, have lacked confidence against quality opposition, and too raw to cope at a higher level.The trick with any team, no matter what sport and what level, is to find the right blend of youth and experience and in the last few years Bermuda haven’t been able to concoct the right recipe.In truth we haven’t found players who could fill the shoes of the likes of Clay Smith, Dean Minors or Dwayne Leverock, who played such an important part of the national team success six or seven years ago. And there have been signs that talisman Tucker will not be around too much longer.Bermuda host the World League Division Three play-offs next year, an absolutely crucial tournament in terms of restoring national pride and elevating the team to a place where they once belonged.It’s hard to believe that it was only seven years ago Bermuda mystified the rest of the cricketing world by qualifying for the World Cup and two years later took their place alongside the sport’s giants in Trinidad, but it’s even harder to believe the decline that has followed.Bermuda Cricket Board have said little on the Hemp issue. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of national coach David Moore, although that’s highly unlikely given the infantile gag imposed by the sport’s hierarchy.Without doubt Hemp should be relieved of the captaincy if only for the reasons mentioned above.But if he’s still scoring runs and still earning his place in the team on merit, there’s no reason to leave him out.Bermuda will need the best eleven available when they take to the field in the play-offs next year, no matter what their age.Players wanting to be picked will need to prove their worth. It will be no time for experiments.