Concerns over the immediate future of national cricket academy director Wendell Smith heightened yesterday when it was learned that Bermuda’s World Cup skipper Irving Romaine had been seconded by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Recreation on an interim basis to fulfil Smith’s weekly commitments in the local school system.

It’s understood Romaine was taken on by the Ministry in March immediately after leading the Island team in their first World Cup appearance in Trinidad.

The Bailey’s Bay batsman is currently promoting the game in schools across the Island, one of the key mandates Smith — responsible for the development of all youth cricket on the Island — had initially set out to achieve after taking a one-year sabbatical from his job as headmaster at Paget Primary to assume the role full time.

“What some people might not realise is that I am on a leave of absence from the Department of Education, so I will eventually be returning to them,” Smith told The Royal Gazette on his appointment as national academy director last year.

“My goal for the next couple of years is to put in place a system which works effectively and which others who take this job after me can work with and build on.

“I’ve always recognised that there is a huge amount of young talent in Bermuda and it is a question now of making sure we get the best out of it at every level.”

Neither Smith nor Romaine could be reached for comment yesterday and when asked about Smith’s future with Bermuda Cricket Board, chief executive Neil Speight remarked: “That is something we don’t want to talk about at the moment.”

However, Ministry sources confirmed that Romaine had been seconded to promote the game at the grassroots level until schools break for summer recess — around the same time Smith’s present contract with the Board expires — in June.

Speculation continues to mount with regards to Smith — the first batsman to surpass 1,000 runs in Cup Match — who, for undisclosed reasons, has made himself scarce over the past few months.

Smith’s presence at the Board has been very limited but only last month he turned up at the National Sports Centre to assist in national coach Gus Logie’s Island-wide recruitment drive.

Now there are widespread rumours that Smith is contemplating returning to the teaching profession in which he served for 23 years before concentrating his efforts entirely on cricket last year.

Upon his appointment as national academy director, Smith was given a mandate to co-ordinate and improve all national junior teams from Under-13 to Under-19 levels and also encourage and promote cricket in local schools.

He was also given the task of forming a national coaches association, preparing a report for the BCB and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Recreation and recommending investment and improvements wherever deemed necessary as well as working on a host of other ambitious initiatives he had set out to achieve.