HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Trinidadian ex-West Indies batsman Gus Logie is to stand down as coach of Bermuda’s national team, the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed yesterday.
Logie’s four-year contract is due to expire at the end of September and he has informed the Board that he will not renew it.
Logie, 48, guided Bermuda to their World Cup debut in the Caribbean in 2007 but was hugely disappointed when the national team failed to reach a place at the next World Cup to be held in Asia in 2011 during last month’s qualifiers in South Africa. Logie, who publicly slammed his players’ lack of “desire” and “interest” in South Africa, was not immediately available for comment yesterday, but BCB president Reggie Pearman, who had given Logie his full support, said: “The Board is naturally disappointed that Gus has decided to move on. “We wish Gus and his family continued success in their endeavours and hope that they will always call Bermuda their second home.”
Despite the disappointment of Bermuda finishing only ninth in South Africa, Pearman said at the time: “I think Gus has done a yeoman job working with what he has to work with. He’s not always going to get it right, but I can sympathise with him.
“Gus has played the game at the pro level and so our guys should try and take a page from his book.”
Logie coached the West Indies in 2003-2004 and later coached Canada after an international career with the successful West Indies Test side in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, former county cricketer David Hemp could be in the running to replace Logie, saying earlier this week that he would not hesitate to take up the offer to either captain or coach Bermuda’s national team if the opportunity arose.
The 38-year old Bermuda-born former Glamorgan skipper, who left the island as a youngster, had originally planned to bow out of the international cricket arena following Bermuda’s involvement in last month’s qualifiers in South Africa but has since had a change of heart.
Vice-captain Hemp excelled with the bat during the qualifiers in which he amassed the most runs (557) and topped the tournament batting averages (185.67).
He also produced the highest individual tally, a record and unbeaten 170 against Uganda, and also shared in the highest partnership (223) of the tournament along with Stephen Outerbridge in the same match.
“When I came on board a few years ago I said I would play until the end of this competition and then reassess where I was,” he told the Royal Gazette.
“But at this present stage I want to carry on because I do believe I still have something to offer Bermuda cricket. I am still enjoying my cricket and enjoying competition.”
The left-hander joined the senior national programme in 2006 after Bermuda had qualified for their maiden World Cup the year before.