Terryn Fray will captain the Bailey’s Bay Open League team upon his return from Malaysia where he is leading the Bermuda side, with Rodney Trott insisting this will be his last season at the helm of the 50-overs team.

The reintroduction of Open cricket has already seen clubs using the competition to groom young players, with Sinclair Smith captaining Bay during their seven-wicket win over St David’s in their season-opener last weekend.

When Fray returns from international duty early next month he will lead the Open team before Trott takes over for the 50 overs and the Twenty20 tournament.

Trott, who expressed his desire to stand down last season, insists this will be his final summer as captain.

“Last year I talked about stepping down but after talking to these guys I decided to give it another year, so this definitely will be my last year,” Trott said.

“Fray is away right now so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for Sinclair. It’s working out pretty good and it seems like he’s taking it on.

“He was excited about it [captaincy] when the coaching staff and I mentioned it to him, probably two weeks ago. Most of the time I’ll be right there next to him [in slips] so I’ll be letting him know what I think. It’s a good thing because I will definitely step down after this year, no matter what.”

Smith, the team’s wicketkeeper, led from the front in Sunday’s win over St David’s, scoring 39 not out as Bay chased down the modest 72 posted by their opponents.

“It was the best I’ve seen him bat in a little while,” said Trott, who scored 15 not out.

Starting the season with the Open format will enable teams to get into some form for the 50 overs, which starts on the weekend of May 20.

“We’ve got pretty much the same squad; I feel we’ll be challenging for first place, which is where we want to be,” Trott said. “For the last couple of years we came second. We had a very slow start last year.

“With Open cricket this year I feel it’s a good thing as it gives guys the opportunity to get a little knock and a little bowl before the 50 overs start.

“We’re playing a lot of our youngsters right now, along with a bit of experience.

“At first I didn’t think it [Open cricket] was a good idea but then I thought maybe it can work. It’s still early in the season so to come out and play 50 overs [right away] is a little difficult.

“With football finishing late, a lot of teams aren’t at their full strength. We just started to get good numbers out in training in the last three weeks.”

Both Bay and St David’s were understrength for the opening match, with Bay missing the likes of Fray, Stephen Outerbridge, Kyle Hodsoll, Zeko Burgess and Pierre Smith. Lateef Trott made a return for Bay after missing last season.

Derrick Brangman was the bowling hero for Bay, claiming six for 26. The game finished so early that Brangman had time to travel to Southampton Oval to watch former team Southampton Rangers beat St George’s in a high-scoring match, with brother Ricardo scoring 97 not out.

“We were missing a bunch of people but I feel this [Open cricket] is serving its purpose,” said Trott, who expects Hodsoll, Burgess and Smith to be available against Somerset Cricket Club this weekend.

Bay Coach Irving Romaine says Fray will be ready to take over as the new captain next season. “Terryn is now captain of Bermuda and it will be good that he is also the captain of our league team,” said Romaine, a former Bermuda captain.

“He’s ready for the job, ‘Picnic’ came through after Stephen [Outerbridge] and before Stephen it was myself, so it is a long line of captains coming through and passing it on. Rodney has a young family and more responsibilities while Terryn is at the peak of his career, so Rodney can just enjoy playing cricket.”

St David’s, who were missing the likes of Kevin Hurdle, Allan Douglas and Cejay Outerbridge, who is in Malaysia with Bermuda, will have a new captain in Chris Douglas when he returns from his studies overseas next month. Douglas is taking over from OJ Pitcher, who is unlikely to play this year because of health issues.

“The key is that teams take the opportunity with open cricket to develop their younger players coming through,” Romaine said. “It is a chance for them to go and enjoy playing the game, they can bowl and come back for a second spell and not be limited to ten overs.

“The younger batsmen can go out there and just bat, not rushing like if they are coming in for the last couple of overs and having to swipe.”

n Matches will be played on both Saturday and Sunday in the Premier Division and First Division. Three centuries were scored in the Premier Division last weekend when Temiko Wilson of St George’s and Somerset pair Jordan DeSilva and new signing Dalin Richardson, 17, all hit hundreds. However, neither played in a winning team as St George’s lost to Southampton Rangers and Somerset drew with Western Stars.

On Saturday, St George’s host Western Stars, St David’s are at home to Southampton Rangers and Bailey’s Bay take on Somerset at Sea Breeze Oval. In the First Division, Somerset Bridge play Devonshire Recreation Club at National Sports Centre and PHC meet Willow Cuts at PHC Field.

Sunday’s two Premier Division matches pit Somerset against St George’s at Somerset Cricket Club and Western Stars at home to St David’s, while in the First Division, Cleveland County meet Flatts at Wellington Oval, PHC host Devonshire and Willow Cuts take on Somerset Bridge at Southampton Oval.