T&T's Richard Smith Retires

A week after being named in a 37-man squad to train for the 2003 regional season, former Trinidad and Tobago captain Richard Smith has retired from first class cricket.

The 30-year-old Smith, who appeared in 70 matches for Trinidad and Tobago between 1990 and 2002, retired in a letter to TTCBC president Alloy Lequay and chief selector Ian Bishop. "My decision has been brought about by the need to focus on my business and to make way for the young talent that we have available," Smith said.

(Click to read the retirement letter, courtesy Andre Baptiste).

In 117 first class innings, Smith scored 3,058 runs (average 28.31) with two centures and 18 fifties. Ever since he emerged as a fluent strokeplayer in the early 1990s, lots was expected from Smith but he never quite lived up to expectations.

Smith also represented Trinidad and Tobago in 46 One Day Internationals, scoring 935 runs (average 26.71) with one century and 3 fifties.

Last week, he was named in a squad of 37 players to prepare for the 2003 regional first-class season but he decided to retire and give his spot to a younger player.

"I am confident that with the establishment of the National Cricket Centre and your overall focus on the developmetn of our young cricketers that the time is not too distant when Trinidad & Tobago will be at the forefront of regional cricket," Smith said.

Meanwhile the T&T selectors have named left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed and teenage pacer Ravi Rampaul in the 37-man squad. Mohammed is facing a rape charge in Grenada, where he was a participant in the West Indies/Shell academy.

FULL T&T SQUAD:
Brian Lara
Mervyn Dillon
Daren Ganga
Dinanath Ramnarine
Marlon Black
Richard Smith (to be replaced)
Mukesh Persad
Dwayne Bravo
Lendl Simmons
Daryl Browne
Dave Mohammed
Andy Jackson
Ravi Rampaul
Richard Kelly
Amit Jaggernauth
Denzil James
Satish Naidoo
Zaheer Ali
Keno Mason
Imran Jan
Lincoln Roberts
Devindra Krishna
Kieron Lynch
Gregory Mahabir
Theodore Modeste
Gibran Mohammed
Ricardo Paty
Dinesh Ramdin
Rodney Sooklal
Kenton Thompson
Shazam Bahwah
Samuel Badree
Navin Chan
Reyad Emrit
Sherwin Ganga
Asif Jan
Aneil Kanhai