GAVIN HAMILTON summoned a new generation of cricketers to stand up and take Scotland forward yesterday after digesting the loss of a third senior player in less than four weeks.

Colin Smith's international retirement, hard on the heels of former captain Craig Wright calling time on his Scotland days and John Blain walking away from the World Twenty20 in a rage, has left new skipper Hamilton drastically short of proven performers.

The 34-year-old batsman is now the only player on the scene who represented Scotland in the 1990s but, having already watched Dougie Brown, Paul Hoffmann and Ian Stanger fade off the radar since 2007, he is now accustomed to shaking hands with the old guard for the last time.

The only exit Hamilton did not see coming was that of fast bowler Blain, who continues to be persona non grata in Scotland circles and no attempt will be made, confirmed the captain, to tempt him back.

"I have not heard from him and he has certainly not heard from me. To be quite honest, John has made his own bed and he simply cannot play again. You can't do things like that and expect to play for your country again," Hamilton told The Scotsman.

"That's the way I see it, and I know everybody in Cricket Scotland feels the same. I haven't spoken to him and I've not got that much to speak to him about at the moment. It knocked the wind out of me for the first couple of days but you've just got to get on with it.

"I'm not going to ignore him but I'm certainly not going to go chasing him for what he has done. Hopefully he has had time to reflect on it – but I'm not putting any blame on him, he has done it and he had his reasons."

Two weeks ago, Hamilton was appropriately generous in his praise for the outgoing Wright, and the exit of wicketkeeper/batsman Smith invokes similar sentiments. The giant Aberdonian police officer scored 20 half-centuries and counted 55 stumpings among his 261 dismissals.

Amassing 181 caps – fewer only than Wright - he reserved some of his defining performances for the big internationals, and retires as the only Scot apart from Hamilton to have scored 50 at a World Cup – against champions Australia in 2007.

Hamilton made a clarion call after the World Twenty20 for players with steely character to come out of the woodwork, and Smith and Wright stand as monuments to what can be achieved with plain old determination.
"They both worked so hard at their game and they knew exactly what their limitations were and what their strengths were," said Hamilton.

"It's not all about performance – it's just about trying to find a couple of players who've got something about them when their backs are against the wall. That's crucial in youngsters, because the performance will come if the ingredients are there."

Hamilton refused to accept that losing three players in the wake of Scotland's dreadful World Cup qualifying bid in April gave the lie to reports of a harmonious dressing room. He said he was more concerned about the shortage of talent coming through.

"[Smith and Wright] will be sorely missed because they were two high-class performers and proven performers against very good opposition.

"But this was always coming. There has to be a stage where Cricket Scotland really starts to take a step forward because things haven't been working over the last number of months.

"We are going to be starting from scratch with a couple of players, but if there is ever a time to do it, it is now. It's hanging there, literally, for somebody to say, 'look, I'm going to score this amount of runs or take this amount of wickets and I'm going to play'. Simple as that, but unfortunately nobody is really shining out above the rest.

"If people really want to play, you've got to stand up and be counted because the caps aren't just going to be given out for the sake of it.

"Things have to change – there's no doubt about that – and if there is a breakdown in the structure that has to be identified and dealt with. However, no, I don't think for one minute that these two retirements are – they are just two guys in their mid-30s who felt it was time to move aside. And Cricket Scotland have made it quite clear that this is the time when we've got to start looking for fresh faces."