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After 13 years of loyal, reliable service, Winston Reid has retired from from regional cricket.

The 37-year-old left-arm spinner who made his first-class debut in 1986, made the announcement here yesterday shortly after Barbados were eliminated from the Red Stripe Bowl.

It is time for Winston Reid to sign out. Barbados has a lot of young talent and it is time for those guys to come out and showcase their talent at this level, he said.

The only regret I have is not winning a one-day tournament, but other than that I had a good a good time.

The guys always encouraged me a lot and kept me going but it is time enough now. They can do without me. They can handle it.

Reids chance to be part of a winning Barbados team in the shorter version of the game was marred yesterday by the persistent showers that washed out the much-anticipated semifinal against Jamaica at the Kaiser Sports Club.

His biggest satisfaction was being among the teams that won the regional first-class championship in 1991, 1995, 1997 and 1999. In the latter, his tournament high-41 wickets and useful runs in the lower order earned him the Most Valuable Player award in the inaugural Busta Cup.

Reid is confident that Barbados will be adequately served in the spin bowling department, pointing to promising players like Sulieman Benn, the 18-year-old left-arm spinner who was considered unfortunate by many not to make either the Barbados Red Stripe Bowl team or the West Indies Under-19 squad for Januarys youth World Cup in Sri Lanka.

The three Ryans - Hurley, Hinds and Austin - were also among those identified by Reid.

He leaves some advice for them. Practise hard, work hard at the game, get an understanding of cricket from as early as possible and never ever give up in life, he said.

For several seasons, Reid was Barbados first-choice spinner and his record at regional level reflected his hard-work and dedication.

In 53 first-class matches, he took 205 wickets at 23.08 apiece, including a best haul of eight for 77 against the Leeward Islands in Anguilla earlier this year.

As a left-handed lower batsman, he was no slouch and averaged just under 14 runs an innings. He was regarded as an even more outstanding performer in in his 38 regional limited-overs matches in which his ecomomy rate was a shade over 3.5 runs an over.

Those are other players with inferior records who have gone on to higher duty, but Reid is in no way disappointed that he has never represented the West Indies at any level.

Any time I play cricket for any team, I just try doing my best, he said. When I play cricket for Banks, YMPC, or Barbados, I try my best. Whatever the selectors do after that is up to them.

I never really played with any particular goal in mind like going on to play for the West Indies. I played for the team and tried my best to help them win a championship.