Twenty-one-year-old Shemroy Barrington, the son of the late boxing champion Eric Barrington, is looking to score a century in one of Guyana’s two away matches in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional four-day competition which commences this weekend.
“When I go out there, I will be looking to chalk up a century, which will be dedicated to his memory,” said the young Barrington, whose father, a Berbician, was the national flyweight champion.
Like the rest of my family, he was a tower of strength for me when I decided to play cricket,” Barrington, a member of Guyana’s 13 man squad added.
“I used to live next door to the Everest Cricket Club and there were some afternoons when I would watch the club (players) going through their practice sessions and wonder when I would be amongst them.
“As you know, most fathers would want their sons to follow in their footsteps. The day I made that decision, my father was behind me all the way even though it was a different sport from his.”
The Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) pugnacious opener, who can tear apart a bowling attack on his day, began playing the sport from a tender age, an age where many young boys would be hurrying to get home with other ideas in mind.
“I was nine-years-old, when I made that decision. My father never questioned it, but supported me all the way. At such a young age, there were not bats and pads for me to use, but Edwin Seeraj whose school I attended as a young boy, provided me with same so I could harness the skill to play the sport I love.
“When I made my debut for Guyana at the Under-19 level back in 2006 against the Leeward Islands and reached my first half century for Guyana, his voice was the only one I heard amidst all the applause from the spectators and my teammates, saying ‘Well done my son’.”
Shemroy lost his father who succumbed to a heart attack four years ago whilst jogging in the National Park and whilst some others would have been distracted following such a loss to an integral family member, he continued to soldier with his goals in mind.
“I knew he would have been mad at me if I had called it quits after his death, so I continued to work hard towards achieving my goals. Like many others who had watched me play before, he would tell me that I will make the national team at all levels, therefore I wanted to make him proud of me.
He added: “For me, it was sad when I achieved that goal back in 2006 and even now. But his death made me work stronger. It gave me a renewed energy to go on and work harder to support the family, knowing that he was no longer around to do so.”
Memorable Innings
The soft-spoken Barrington, who attended St. George’s High School, recalled two of his innings which he felt were memorable ones.
“In 2006 when I made my first half century (54) against the Leeward Islands, I was brimming with confidence. But in the next game against Windward Islands, I made 88, which is my highest score for Guyana to date.”
He added, “That innings along with a pain enduring 124 scored against Berbice in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/GTM Under-19 Inter-county cricket tournament, can be rated as my most memorable innings in cricket to date.
“Whilst both innings will go down as memorable in my books, there are times when I sit and reminisce on the second as I was struck by Berbice fast bowler Brendon Bess on the left hand, with a torn tissue being the end result, hence the pain.”
When it comes to the Regional tournament, Barrington has set his goals already, with an aim of being amongst the top batsmen at the end of the tournament.
“I am looking forward to stepping onto the field of play with players of the calibre of Travis Dowlin, Leon Johnson and Narsingh Deonarine. These three are the experienced members of the squad and being amongst them gives me lots of motivation.
“My aim is to score runs whilst at the same time, ending amongst the tournament’s top run scorers not only for Guyana, but overall once I am selected for all the matches” said Barrington.
“When I was with Everest, I felt that there was improvements that was needed in my game so with encouragements from a few friends, I took a transfer to MSC and thanks to the personnel there such as Neil Barry, Sean Holder, Theresa Pemberton, Arron Fraser and club president Lance Hinds, I have seen the improvements, hence my position today in the senior national team.”
“I endured a lot of verbal abuse from some members of Everest following that transfer, as they probably felt that I was committed to the club. But thanks be to God, they understood my reasons for leaving and the heckling ceased,” Barrington stated.
Barrington had earlier inked his name in the selectors’ minds, with back-to-back centuries in the GCB President’s Cup competition as a member of the Rohan Kanhai Strikers.
He had scores of 140 and 114 against the Lance Gibbs Tigers, followed by 22 against the Clive Lloyd Supercats and a belligerent 63 against Essequibo in the GCB/Pepsi/Carib Beer Inter-county Twenty20 competition.
His father may have been a boxer and even though his sport is cricket, young Shemroy Barrington has all the makings of a fighter.
