By Colin Benjamin
Recently they were rival star players in the just- concluded traditional Berbice vs Demerara showdown in the Guyana and Trinidad Mutual (GTM) under-19 competition.
But now that they have joined their talents in the national side, both young spinners are hoping to form a potent spin combination for Guyana in the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), TCL-sponsored regional under-19 tournament to be hosted by Guyana from July 17.
Stabroek Sport yesterday afternoon had a brief interview with the duo during the team’s net session at the Lusignan Community Centre Ground which was supervised by coach Hubern Evans, Manager Raymond Barton and fitness coach Noshavyah King of Genesis Fitness Express.
The two spinners were the main wicket-taking options for their county captains as they consistently spun webs around opposition batsmen. But they expressed cautious optimism about forming a mini Mahendra Nagamotoo/Neil McGarrell partnership for the youth side.
“Myself and Motie bowled well for our counties and I am confident that along with him and other spinners such as Jamal La Fleur, Anthony Adams and Loydell Lewis we have a spin attack capable of bowling out teams twice.”
The confident sounding Khan added, “Overall though I’m just looking to put my best forward, heed instructions and guidance from my manager and coach in an effort to make Guyana proud in this competition.”
However, the modest, diminutive Motie was grateful to have been selected for Guyana and just hopes to continue doing what he has been doing best – which is bamboozling batsmen with his efficient left-arm orthodox spin bowling.
Khan who has already represented the Guyana senior team and the West Indies U-19 team, also highlighted that his past experience in playing at those higher levels was a key factor in him being so dominant over his peers in this year’s Inter County Under-19 competition.
“Playing for Guyana and bowling against the Pakistan batsmen was great experience and taught me a lot about spin bowling.
Bowling to international batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq at Bourda a few months ago I realized at that level I had to bowl quicker than usual, because flighting the ball too much makes them hit you over the top easy. But when I bowled to batsmen in the under-19 I was able to flight much more often since batsmen in my age-group are more defensive,” Khan noted.
As the team continues its tournament preparation with their current 13-day camp which began on Sunday, other activities have been scheduled including cricket knowledge enhancement in the form of laws of cricket lectures, pool sessions, fitness sessions and one or two practice matches against a Select XI at a venue yet to be decided.
