West Indies Under-19 opener Shimron Hetmyer said yesterday that he was excited over his call up to the Guyana senior team ahead of their sixth round encounter against the Leeward Islands in the ongoing West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional 4-day tournament.
Looking to finish a dismal tournament on a high, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) selectors have made a few alterations to the team’s line up ahead of their next game with Hetmyer one of the players getting a nod.
The 17 year-old Berbician who earlier this year played in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, told this newspaper that he was “feeling good” about being considered to represent his country at the senior level.
“I’m confident about my batting for the past four games I played where I scored some half-centuries and hundreds,” said Hetmyer.
The left-hander set the legendary Port Mourant Cricket Ground alight this past weekend during a 15/15 cricket competition where his club team Universal Solutions Bermine were crowned winners.
The bullish opener slammed a 43-ball 125, recording his 100 of just 34 deliveries in the final. The knock is also one of the fastest centuries on the ground. He also had a decent World Cup with significant scores of; 39, 49, 46* and 56.
The youngster, who is known to have a good temperament, said that he does not mind adjusting to a four-day format admitting that “It’s not a big adjustment for me”. He also says he relishes the opportunity to rub shoulders with his more senior teammates, stating that he will be looking to the seniors to “pass on the knowledge”.
Also recalled to the 4-day side is aggressive opening left-hander Trevon Griffith, all-rounder Zaheer Mohamed and fast-bowler Ronsford Beaton whilse those dropped are Narsingh Deonarine, Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Chanderpaul’s exit from the team is due to the veteran batsman’s English county commitment to his club Derbyshire, but with scores of 26 & 18 and 8 & 26, Chanderpaul’s return from injury after the first round of the tournament, did not have the necessary impact.
Deonarine, who is one of the most senior batsmen in the Guyana team had a torrid 4-day run thus far, recording five ducks three of which were consecutive. The left-hander produced scores of 0 & 38, 0 & 0, 0 & 38, and 19 & 0 from his eight innings and was finally given the axe by the selectors.
The all-rounder Barnwell, who had a good Regional 50 limited overs tournament, has so far made starts but failed to convert his scores of 34 & 14, 2 & 4, 13 & 4, and 22 & 11.
In Bishoo’s case, the leg-break bowler had an up and down tournament claiming 13 wickets for 366 runs with one five-wicket haul which he grabbed against Barbados in round two playing at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
The team reads: Leon Johnson (Captain), Assad Fudadin, Amir Khan, Trevon Griffith, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Zaheer Mohamed, Ronsford Beaton, Anthony Bramble, Veerasammy Permaul (Vice-Captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Raun Johnson, Keon Joseph, Chandarpaul Hemraj.
The Coach is Esaun Crandon and the Manager is Alvin Johnson.
