The lone newcomer in the Guyana senior female team, Cherry-Ann Fraser, has set her sights on changing Guyana’s fortunes as the team looks to capture the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional title.
The 18-year-old all-rounder will make her debut at the senior level after just 10 months in hardball cricket, raising the bar as she goes.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport, the talented Diamond Housing Scheme resident said it was an overwhelming feeling as she sees a debut at the national level on the horizon.
“I feel great being called to the Guyana team, the girls are wonderful and I’m happy to be here with them,” Fraser said.
The young lady, who also represented Guyana at volleyball, said she will be looking to make her first year count.
With the ball, the medium pacer had a marvelous run in the Under-19 tournament where she picked up 3-9 against Windward Islands.
With the bat, the left handed batter’s highest score is 41, surprisingly in the same match, an all-round performance that saw her copping the player of the match award.
Looking at Guyana’s performance last year, Fraser said that there wasn’t any single thing or person to be blamed for their performance.
Now that she is in the team and has the opportunity to do her part, she is confident the team will go far and hopefully win the competition.
Fraser says she is humbled by her achievements in such a short space of time but reminded that it was by faith she got into the right channels to where she is now.
Fraser began her cricketing career with the windball version at the age of 10, playing for St. Agnes Primary in their school competition where she dominated.
She then took her talents to the streets of Cummings Lodge, where she resided at the time and would regularly play “even and straight” with the boys.
Fraser would then be called to play in the community’s female team but only through luck.
She explained, “The girls asked my cousin to come and play but she couldn’t play so they sent me instead and they thought it was me all the time and since then I never looked back.”
In the following years, Fraser would adopt herself as a brilliant all-rounder in the softball arena, playing for Mike’s Wellwoman.
After her domination in softball, Fraser said “one of the national players, Akaze Thompson, told us to come out and play hard ball at Inter-County and I just decided to come out and play.”
While Fraser knows the task at hand is an uphill one, she said she is aware that the preparation is key and more games and practice matches are crucial to the team’s chances.
Manager of the team, Bharat Mangru said he believes that the mixture of youth and experience will better aid Guyana’s chances of claiming the title.
Guyana is expected to depart next week for Jamaica where they will play in the competition from June 8-25.
