Former West Indies Test all-rounder and current Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) President, Roger Harper on Tuesday reminded the four DCC players selected to represent Guyana in this year’s Cricket West Indies Regional Under-19 tournament in St. Vincent, that they must be good ambassadors of themselves, their parents, their club and their country.
Harper was speaking at a simple ceremony hosted by the Executive Committee and members of the DCC to reward the four junior club members, Ashmead Nedd, Joshua Persaud, Qumar Torrington and Sachin Singh, some of the country’s brightest talent.
“This is a simple, but important ceremony. We are not just here to acknowledge the selection of these youngsters on Guyana’s Under-19 team; this club is accustomed to that. We are used to players making the Guyana Under-19 team, but we want to convey to young Sachin, Ashmead, Joshua and young Qumar that we are delighted that you are selected, and we are behind you,” Harper acknowledged.
“We expect you to use this opportunity and really show what you are capable of because we here have seen it, but it’s more important that you go out there and show the wider Caribbean and the rest of the world what you are capable of…Be committed to helping your team succeed… be focused and work hard, do yourselves proud, and by doing yourselves proud, you will be doing Guyana proud and by extension, the Demerara Cricket Club proud,” the former Guyana Captain added.
Each player received new gear and a stipend as a gesture of the club’s appreciation for their efforts of continuing to represent its rich history.
The quartet has represented the West Indies at the junior level in the recent past and will have to play critical roles if Guyana is to retain both the three day and the one-day titles they won in 2017.
Nedd, who was one of the leading wicket-takers in the three-day format of last year’s tournament which earned him a spot on the West Indies Under –19 team for the ICC Under-19 Youth World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year, will be keen to replicate his success.
Persaud, on the other hand, who was also selected for the West Indies team for the Youth World Cup, said he is keen to be one of the tournament’s top performers with the bat.
Torrington, who is regarded as an excellent fast bowling prospect, the tournament will be an opportunity to fortify his growing reputation. Meanwhile, Singh, the youngest member of the bunch at age 16, the selection gives him an opportunity to test his temperament and character at the regional Under-19 level.
