Sixteen year old Jonathan Rampersaud has twin goals that he aspires to reach become a cricketer and an agricultural engineer.
He is preparing to write 11 subjects at the Caribbean Examinations Council’s Secondary Education Certificate while at the same time vying for a spot in the National Under-17 side.
Those goals might be alien to a lot of youngsters but not Rampersaud, a `country boy’ so to speak, who grew up in Berbice an area where farming and cricket are predominant.
Rampersaud is motivated to show the world that education and cricket can go hand-in-hand.
In the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Bel Air Rubis Inter-County tournament, the off-spinner has already sent a message to the selectors as one of the better bowlers on display. He took three wickets for just six runs in his first match and scored an important 20 while bowling four overs for only 16 runs in his second game. However, the left-handed batsman is keen to churn out a big performance before the tournament culminates.
“I am really excited and determined to make Guyana Under-17 this year,” he said adding…”I have been working hard on my game.
“Writing exams and playing cricket is difficult but I know I can do it and I will.”
The only child of Charran and Rohanie Rampersaud, he attends the JC Chandisingh Secondary but when he isn’t in school burning the books, he heads to the back of the compound to the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, where he plays his cricket, all within walking distance of his home.
He told Stabroek Sport his plan is to become an agricultural engineer in order to fulfill his academic passion but he is also keen on becoming one of the best players to don the West Indies uniform and excel in Test Cricket.
For the youngster, the love of agriculture dates back to his grandfather, Bridgemohan Rampersaud who was a mechanical engineer and later through his father, who was a farmer and would often take him into the fields.
He explained, “My father and grandfather were both in agriculture and I want to continue the legacy of my family.”
The all-rounder said both his father and grandfather are avid cricket lovers and would often sit and watch television when matches are aired but his mother had pushed for him to take his studies more seriously rather than cricket. However, when he made the Guyana Under-15 team, she encouraged him to balance the two.
Within the last three years, Rampersaud was selected to the Berbice Under-15s following a blistering 110 versus Number 19 in the County’s Inter-Club tournament. The tall, soft spoken lad, picked up 15 wickets in the Inter-County tournament which earned him three of four Man-of- the-Match awards and secured a spot in Guyana Under-15 where he was appointed vice-captain.
In the regional tournament, Rampersaud stroked 69 against the Leeward Islands and bagged seven wickets to be among the 18 best youngsters at the time, selected for the West Indies Under-16, but did not make the final 14.
But while he was in Jamaica for the Regional Under-15, his father suffered a stroke and left his mother to fend for her family by selling at a canteen near his school.
His father’s illness and mother’s determination, pushed the young man to have a greater sense of responsibility and has allowed him to make consistent strides in the sport while maintaining around 80 percent every term.
The talented all-rounder continued his exploits and returned to the GCB Under-17 tournament last year but despite performing well including a standout performance with 4-21 and 41, he was overlooked for the national side.
He labeled the feeling of non-selection as “gut wrenching,” noting that at that point he wanted to give up on his cricket career but was encouraged by Chief Executive Officer of his club and President of the Berbice Cricket Board, Hilbert Foster along with other senior players such as Delbert Hicks, Shawn Perreira, Kevin Sinclair and Eon Hooper to continue working hard and “don’t take on the setback.”
Foster categorizes Rampersaud as one of the most talented youth players in the county and spoke highly of his ethics while exemplifying his skills through his importance in the club’s first-division side.
At age 13, Rampersaud made his first-division debut and has remained a mainstay ever since. He elevated his performances in the 2019 GCB 50-over Franchise League, where he scored 120 runs and picked up four wickets from six matches for Upper Corentyne.
He carried that form into the Berbice qualifying Under-17 tournament and laced a brutal 141 against Rose Hall Canje to secure his spot in the side. That season, he scored 326 runs from eight matches and picked up a dozen wickets.
