West Indies Under-19 left-arm spinner, Ashmead Nedd believes that his performance at the Youth World Cup earlier this year in South Africa is just the stepping stone in his career.
The 19-year-old, who also featured in the World Cup two years ago told Stabroek Sport, “ I think this World Cup was great for me compared to the last one. I think I’ve learned a lot and I was more relaxed and focused on what I had to do.”
With this new-found knowledge, Nedd explained he intends to continue training hard and “whatever comes to hand, grab it.”
Despite the unusually high number of left-arm spinners emerging, Nedd is unfazed by the challenge, noting that he “doesn’t really study about who is there but will let my performance will speak for itself.”
The Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) right-handed batsman reflected on the tournament and posited that barring the one loss in six matches, the team did well and he was able to fulfill his goal of finishing as the leading wicket-taker for the Caribbean side.
“I think we could have done better, but I still think we played good cricket, we played six and lost one so that’s pretty good. Nevertheless, a lot has been learned and moving forward could be a learning process,” he added.
Nedd finished with 11 wickets with an economy rate of 3.54, making him among the top 10 bowlers in the tournament.
He went on to say, “This accomplishment is one of the better ones for me. It began since in the Tri-Series prior to the World Cup and going into the tournament I had a goal of taking 12 wickets in the six matches and I took 11 so I’m pretty much satisfied with that.”
Looking back on the matches, Nedd, the son of former national off-spinner turned coach, Garvin, pointed out “The game against New Zealand when I got three wickets and put West Indies in a comfortable position to win will be my most memorable moment.”
Prior to the World Cup, Nedd was part of the West Indies Emerging Players side that won the Regional Super50 tournament. He also bagged 11 wickets with an economy rate of 3.27.
