PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Uncapped wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua DaSilva believes his call-up to the reserves for the tour of England is a boost for his career, and says he will use the experience as a learning curve.
The right-hander, who turns 22-year-old later this month, impressed in his first full first class season and has earned a place in the 11-man reserves which will accompany the main 14-man Test squad for the three-Test series.
“Being selected is definitely a big motivation to me,” the Trinidadian told TV6 here.
“Just to be part of the reserves and to go to England with the team and to be able to learn from the senior players and experience how it is in a Test set-up, and to gain that experience will definitely better my career.
“All the training I will get will help me in years to come and make me a far better player.”
He continued: “I will definitely try to take in as much information that I can with this opportunity and it is something you don’t get every day, and it is so early in my career so it is definitely something I will take advantage of and ask as many questions that I can, especially from (Shane) Dowrich and (Shai) Hope who both play similar roles to mine.”
Compact and organised, DaSilva stood out during the recent first class season, gathering 507 runs at an average of 50 to lead Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s batting.
He struck his maiden first class hundred in the first series of the championship – an unbeaten 113 against Jamaica Scorpions in Tarouba. “All my family and friends are very happy for me and they have been very encouraging,” DaSilva explained.
“Even when I was just on the provisional squad my parents were like, ‘yeah, you’re going’ so I never had any doubts that I would be heading to England.
“They’ve just been looking at all the measures being put in place to make sure it is safe and everyone is happy with it so I was never in any doubt about making the trip.”
West Indies are facing England in cricket’s first-ever “bio-secure” series which see both teams heavily isolated for the duration of the seven-week tour, played amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
Tests will be played at “bio-secure” environments at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Old Trafford in Manchester, with strict sanitisation and social distancing protocols employed.
West Indies left the Caribbean Monday and will undergo a two-week quarantine at Old Trafford.
While fellow Trinidadian Darren Bravo, along with the Guyanese pair of Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul opted out of the tour, DaSilva said he felt assured by the safety measures being implemented.
“Right now, I have no doubts about the measures put in place that will keep us safe,” he pointed out.
“It is a bio-secure environment and everything we’ve been told is 100 per cent okay with me and I completely agree with everything they are doing.
“And I think it will be harder to catch COVID-19 in that bio-secure environment in England.”
The first Test bowls off at the Ageas Bowl on July 8.
