With the official grades for the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results coming out recently a number of junior cricketers showed that balancing sports and education is possible.
Stabroek Sport caught up with a few of these budding talents who shared their experience and revealed their plans for the future.
Jonathan Rampersaud – 9 ones, 2 twos
Former national under-15 all-rounder, Jonathan Rampersaud overcame a number of setbacks to come out as one of the best students of the J.C. Chandisingh Secondar School.
Rampersaud, who plays for Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, is heading to the University of Guyana (UG) where he will pursue a degree in Business Management compliments of a scholarship from the MMP foundation.
Rampersaud has faced many obstacles. He heard of his father suffering a stroke while on national duties and his mother was forced to become the sole bread winner of the family.
Nevertheless, Rampersaud has been actively chasing his dream to play for the West Indies and to continue his family’s legacy as an Agricultural Engineer.
Ashmini Munisar- 3 ones, 4 twos, 2 threes
Guyana under-19 all-rounder, Ashmini Munisar, is well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming an accountant. Munisar told Stabroek Sport that now this phase of life is over, she will be taking up accounts and playing for the West Indies women while venturing towards entrepreneurship.
“I’m thinking about going into the world of work and as time goes by maybe I can manage to take care of my university fees and my family since my dad died when I was nine years old and my mom is the only one taking care of everything,” Munisar said of her plans.
The New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary School student, who has featured in the Berbice senior female team at just 16-years-old explained:”The examinations itself was not as hard as I expected but with the whole COVID-19 pandemic, there was some interest in risking my life and family.”
Munisar, who was ever present at any game Rose Hall Canje played, said that she found it difficult balancing both cricket and books but made it work after going to school then to practice before studying at nights.
However, Munisar rtecived assistance from her coach and teacher, Ameer Rahaman, who assisted her with both aspects.
Rahul Singh- 5 ones, 3 twos, 2 threes
When logging into the CXC portal, Rahul Singh was nervous as a batsman on 99. However, when the results became available, that nervousness subsided and the satisfaction and relief of a victory took over.
Singh, who attended Valmiki College of Business and Technology, said that it was no easy road. He said, “Coming down to the final preparation it was tough with the whole pandemic and all but with the help of my teachers we were able to work and prepare for CSEC virtually.”
While waiting for his grades, Singh was offered a teaching role at the school but having been accepted at University of Guyana to pursue a degree in Business Management, he is aspiring to become a business owner.
Singh will now be balancing working, studying and playing for the Georgetown Cricket Club.
Abdul Ramsammy- 4 ones, 3 twos, 2 threes
A budding Agronomist, Abdul Ramsammy is taking up his mark after completing an exceptional performance at Berbice High School.
The Tucber Park cricketer noted, “CXC was challenging, some exams were quite difficult but with the work from my teachers and my own research I would say I managed satisfying grades,” Ramsammy said.
The off-spinner and capable batsman highlighted that COVID-19 was one of the major obstacles when writing his exams.
Looking ahead, the Berbice under-17 all-rounder is working on improving his fitness while still thinking about pursing his studies at the Guyana School of Agriculture or University of Guyana.
Andre Seepersaud- 4 twos, 1 three
Former Guyana under-17 vice-captain, Andre Seepersaud showed his ability in the classroom. Seepersaud managed his time wisely at the Zeeburg Secondary School and Zeeburg Sports Club which was a stone’s throw away from each other.
Now looking to enter the world of work, Seepersaud said CXC was “good” but also cited the pandemic as one of the hindrances to his studies.
The easy going Seepersaud indicated that he is now focusing on under-19, breaking into the Cricket Guy Inc. Academy and working towards representing Guyana at the senior level as well as the West Indies.
