Former Guyana under-17 batsman, Matthew Nandu cashed in on a purple patch to score over 1000 runs across three leagues in Canada this season.
Despite the Novel Coronavirus curtailing most of the sports world’s plans, when some amount of normalcy prevailed and the season continued, the 17-year-old scored 1130 runs in 16 innings, averaging 86.9.
Stabroek sport caught up with the teenager who was the youngest player to be drafted in the Global T20 Canada last year to discuss his exploits.
Summarizing the season, Nandu related, “It was a very good season for me. I think it has been one of my best cricket seasons and I will continue to put in the work towards my game and develop my skills.”
Factoring in the pandemic, Nandu noted, “I knew if there was a season, it would be a very short one so if anything I knew I had to work hard and continue with my fitness training, and net sessions…I was very happy that in August the leagues announced that there will be a cricket season in 2020.”
The left-handed batsman, who also has the services of his brother, Marcus and cousin Miguel explained, “I am very lucky that I have a batting cage at home, so COVID-19 didn’t have that much of an effect on me. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to play in another cricket season especially since I put in the work during the off season.”
Nandu said he was pleased with his batting especially after scoring three centuries.
“The highlight for the season, was scoring three consecutive centuries,” he said adding that he ended with five tons.
He was most proud, however, of ending with the most runs in the Brampton-Etobicoke and District Cricket League and the Scarborough Cricket League (SCL) as well as the Ontario Under-18 tournament where he walked away as the Most Valuable Player. He envisions greater things next season adding that he wants to continue to put in the work and improve on his game.
He has also set his sights on returning to Guyana and churning out similar performances for his clubs, Everest and Nandy Park.
However his main goal is to break into the Guyana Under-19 team.
In the Brampton-Etobicoke and District Cricket League the Kaieteur Cricket Club opener scored 592 runs to lead his team to first place in the conference. In his eight innings, the left-hander scored two half centuries and three tons including the highest score of the tournament, 167. With the ball, he also collected 13 wickets.
Over in the under-18 Ontario Regional Championship League, Nandu copped the Most Valuable Player award while captaining East to a second-placed finish. The son of former West Indies Under-19 and Guyana First-Class player, Arjune Nandu, stroked 220 runs in four innings. In those outings, Nandu scored one century and one half century to end with an average of 73. He also bagged eight wickets bowling off-spin.
Meanwhile, in the SCL, Nandu hammered the highest score of the tournament, 146 to add to his two half centuries in four innings. However, despite his heroics, his team placed third out of four teams.
