A number of young players in the current West Indies set up have captured the attention of the side’s assistant coach, Roddy Estwick.
“I’ve said in England we had 10 exciting young fast bowlers and what we’ve got to do now is make sure we get games for them to play so they could understand the angles, understand reading the pitches and the length they got to bowl,” the 59-year-old said during a recent press conference via Zoom.
One of those players Estwick gave his seal of approval to was fast-bowling all-rounder, Keemo Paul.
According to Estwick, “Keemo is a very talented cricketer, he hasn’t played first class cricket for a while because he has been with the West Indies team and the T20 circuit, and it’s good to have him back for the series we’ve got two first-class games coming up.”
The 22-year-old Guyanese, who was recently part of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League has played three Tests, 19 50-overs and 18 T20Is for West Indies, picking up 53 wickets across the formats.
Estwick recommended more first-class matches for the Saxacalli resident while comparing the Essequibo-born to late Bajan-born, West Indies all-
rounder, Keith ‘Stingray’ Boyce.
“We know the talent of Keemo Paul, there is no doubt about that, he reminds me of someone like the late Keith Boyce from Barbados who played for the west indies, a very athletic fielder, good mover, nice timer of the ball, good talent,” Estwick pointed out while adding, “it’s about how hard they are prepared to work and how much preparation they can put in and once he can do that and get first-class cricket under his belt then there is no doubt about it.”
Paul has played 21 first-class matches with 87 wickets under his belt to go with his top score of 107 and two half centuries.
Another player that has caught the eyes of Estwick is Shemar Holder. Like Paul, Holder is a 22-year-old pacer who has returned 76 wickets in his 19 first-class appearances.
“Shemar is an exciting talent, he had a wonderful first-class season and his time will come, there is no doubt about that…exciting prospect and he is a very hard working young man so I think once his opportunity comes he will be able to grab it with both hands,” Estwick opined on the Bajan.
Another fast bowler on Estwick’s radar is Jayden Seales. The 19-year-old who represented West Indies in the recent Under-19 World Cup and successful Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League has been selected in the Test reserves.
“You look at Jayden Seales, he is here as well an exciting prospect,” Estwick acknowledged.
The former Barbados pacer was of the opinion that there needs to be more guidance from those who played the game before in order to help the younger players become successful.
He said, “We’ve got to find enough cricket for them to play and we’ve got to talk cricket with them, we’ve got to pass on our experiences, our knowledge and we’ve got to make sure that once they enter the Test arena they do justice, you just don’t fully understand Test cricket until about 10-15 matches so you’ve got to be patient as well.”
