For the last decade, Guyana has been blessed with an abundance of left-arm spinners coming through the ranks.
However, only a few have been able to transition into genuine all-rounders.
One bright prospect who has balanced both facets of the game is the gifted 16-year-old, Zachary Jodah.
The talented youngster has built quite a reputation coming through the junior ranks and despite the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the soft-spoken lad from Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) has continued to toil in his personal set up at home and in the community.
Jodah and his father, Richard, along with Uncle “Teddy” Dindyal, young Mavendra Dindyal and Matthew Nandu, train on average, four days a week at a community center which they have refurbished with a batting cage, nets, matting and other essentials to hone their craft. After a session, which usually lasts for about three hours, the father-son duo is not done there; they head back home where they spend another 45-odd minutes getting some more work in.
In fact, even before the pandemic, the left-arm spinner had shown tremendous improvement with the bat. He scored 163 runs in the Regional Under-15 tournament in 2019, with unbeaten scores of 68, 45, 39 and two which saw him ending the tournament with the highest batting average, 163.
One of the main reasons for his batting development has been the efforts of his father, who was considered to be one of the brightest batting prospects for the country during his youth days.
Jodah’s exploits with the ball was also impactful with five wickets to end the tournament as one of the best all-round players in the competition.
As captain, his leadership also saw Guyana finishing second in a controversial decision with an undeclared fast bowler resulting in the side losing their two fast-bowling points and, ultimately, the title by just one fast bowling point. However, due to the pandemic, Jodah was unable to further represent Guyana at the other levels since other regional tournaments were halted.
Nevertheless, his leadership qualities were recognized even further with him being named vice-captain of the Amazon Hawks for the inaugural Guyana Cricket Board Under-19 franchise tournament in 2021.
He was also the captain of GCC’s victorious Under-15 and Under-17 teams in the GCA tournament, as well as the captain of the victorious Demerara Under-17s at the Inter-County level.
The School of the Nations alum, who recently graduated from Secondary School with high academic honours, has been a standout in the junior level. Jodah has represented East Bank in the Demerara Inter-Association leagues, GCC, in the Georgetown Cricket Association tournaments and Demerara, in the Inter-County tournament.
The elegant batsman was awarded the best all-rounder for his club, GCC, at the Under-19s and Under-17s, while his fielding has improved leaps and bounds, resulting in him winning the best fielder award for the under-15s.
The talented prospect was spotted by former senior Guyana and West Indies Youth cricketer Arjune Nandu, who was touring Guyana with a Canadian youth team.
Nandu was impressed by him and subsequently invited the young Jodah to Canada, where he went on to have a decent stint in the Premier Division, scoring an impactful half century and taking a handful of wickets.
Jodah has captured the attention of many cricketing coaches and enthusiasts over his youth career, including GCA competitions chairman, Shaun Massiah.
“Zachary Jodah, a player who represents GCC under the GCA, has come a long way. From his Under-13 days, one could have spotted that this young lad has what it takes to become a quality cricketer and he did not let down what I saw. He has good temperament, patience and the ability to bat long in addition to his fine left-arm spin,” Massiah said.
Massiah, who is one of the few local administrators that consistently watch youth cricket had a bit of advice for the up-and-coming talent saying, “Zachary to me, has the potential to go on to the next level. He needs to continue to work hard, keep his focus and don’t be led astray. He has a level head and could be a future captain.”
