Jayden Seales etched his name in history as the youngest West Indian to take a five-wicket haul and it was Jason Holder and Kemar Roach’s mentorship that allowed him to grow.
The 19-year-old pacer shared these sentiments yesterday during a virtual press conference where he spoke of his development since joining the West Indies senior set up to helping lead the side to victory over Pakistan in the first Test last week.
According to Seales, former captain Holder has been instrumental in his upbringing when it comes to not only bowling, but his batting which allowed him to partner Roach and give West Indies that one-wicket win.
“From since New Zealand, he kind of take me under his wing and he would train with me and explain certain things to me, situations that he was in in cricket. Even training wise he would work with me on my batting,” said Seales.
“He would speak to me about bowling tactics and plans going forward so I think Jason and I got a pretty good relationship,” he added.
Unlike the close relationship with Holder, Seales said that with Roach he would try to follow in his footsteps and gather as much as he can.
“Well Kemar and I, I wouldn’t say we work very closely in training but during training I would go to him and just look at what he is doing and try and follow in his footsteps and try and do the things he would do and try and find out what is his plan going into the session and even the games he would come and tell me keep coming hard at the batsmen, keep putting energy on the ball so I think the advice he give me has helped me a lot…” he reasoned.
Seales faced a lot of criticism after he was selected with little to no experience playing First-Class cricket.
However, the exposure of being around the team since their last tour to New Zealand helped him learn his craft at a faster rate.
“The first tour to New Zealand I was still very shy. I was just looking around seeing how the guys carry themselves, the things they would do leading up to a Test match and even the day before the Test match and the day of the Test match the things they would do and I would ask simple plans like what is the plan in training today? What is the mindset going into the game and things like that and I think being around the team since New Zealand has helped my development a lot and helped me grow and understand my game a little more,” he said.
“I think all of my teammates rally around me even if they see I’m struggling or getting a little frustrated they always tell me keep coming at it, keep going at it and stick at it and it will work and I think the leadership is really good,” he continued.
Now, three Tests into his career, he has been showered with praise even from the likes of former West Indies fast bowler, now commentator, Ian Bishop.
“Being able to take my first five-wicket haul and being the youngest West Indian to do it, obviously is a privilege and I am very happy. I didn’t have words the day of and probably the day after and I think now I’m starting to understand what really went on and I am just happy to break that record,” Seales revealed.
Despite his feat, the teenager is still keen to improve on his mistakes and said that the next Test which begins Friday, he will start wicket-less.
“My thinking is just to try and improve some of the things I want to improve from the first test match, probably improve on the areas I should bowl and try and remain more consistent…If I am being honest with myself I would probably give myself a seven [out of 10 rating] mainly because I am someone who doesn’t like to go for a lot of runs, yes it is Test cricket and I am young but I still think I could have been a lot more economical and help the team in that aspect… yes I had a good performance but I have to start with zero wickets in the next game…” he detailed.
