The youngest member of Guyana’s National Under-19 team, Joshua Persaud is aspiring to the summit as he aims to finish the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional U-19 Tournament which gets underway today, with his first regional ton and the most runs.
Speaking to Guyana Times Sport via social media from his hotel in St Vincent, the 16-year-old right-handed wicketkeeper/batsman said it was his goal to achieve the aforementioned statistics at the end of this year’s tournament, knowing he has put in the work and it was just a matter of execution as he prepared to make an impact with every given opportunity.
Joshua Persaud
“Leading up to this tournament, I have worked hard on my cricket. I was involved in two camps, the U-17 and U-19, subsequent to the U-17 camp, I participated in the Regional U-17 tournament in Trinidad where I finished as Guyana’s leading run scorer and won the accolade for best wicket keeper. Due to my performance there and my healthy current condition as a cricketer, I believe it is time I show my true potential as a cricketer, especially with the bat. My goal is to score my first ton, end with the title of best batsman and top wicketkeeper,” said the Chase Academic Foundation student who will be entering Fifth Form in the new school term.
When questioned about his approach in achieving his goals with the bat, Persaud was quick to point out patience and consistency were the elements to attaining such milestones. However, the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) player believes concentration and his new approach – batting for long periods – will garner success.
Since his debut in 2014 on the national U-15 team, Persaud has been an impactful player. In that said tournament, Guyana won the title after a hiatus of 16 years and Persaud was not just a leading batsman on Guyana’s team but also in the tournament.
He usually opens the batting and is full of confidence and naturally aggressive against the fast bowlers and shows no remorse for the spinners, especially when they overloop the ball or are too short.
That sort of batsmanship coupled with his wicketkeeping skill assisted in his selection to the West Indies U-16 team on their tour of the United Kingdom where he played four matches and batted twice for returns of 21 and 12 not out.
Apart from his batting, Persaud is looking to contribute significantly behind the stumps since he understands how important the role is for his team as well as his individual contribution. He is optimistic about his team’s bowlers, saying the fast bowling department, including Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul and Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed, are experienced and capable and along with the spinners, they are going to create opportunities for him to finish as the leading man behind the stumps.
According to the confident player, these new goals were influenced by the West Indies Youth Team’s success at the Youth World Cup in Bangladesh. “Any youngster’s dream is to elevate to West Indies U-19 team to feature in a World Cup. Being able to view their (WI U-19) success at the World Cup this year would have been instrumental in my new goals.”
Persaud is expected to start in Guyana’s opening game against Jamaica today, as the team begin their quest to win a third successive Regional U-19 title. Among the stars is Keemo Paul, the West Indies U-19 Vice Captain and the batsman who hit the winning runs to seal the title at the World Cup. If Persaud should achieve his goals and support the likes of Paul, then Guyana can easily be successful for a third successive time.
