National under-19 captain Ronaldo Alimohamed is still embracing the experiences of training with the West Indies under-19 squad in preparation for the January 2018 Youth World Cup in New Zealand.
Alimohamed attended a camp held in Grenada from November 9-13 and gave the player who was not initially named in the training squad a shot at showcasing his immense potential.
Ronaldo Alimohamed (second from right) is hoping his performances at the camp are good enough to make the World Cup squad
“I was home a night when I got a text message from the coach [Graeme West] saying congratulations you have be selected for the camp and it was a great feeling to be in the camp”, he told Guyana Times Sport on Thursday.
During the 2017 Cricket West Indies (CWI) under-19 tournament, the all-rounder led Guyana to both the three-day and 50-over titles. His performers were exemplary for a cricketer who has donned national colours throughout all age-group cricket.
In the three-day leg, his medium-pace collected 18 wickets while he scored 153 runs inclusive of one half-century. With the white ball he snared six wickets and with his limited exposure with bat made 59 runs.
“The coach said I am a good player since my performances in the regional under-19 tournament were good but I was just unlucky not to make the initial squad”.
Regarding the camp which would have tested him on all facets of the sport, the Georgetown Cricket Club player was adamant he could have done better.
“It was a good chance for me to make the World Cup squad and my performance was not so good I would say. Not being harsh on myself, I think I would rate it five out of ten. I fell down with my batting since I did not score as much runs as I would want but the coach told me to just keep working on both my batting and bowling”.
The powerful right-handed batsman would have entered the camp high in confidence since he was adjudged the Most Promising Player of the Jaguars’ Franchise League, with an aggregate of 447 runs and 13 wickets playing for West Demerara.
He credited the improvement to training with the Cricket Guyana Inc (CGI) Academy. “It was a confident boost of being one the most leading players in the league. The academy training has been helping me a lot since I am learning great insights from the coaches”.
With an additional support base from club coach and former England cricketer Monty Lynch, the 19-year old plans on working overtime to make his mark in the senior national team and the West Indies.
The West Indies camp was also attended by fellow national teammates, Raymond Perez, Ashmead Nedd, Joshua Persaud and Bhaskar Yadram. Another camp is expected to be held in December for the defending champions who are installed in Group of A of the alongside Kenya, South Africa and the hosts.
