West Indies Cricket is apparently in good hands, and there seemingly are great prospects on the rise.
Joshua Da Silva
In Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional 4-Day Tournament, some youngsters have announced their presence by immediately impacting the game. Although some veterans have topped the respective charts, the performances of 22-year-old Chemar Holder and 21-year-old Joshua Da Silva have compared favourably with the best available in terms of taking wickets and scoring runs respectively. Holder, the former West Indies U-19 player who is rocking the Barbados Pride colours this season, has taken 36 wickets in the eight matches he played. Veteran left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul is the only bowler who has taken more wickets than Holder.
Holder is a right-arm speedster who has taken three five-wicket hauls, with best bowling figures of 6-47 at an average of 18.91.
Joshua Da Silva has been putting in good performances for Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. He is fifth on the runs table with 507 runs at a staggering average of 50.30. He has one century and three half-centuries under his belt, with a high score of 113*.
Chemar Holder
The Red Force left-arm spinner Akeal Hoesin has 36 wickets, while Preston McSwean, another former West Indies U-19 player, has 31 scalps this season.
Twenty-three-year-old fast-bowler Keon Harding of the Barbados Pride has taken 29 wickets. Having played for the West Indies Emerging Players team in the Super50 Cup, like Da Silva did, Harding has bagged two five-wicket hauls in his promising season.
Guyana’s new kid on the block, Nial Smith, has also announced himself with a bang. He has taken 20 wickets from the seven matches he played, and has two five-wicket hauls under his belt, including a best of 6-55 on debut.
Red Force 24-year-old off-spinner Bryan Charles, another former West Indies U-19 player, has taken 17 wickets in the season.
Although he has not been dominant, he has shown great promise with ball in hand.
More youngsters made strong statements in the 4-Day Tournament, and even more have shown great promise. If these players are nurtured, West Indies Cricket should continue to rise.
