At eighteen years of age, Joshua Persaud is fully aware his time as a youth cricketer will soon expire after which he will be thrown into the senior ring which has a plethora of other budding maroon prospects.
Diminutive in stature, Persaud plans on standing tall with runs and niftiness behind the stumps as he plots a course to senior duties. The right-handed batsman got out of first gear quite emphatically by registering a majestic and unbeaten 150 for new alliance Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) against Police Sports Club in the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) First Division two-day competition on Saturday.
Clearly the runs would be the first eye-opener to his talent but the manner he went about his business of accumulation was quite impressive. Albeit the lawmen bowled to his strengths, striking 15 maximums and nine crisp fours was a remarkable feature.
Apart from the wristy shots, he still had a measured approach to rescue his team from 32-5, taking them to 261-7 declared.
“It’s always a great feeling to score a century and more so, one in the manner where it brought my team out of a hole was really a good one,” the Windies youth player revealed to Guyana Times Sport on Monday.
He added, “It is really important to score runs at the highest level and most importantly be consistent in order to give myself a good chance of breaking into the senior team.”
Playing his elementary years at the Wooldford Avenue based Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC); some cricket enthusiasts had raised eye brows over the sudden change in association.
“The people around DCC are really supportive in terms of my development and I really meant no disrespect to GNIC but it was just my choice to make the switch.”
*World Cup woes*
The ICC under-19 50-over is most times the pinnacle of achievement for many cricketers but for Persaud it was more heart break and frustration.
With VISA troubles delaying his arrival, he soon was on a plane out of New Zealand due to the sudden death of his mother Odessa Barton who succumbed after a car accident in the United States of America.
After being a part of the core training squad he left without getting the opportunity to play a match and the Windies in their title defence were booted in the group stage.
“My mother was indeed my biggest fan and that was the shock of my life when I got the news of her death but I got support from my family and friends to continue with what I love.”
The wicket-keeper batsman further expressed, “my dream was to win the World Cup but sometimes things don’t go the way you want it to go so we have to face that but it was a really tough loss.”
Apart from feasting heavily in the First Division competition, the former Chase Academic Foundation student is hopeful of the opportunity to be one of the developmental players with the Guyana Amazon Warriors in their Hero Caribbean Premier League campaign.
“From the first time I saw u-19 players with the Amazon Warriors I wanted to be a part of the camp. You get to train with these international stars and pick their brains. I can learn a few things from them about the game and boost my career,” he contended.