Dominik Samuels – Windies, Jamaican youth player and UWI medical student

Integrating cricket and academics

By Brandon Corlette

“If there is any Guyanese player I had to admire, it will definitely be the illustrious and resilient Shivnarine Chanderpaul; he is not the flashiest guy, but the most effective and hardworking” Jamaican Dominik Samuels mused in his interview with Guyana Times Sport.
With nine Grade Ones at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examinations and seven Grade Ones at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE), the Jamaica Under-19 and Windies youth player is an inspiration to all young cricketers. Born on December 21, 1999, Samuels took time off his busy schedule to share his journey so far with this publication in an exclusive interview.
Having represented the West Indies at the Under-15 level and Jamaica at all youth levels, the teenager has passed through the ranks and is one to keep an eye out for in the near future.
The son of Raymond Samuels and Debbie Webster-Samuels, the elegant right-handed batsman hails from Liguanea, Kingston, Jamaica.
Coming from a family with rich cricketing knowledge, Samuels attended St Peter and Paul Preparatory (primary) and Campion College (secondary) schools. Presently, he is a first-year medical student at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus and he represents Kingston Cricket Club.
Samuels told this reporter that it was very important for every cricketer to have a solid education, as cricket is a sport in which players are susceptible to pick up injuries and a career can end within moments.
“Education is a backup and cricketers will need something to fall back on,” he explained. He further emphasised that education helped to integrate individuals into society and instilled moral values whereby the society could look up to them.
At age seven, Samuels, who was living in Barbados at the time, started his cricket career, playing for his school and the Wanderers Cricket Club. He is inspired by his father, who has been a personal coach to him; his mother and his sister. When asked who was his favourite cricketer, he responded: “Virat Kohli: he is confident, consistent and crafty; he is the personification of what a modern-day player should be. Kohli is very admirable.” Samuels, who attended the same school as Brandon King emulates his schoolmate, who is an aggressive Jamaican and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots batsman.
Samuels will be aiming to represent the West Indies at the international level, but if not selected to represent the Caribbean side, he told this reporter that he would pursue a medical career. As an athlete and a sports lover, the ambitious medical student will be aiming to build a career in sports medicine and orthopaedic surgery. This will be a suitable field for the youngster since he understands the psychology of cricketers.
Dominik Samuels is a special individual, having achieved a rare feat, playing regional cricket and representing West Indies at the Under-15 level, but simultaneously pursuing tertiary studies. Most Guyanese cricketers give the sport their undivided attention and fail to pursue higher education, Samuels’s story will remind Guyanese cricketers of the importance of education.