I have to keep my standards high – Nedd

…spinner still willing to absorb a wealth of knowledge

By Akeem Greene

Life coach Tony Robbins once stated, “If you want to change your life, you have to raise your standards.”
It is a concept Windies Under-19 player Ashmead Nedd is keeping close to his heart as he battles his way to the pinnacle of cricket, but first he must stamp his authority at the youth level, given the experience gained.

Having entered the ICC Youth World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year at just 16 years old, the spinner is plotting a course of upward mobility. His first step in this regard since his return from New Zealand has been towards registering “A” Grade performances is the ongoing Under-19 Inter-County tournament, wherein he starred for Demerara with a match haul of 8-61 against the National Under-17 Select Team.
“It was a great performance. I have been doing some work on my action by trying to keep my front arm as high as possible. As a senior player in this tournament, people are looking forward to getting great performances from me”, the orthodox left-arm spinner conveyed to <<Guyana Times Sport>> on Thursday after an innings-and-56 runs’ victory.
He added, “I have been around for quite some time in youth cricket, so I have to keep my standards as high as possible, and perform. Bad games will come, but I still have to look to be consistent”.
As the result showed, wickets came, but he was cognisant it was not his best day out with the ball. Too quickly he had switched to a defensive modus operandi, nullifying his menacing flight and drift. At times it was a reflection of his participation in an unsuccessful World Cup bid, where he had collected one wicket in five matches; which came as a surprise, since he was the Most Valuable Player (Three-Day) in the preceding regional tournament.
“I have the tapes, and what went wrong was my bio-mechanics. I have been talking to my father [Garvin Nedd] and he said my bi-mechanics have fallen off from where it started, and I have to keep working, doing more spot bowling and try to fix it as fast as possible”, the Demerara Cricket Club player revealed.
With this issue in mind, he plans on absorbing as much information as is possible from learned persons.
“I am still willing to learn more about the game. Every day is a learning process in life. The more information I gather from people will benefit me in the future,” he said.
More so, after stroking a responsible 62 in a recent club match, which piloted DCC to the title, the right-hand batsman is hopeful for more opportunities to show he is not “just a bowler”.
Eligible to play another World Cup in 2020, Nedd contends that the preparation starts now, from as low as the club level; and not just for him, but for all who are desirous of helping the Windies regain the title.