By Brandon Corlette
One of Trinidad and Tobago’s brightest young talents, Keagan Simmons will wear the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) kit in the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The left-handed Simmons who was delighted with his maiden call-up CPL cricket, has dominated cricket at the junior level.
He holds the record for the second highest score for West Indies U-19s at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He also scored two centuries at the monumental U-19 showpiece which took place in New Zealand in 2018. The top-order left-hander sits with an elite group of West Indies batsmen as only the third player from the Caribbean to achieve this feat, after his cousin Lendl Simmons and West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite.
Filled with elegance when batting, the left-handed stroke-maker made his debut at the senior ‘Regional’ level for West Indies ‘B’ in the 2018-19 season, wherein he scored 162 runs in five matches in the Super50 tournament in 2018.
The compact top-order batsman who has played alongside veteran batsman Marlon Samuels in that tournament, scored two half-centuries, including a high score of 60 against his home team Trinidad and Tobago and currently has a batting average of 32.40 in List A cricket. He has also added scores of 57 against the Windward Islands and 44 against Guyana to his credentials to cap an impressive debut Regional Super50 for the West Indies ‘B’ team.
The motivated player who will also be aiming to make the most of his maiden CPL stint with the Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2019 recently inked a contract with Trinidad and Tobago Red Force for the upcoming 2019/2020 CWI Regional Super50 and 4-Day tournaments which is also another major boost to his young career.
Pertaining to the future, this talented young player has said his aim is to perform to the best of his ability for the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW). “I am eager to show my ability at this level for the GAW team which has done well in previous CPL seasons,” Simmons disclosed.
The Trinidadian with huge dreams also places much emphasis on preparation and training has been going through his paces in a smart and intense fashion. “My preparation has been smart and intense, and I will make sure I am ready to contribute significantly to the team,” Simmons stated. “This selection gives me that added confidence in my talent and performances. I feel this is just the start of my cricketing career, and I feel I have a lot of developing and growing to [do to] become as good as I can be,” Simmons declared.
This year at the player draft in London, each CPL franchise were compelled to pick two West Indies emerging white ball players which resulted in Simmons and Jamaican speedster Odean Smith being snapped up by the Guyana Amazon Warriors. While Smith has CPL and international experience this is Simmons’ first showing at the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ where he will experience Cricket Played Louder.
