Guyana Jaguars all-rounder Keemo Paul is seeking to build a high level of consistency which can hopefully earn him a spot on the West Indies ‘A’ team in the near future.
In just four First-Class matches, Essequibian player has been one of the standout performers with both bat and ball and even produced some brilliances in the field.
“I want to be consistent, just don’t want to score one century here and after that make low scores, I want to get a good average and hopefully move on from there because I want to make the [West Indies] A-team sometime so I’m working towards that” he stated.
On Saturday, he re-affirmed his glowing potential as one of the better all-rounders in the region when he blazed to his maiden First-Class century against Jamaica Scorpions at Providence in the 2017/2018 Cricket West Indies (CWI) Digicel 4-Day championship.
The man from Saxacalli smashed 12 fours and four sixes in his pugnacious 107. An amazing aspect of the feat is that he reached the first fifty from 89 balls but took just 34 more balls to reach the 100-run milestone.
“It is a great feeling to go out and score my first ton for Guyana. I just want to continue building from that and be consistent. Just score a lot of runs and get wickets so I can cement my space in the team.”
His nippy medium pace has become a main asset for the side either with old or new ball
The scintillating innings left Scorpion’s bowlers lacking confidence as all their ideas only resulted in long jogs to recover the ball.
He added, “I knew we had to declare at tea so I had at least an hour to get the next fifty and my attacking instinct just kicked in and I played my natural game. I chose the right balls to hit and went for it.”
Last season with ball in hand, he swung his way to career-best figures of 6 for 28 against the Windward Island Volcanoes at Providence in just his second match which helped the Jaguars to seal their three-peat in titles.
Vice-captain of the West Indies U19 team that won the youth World Cup in 2016, the 19 year-old credited the enhanced system in domestic cricket for helping to improve his trade.
“It is tough being an all-rounder but being in the academy and getting the C-contract and having the opportunity to train every day where we place a lot of emphasis on fitness. So I’m always well prepared to work and I manage it very well.”
With little time to savour their success against Scorpions on Sunday, the Jaguars departed Guyana on Monday morning for their next battle against the Volcanoes in St Lucia starting on Thursday and for the Demerara Cricket Club player his and teammates focus is on winning.
“We have a very good team and we are going for a win and nothing else. The wicket offers more for the seamers so I will look to dig in, get some wickets and score some runs. My main objective is for the team to win, so hopefully we play our best and be victorious.”
