Prospective Guyana U-19 batsman Alphius Bookie confident of likely selection

By Brandon Corlette

From my analysis of the 2019 Hand-in-Hand Under-19 Inter-County tournament, Alphius Bookie looks to be one of the better middle-order batsmen. With the Guyana Under-19 players preparing for the 2019 Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Under-19 tournament slated for later this month, Bookie has said he is confident of being offered a place in the final Guyana Under-19 squad.
Speaking exclusively with this reporter, Bookie said he was expecting more during this 2019 Inter-County tournament, but is thankful for the opportunity to represent Guyana.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to put some solid performances in, but I (am) not contented, since there is always room for improvement”, Bookie declared.
The Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) player, a gifted right-handed middle-order batsman, has been a seasoned youth player at the Regional level, having twice played for Guyana Under-15 and twice for Guyana Under-17 in the past. He will be eyeing a maiden call-up in the Guyana Under-19 team for the 2019 tournament, which will be played in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
His journey as a cricketer began when, around age 5-6, he was exposed to the game by relatives from his father’s side who were more sport- oriented. “We used to play cricket all day in the streets, and we found out about DCC. My Uncle played for DCC, and he introduced me to the game”, Bookie explained.
Bookie said he started to play at the Under-13 level, and made great strides as a DCC player, playing an integral role in his team’s success. Born on November 2, 2000, Bookie has a high score of 131 not out, and his best bowling figure is 4-21, bowling right-arm medium.
Among the current Guyana Under-19 middle order batsmen, Bookie has a sound batting technique. Most middle order batsmen who competed in the 2019 Hand-in-Hand Inter-County tournament, both the three-day and one-day formats, had starts but failed to convert those starts. Bookie was able to battle his way through, scoring two half-centuries across formats. His most important innings came in the final against Berbice, when he scored a combatting 30.
He showed his ability to manoeuvre the ball and overcome some quality Berbice bowling from the likes of West Indies U-19 selectees Kevlon Anderson and Kevin Umroa, who were breathing fire with the ball and hungry for wickets at the time.
The 2019 CWI Regional Under-19 tournament will be played in the 50-over One-day format only, and Bookie would be the perfect middle-order batsman because he is capable of batting deep, and accelerating the score if required.
In the 2019 inter-county one-day format, he scored the most runs for a middle order batsman with 138 runs for Demerara in four innings.
An area of concern for the prospective Guyana U-19 batsman is converting those starts he has had across both formats.
“I had scores of 51, two scores in the twenties, one score in the thirties, and an unbeaten 63”, he disclosed. “I am looking to change that and carry on with some big scores.”
In the latter part of this interview with Bookie, he told this reporter that he wanted to thank all those who have been lending him their support.
“I really want to thank the Almighty for leading me through, hence for this opportunity; and also my Dad and Mom and all my other supporters”, Bookie declared.
The gifted Demerara player has said he is a bit nervous ahead of his maiden Regional U-19 berth, but he is mostly confident, since he has, for some time now, been putting in the extra work on his game.