Home Sports Shepherd speaks: Even your best will sometimes not get you where you...
By Brandon Corlette
No matter how hard things look, giving up is not an option. That is the message from Guyana Amazon Warriors star player in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season – Romario Shepherd.
The man from New Amsterdam, Berbice finished as the joint highest wicket-taker in the CPL, with 19 wickets (including the super over). Despite his consistency and brilliance, he was not selected for the West Indies T20 World Cup squad.
Reflecting on his 2021 CPL, Shepherd said: “CPL 2021, I would say this was my breakout year. People always knew I was good, but some people never thought I was this good. I think what went well is the way I handled the pressure situations, the way I executed under pressure.”
Shepherd’s exclusion from the West Indies squad has certainly raised many eyebrows, including those of the President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali. When I posted a question to Cricket West Indies (CWI) Lead Selector Roger Harper on the reason why Shepherd was not selected, it seems as though I bowled a googly to the Lead Selector.
His response was: “Of course, consideration was given to Romario (Shepherd), because he was performing really well and um… of course, consideration was given, and he just missed out on a spot.”
President Ali, who made direct contact with Shepherd, described the cricketer as a superb talent, an all-rounder who has a great future ahead. Shepherd said it was a special feeling for the President to recognise his work. “It was as special. It is a great feeling to know that the President really appreciate the work that I have done.”
Shepherd, who has played seven One-Day Internationals for West Indies and six T20 Internationals, said playing at the international level remained his lifelong dream.
“Playing international cricket is every cricketer’s dream and I’m no different; that is my dream – playing international cricket for the West Indies.”
Asked about how much he was looking to get back into the West Indies team, Shepherd responded: “Well, I knew heading in to CPL, if I was to get a shot in the World Cup squad, I had to do some great things, so my aim was just give it my best shot every single game. I went out there, and I tried and did my best, gave it my all and I finished as the joint leading wicket-taker.
“So sometimes in life your best will not be enough to get you to where you want to be, and this was one of those occasions. But I’m really proud of myself and I can really look back at all the games even when I didn’t do well and know that I did try my best,” Shepherd added.
Shepherd showed great skill, producing the goods at the death, with his yorker. When asked if he mastered this aspect of bowling, Shepherd replied: “Well, I guess you are one of the few people who can really relate to how hard I had to work on that skill. I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it as yet, because it is something you have to keep working at. But I think I’m getting to where I want the skill set to be, to have different options in the death.”
Reflecting on what went wrong for Warriors, Shepherd said: “I think our batting was not up to where we would have wanted it to be, but you know that is cricket. The guys really worked hard in the nets, so I can say they tried and did everything that was possible to get the results. I think in that semi-final, our bowlers could have done a better job with the score our batting unit fought hard for.”
Shepherd, who scored 109 runs with the bat, had an economy rate of 7.6 with best figures of 3-15 in nine matches at an average of 14.1.
