Super50 great learning experience for Yadram, Paul

By Akeem Greene

West Indies Under-19 players Bhaskar Yadram and Keemo Paul have both viewed the recent Regional Super50 in Barbados and Antigua as a great learning curve for their blossoming careers.
The 17 year-old Yadram scored 136 runs (inclusive of a top score of 52)  and took four wickets in his  eight matches and was one of  the  standout players for  the regional youth side.
Though, his returns spell good signs for a young cricketer on his maiden tour as a West Indies under-19 player, Yadram was not totally pleased but still cherished the experience.
“I was not too pleased with the performances but it was a great experience to play cricket with the senior players, gain knowledge from them and by playing in the competition you understand the game better” he stated.

The major difference for the Enterprise Busta Sports Club cricketer was certainly adjusting to the pace of bowlers on pitches that certainly had lots of bonce.
The right-handed batsman revealed, “going out and play with the bigger guys on different pitches and facing bowlers like [Sheldon] Cottrell, [Alzarri] Joseph, the ball is coming on faster so it is not that much balls you get to drive, it is allot of back of the length balls so you have to make your own shots to score and for the spinners [Rahkeem] Cornwall, he bowls a tight line and makes it hard to score”.
The Everest Cricket Club player inspired  the youth team’s first victory when they defeated English side Kent Spitfires. Yadram rocketed to headlines with his amazing all-round performance, making a patient 29 then producing figures of 3-6.
The cricketer now plans to continue  working  on his batting and continuously improving his fitness, an area which has not been his best of the past.
Asked if he believes the  squad of  players can bring success once more to the region at a World  Cup, Yadram  responded saying, “ Competition against the bigger men is tough but the guys stuck together and played hard and competitive  cricket;  in  the first two matches to bowl down senior teams is hard and it was a good effort and depends on the team, I think we can still go out back and win the world cup for two consecutive years”
Similarly, Paul reaped success with both bat and ball having a top score of 72 against Kent and also being a regular feature in the wickets. His total runs tally was 124 runs while he took 12 wickets from his eight matches.
The right-handed batsman   said the experience was good and it showed him  new areas to improve.
“I gained allot of experience playing against tough opposition, faster bowlers, it was a great learning curve”, the 19 year-old said.
He added, “ I must have a solid defence, rotation of strike is key as at that level you don’t  get allot of bad balls, just have to be more patient and back ability”.
The all-rounder, who is also part of the Cricket Guyana Inc Academy  programmes  is of the view that the interaction between the senior members has been of great value.
“It is very helpful to be rubbing shoulders with senior guys , the [Christopher] Barnwell, [Assad] Fudadin along with coaches they push me to the limit as they always want to see you doing well, so when you go out on the field, you have to repay them by producing good performances”, the medium-pacer posited.
He added, “I’m very confident in my ability, I really want to continue making runs and getting wicket to get into the senior team as earlier as possible”.
Paul, who was the Vice-Captain of the team when they triumphed at the 2016 World Cup, feels that this new crop of players has the same ability to emulate his squad.
He stated, “They are really good bunch of players, hardworking; they have talent and potential to win the next world cup so backing them 100%”.
Both players have planned to use the their Cricket Guyana Inc academy training to boost their chances of representing their country at senior level.