The story of Windies U-15 selectee Rampertab Ramnauth

Bound To Achieve Greatness

By Brandon Corlette

The first time one observes Rampertab Ramnauth at the batting crease would leave one in awe at his attractive cover drives and straight drives along the carpet. ‘The ancient county’ of Berbice continues to produce exceptional cricketing talents, and Ramnauth is the latest such product.
On Sunday last, Guyana Times Sport visited Ramnauth at his residence in the tranquil settlement of Tain on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice, and the prolific left-handed opening batsman sat down to have an exclusive interview with this reporter.
Expressing his great delight at attaining West Indies Under-15 selection, this humble youth, who has been played cricket at the Port Mourant Community Centre Ground (PMCC) since the age of eight, disclosed that he is aiming to follow in the footsteps of certain former players from the PMCC, Test cricketing greats Rohan Kanhai and Basil Butcher.
Ramnauth is one of three Guyanese — two of whom are Berbicians — selected to tour England as part of the Windies Under-15 team from August 4, 2019. He said his main goal will remain the same: to score runs, especially since he has been given opportunity to be part of the West Indies Under-15 team.
His career-defining innings came against Essequibo in an under-15 inter-county match played at Lusignan, in which he scored 147 for Berbice. He finished as the leading run-scorer in that tournament, and that feat placed him on the radar for selection to represent Guyana.
Continuing his rich vein of form, Ramnauth finished among the runs in the under-17 Inter-County Tournament in which he played for the Select Under-15 team.
Playing for the Guyana Under-15 team, which placed second in the Cricket West Indies Regional Tournament in Antigua, he smashed a career best 114 against Jamaica, immediately distinguishing himself in the first match he played.
And in another well-crafted innings, this time against Trinidad and Tobago in the finals of that tournament,
he scored 92 runs.
His performance saw him finishing narrowly behind his Guyana and West Indies teammate Mavindra Dindyal, both of whom achieved a rare feat by playing inter-county cricket at all three levels in the same year.
Ramnauth, further, was given opportunity with the Select Under-17 team that finished above Essequibo in the tournament. It was a greater challenge for the opening batsman, who became exposed to faster bowlers at the Under-19 level.
Ramnauth’s performance with the bat in 2019 has been staggering, but his success could not have been achieved without much-needed support; thus, in presence of his mother and siblings, he revealed his deep gratitude for his parents’ support, especially in terms of finance.
His parents, Roopnarine Ramnauth and Lilowatie Lachminarine, are proud of their son’s accomplishments; and, like all good parents, are urging him to stay focused in order to achieve greater success.
“I would like to thank all those who supported me, especially my coach Leslie Solomon and the president of the PMCC; but, most importantly, I must thank God for health and strength to play cricket”, Ramnauth declared.
Ramnauth will be heading to the United Kingdom to compete in six 50-over matches and one T20 match during the two-week stint with the West Indies Under-15 team.