KINGSTOWN, ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES: Two of the Windward Islands Under-19 Rising Stars debutants actually saw action in the team’s opening match against defending champions Guyana in the 2019 CWI Regional Under-19 cricket tournament.
One of them is 17-year-old St. Vincent and the Grenadines native Camarlo Cain, who opened the innings alongside his captain Kimani Melius, in the rain affected game. Speaking of his début, Cain said “It is good to make your début at a fairly young age. I was nervous for it is my first time at that level.”
However he pointed out that opening with Melius who has quite a bit of experience, helped him cope with the nerves and pressure of playing on his home ground the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, with his parents and team-mates looking on.
He said he was able to “trust the bounce of the pitch which played fairly well.”
Speaking of the roles played by coach Mervin Thomas and manager Randel Baptiste, Cain said that they have been speaking with him, which helped him understand his place as an important member of the team, and his role in working with his team-mates as a unit.
“They have been telling me what it is I have to do, and what it is that I do not have to do,” stated the young batsman who was the only centurion, during the 2019 WINLOTT Inc. Windward Islands Under-19 cricket tournament in Dominica.
He added that “I have been given a lot of lessons by coach and manager that will help me further my career.”
Cain parents were in the stands when he walked out to bat. The young left-handed batter said that their presence also made him nervous, because “I did not want to fail” but he got a ball which cramped him for room.
He was not happy with his score, but admitted that it is a higher level of cricket, and he must play his part if the Windward Islands are to emerge as champions.
The other debutant who saw action is 16-year-old Ackeem Auguste from Saint Lucia. He is “a top order left-handed batsman” with the Windward Islands Under-19 cricket team, and made his debut against Guyana on Sunday July 28, 2019 in the 2019 Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 cricket tournament.
In the rain-affected match, August remained not out 02, and was of the opinion that “the pitch played fairly well. Some came off the pitch a bit slow but I was very comfortable.”
Auguste, who captained the Windward Islands Under-17 cricket team in this year’s CWI Regional Under-17 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, said when he got the news of his selection for the sub-regional Under-19 team: “I was happy.”
According to Auguste, Melius who have played for the West Indies Under-19 and ‘B’ teams respectively, and now the captain of the Windward Islands Under-19 team, has plenty of experience despite his young age, and “there is a lot to learn from him. It is a learning experience being able to play alongside Kimani Melius.”
Realising that he is getting closer to knocking on the regional door as long as he puts in the hard work, Auguste said that his selection unto the Windward Islands Under-19 team “is a dream come true. I think every aspiring young cricketer is aiming to make it to the ranks of the Windward Islands team, then the West Indies team.”
Ackeem’s father Wayne Auguste have been travelling to a number of countries where his son would be playing. Speaking of the support, Ackeem said that the support form his father means alot to him.
“He is someone who have always been behind me, backing me, no matter what I do in a match. I am very grateful for that because it is a privilege for it is not easy travelling around and be there with me. It is a good feeling knowing that you have the support from home.”
He also had high praise for coach Mervin Thomas and manager Randel Baptiste, both of whom he says makes “the players feel comfortable and relax, but they are also very strict.”
