Basseterre, St Kitts – It took Assad Fudadin longer than expected to register his maiden first-class century, but now that he has it under his belt, the Guyana batsman is looking for many more.
Assad Fudadin registered his first Regional 4 Day ton 102 against Combined Campuses & Colleges. Photo: Brooks La Touche Photography and WindiesCricket.com
The 26-year-old left-hander reached three figures for the first time in his 44th first-class match in last weekend’s victory against Combined Campuses & Colleges in the third round of the Regional 4 Day tournament. He made a hard-fought 102 not out in close to five hours at the crease as the Guyanese earned a big first innings lead.
In the second innings he again batted solidly to make 42 as his side chased down a victory target of 219 in two sessions at Warner Park. In the process he reached the milestone of 2,000 runs in first-class cricket. This season he has looked determined and purposeful and after three matches is the leading run-maker in the Regional 4 Day with 258 runs at an impressive average of 51.60 per innings.
“It was a very good match for me and I will remember and cherish this match for a long time to come. I got my maiden first-class century in the first innings and then had to come out again in the second innings and help to get Guyana to victory, so this is very pleasing,” he said.
“The pitch was really good for batting and I backed myself and believed in myself while I was out there. Overall, it was good to play well, get the Man-of-the-Match award and help Guyana to win.”
Fudadin, who has played for the West Indies at all age group levels as well as the West Indies A Team, said he does not want to get ahead of himself. This season he has developed a routine of careful and precise planning and also does a daily assessment of his short-term and medium-term goals. In the first round victory over Leeward Islands he made 11 and a topscore of 52 and in the second round defeat to Windward Islands he made a “duck” but hit back with a 51 in the second innings.
“I am happy with the way I’m playing at this stage … a few things I need to get better at but I am doing some very good things. I like to take each game, each innings as it comes … one day at a time. I want to continue working hard and developing as a player. This season I have been doing a lot of writing on my notepad and assessing my days and looking at my progress on a daily basis,” he said.
”I have not set myself any big goals but I set a goal every day and that is to improve on the previous day and the previous performance. I am working with that in mind.”
Guyana’s victory over CCC took then to 24 points from three matches – second in the table behind Jamaica, who have a maximum 36 from three matches. The two teams will meet in the next round at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground – starting on Friday – featuring the PINK ball. First ball in the day/night match is 3.30 pm (2.30 pm Jamaica Time).
Upcoming matches – 4th round: Friday, February 24 to Monday February 27
Trinidad & Tobago vs Windward Islands at Queen’s Park Oval
Guyana vs Jamaica at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground (day/night)
Barbados vs Combined Campuses & Colleges at Kensington Oval (day/night)