By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto
Since his migration to Trinidad and Tobago ten years ago, former Guyana Under-19 skipper Troy Cornelius has been very impressive with a number of high scores and expressed great delight with his performances at the club level.
Troy Cornelius poses with one of his club championship trophy.
The left-hander stated that he wants to continue with his prolific scoring and his ambition is still to be a big contributor for Merry Boys Sports Club in the twin-island republic.
Having chalked up over 15 centuries and countless fifties, the Essequibian also took the opportunity to reveal that the standard of cricket in Trinidad and Tobago is definitely exceptional.
He acknowledged the support to fellow team members including West Indies international players Lendl Simmons and Reyad Emrit and that has always been an encouraging factor for to him.
“I [am] enjoying my cricket over here and, without a doubt, the standard of the game in Trinidad and Tobago is incomparable to the regions and that is something that has given me the motivation because I strongly believe in professionalism,” Cornelius communicated via email.
Cornelius, who skippered Guyana at the regional youth tournament in 2001 at home, said he really admired the structure and system in place by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and not surprise with the large number of players plying their trade there on a regular basis.
“I think the organisation of their cricket is fantastic and the structure definitely wonderful; seeing other cricketers coming from different parts of the Caribbean and playing here professionally not strange to me because they want to play good cricket and more importantly they are paid well,” Cornelius revealed emphatically.
Reminiscing on his under-19 days and his representation for Essequibo and Guyana, the 32-year-old occasional off-spinner, stated it was a great honour to lead his country. In so doing, it still remains a history to be the first Essequibian to captain a Guyana team at the under-19 level.
“It was a great honour to captain Guyana at the youth tournament; my first year (2000), test player Narsingh Deonarine was the skipper but taken up the responsibility the following year was a dream come true for me and I will always cherish that arm ban,” Cornelius declared.
Quizzed on his involvement with the game particularly off the field, Cornelius was more than happy to say that he wants to give back something to the game and specifically Essequibo and by extension Guyana’s cricket.
“Of course I will begin my coaching course soon and that is an area I think is very important for the development of the game; so I will love to give back to cricket especially my country and Essequibo because there are lots of talented players but they need proper guidance and help with the technical part of the game as well,” Cornelius, whose favourite cricketer was ex-Australia captain Steve Waugh, reasoned.
Cornelius, who hailed from Bartica, mentioned he is still indebted to Vibert Johnson, a senior Essequibo inter-county and a former Guyana under-15 coach as well, while he also thanked Sherlock Atwell from Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) for his steady improvement of his game at an early age. Cornelius played most his teenage cricket in Georgetown, representing DCC while he donned the national colors at the under-15 level too.