Bridgetown, Barbados – Members of the Sagicor West Indies High Performance Centre are among the top performers for their team in this year’s WICB Regional 4 Day Tournament. The players all said they were generally satisfied with their performances in the tournament and indicated the work done on and off the field in the first year at the Sagicor HPC helped immensely.
Veerasammy Permaul ended the season with 25 wickets. Photo courtesy of Windiescricket.com
Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul was the leading bowler for Guyana. He ended the season with 25 wickets at an average of 18.8. His best figures were 6-39 against Combined Campuses & Colleges.
Kyle Corbin, the right-hand batsman and keeper, has been a key member of the CCC team which topped the league table and qualified for the final. He has been good in front and behind the stumps. So far he has made 571 runs, including his maiden first-class century (108). He has so also held 12 catches and a stumping.
Jason Holder, the giant allrounder, felt he did well with the ball for Barbados, but did not meet his goals with the bat. The West Indies A Team Vice Captain got 15 wickets at 23.66 each with his right-arm fast-medium, and said the work done at the Sagicor HPC helped him through the campaign.
“We put in a lot of work at the HPC last year and it helped me a great deal during the season. I certainly saw the benefits of the work I put in. It was my first full season at the first-class level and the cricket was a bit draining. It tested me physically and mentally and I was able to call on all my resources to get me through. My fitness levels came into play. During the time at the HPC we put in a lot of work in the gym, doing strength and conditioning on a daily basis and my body was able to hold up to the demands of first-class cricket. I was happy that I was able to give my all for the team on every occasion,” said the 6-foot-7-inch Holder.
The 19-year-old added: “Mentally, I was able to cope when situations presented themselves. I found myself in situations where, previously, I might not have been able to cope but I managed to pull through. Overall, I would say I did not achieve all my goals on the field, but I worked hard and I know once I continue to work hard I will get the success I’m looking for. I will go back to the HPC later this month and get started again on improving all areas of my game.”
Permaul, the small 21-year-old who has been in the Guyana team for four years, reached the milestone of 100 first-class wickets during the season. He said overall he was pleased with his returns in the 2011 season.
“I am learning more and more and one of the key things to be a good spinner is to be consistent. Overall things worked out well. I am putting into play all the things that I picked up at the HPC with the coaches. During the first year at the HPC we did a lot of ‘spot’ bowling. Working with the coaches at the HPC helped me a lot and I was able to take the things that I learned into the season. The fitness part helped me a lot. During the season I felt a lot fitter. People think spin bowling is easy, but it’s not just about running up from a short run-up and just bowling. It requires a lot of stamina and after four days I used to be tired. But this year I found I had more stamina and more energy to continue. I believe the work I did at the HPC helped with that area of my game,” Permaul said.
Corbin, the 20-year-old, was asked to perform the allrounder role of keeper and top-order batsman for most of the season. He enjoyed it and is looking forward to more success in this weekend’s final.
“Last year at the HPC we did a lot of technical work on my batting and my keeping. We also did a lot of physical work in the gym and I was able to take those elements into my game during the season. The coach would take us into the nets for one-on-one sessions on a regular basis and we were able to identify the areas that needed to be worked on. I am still working my batting and I’m able to look and my game and indentify my strengths and my weak areas. I believe the stint at the HPC gave me a more mature and professional approach to the game,” said the former West Indies Under-19 player.
“With the keeping, we had a similar approach. During the HPC keeping was something I chose to do so that required a lot of extra work but I’m improving in that area as well. This season gave me a good chance to see where I’m at, and overall I’m pleased but there is still work to do. I’m happy for the time in the HPC and I just want to put all that I have gained into helping CCC win the final. That work is definitely paying off. I can also see a lot of the other players at the HPC have benefitted from the experience and that is very good for all of us.”