West Indies: Nortel Championship - Rain Puts A Damper (14 Jul 1998)

14 July 1998

Rain Puts A Damper On Bajans' Spirits

by Haydn Gill

THE day-to-day routine of doing absolutely nothing is starting to frustrate a Barbados team which came here a week ago seeking to capture their first Nortel youth cricket title in seven years.

As a fifth successive day succumbed to seasonal rain and teams awaited confirmation and details of a proposed One-Day championship, three Barbadians on their first ever tour of national duty, summed up the feelings of almost everyone.

All-rounder Pedro DePeiza, left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and fast-bowler Reunel Agard came here eager to match their skills against the best young cricketers in the Caribbean.

Instead, they have watched the rain tumble down and for the second successive day, they found that the pitch at the University of the West Indies ground yesterday had been affected by faulty covers.

The sun was again out in all its brilliance, but the heavy afternoon rain the previous day had done the damage. The umpires called off play at 1 p.m., but it was obvious long before then that conditions were unsuitable.

I feel a bit bored. I am down and not getting enough practice, said Agard, a 17-year-old pacer who attends St. Lucy Secondary.

Benn, a 16-year-old left-arm spinner from Ellerslie, badly wanted to prove a point.

It doesn't feel good at all just sitting down and watching the rain fall all the time, he said.

You cannot get a chance to show your talent to the selectors. Ive been eager to show my talent to the West Indies for a long time. Now I have gotten a chance, the rain keeps falling.

DePeiza, an 18-year-old opening batsman who also bowls fast medium, said a single day of cricket against Canada was not what he anticipated at this stage.

The weather has been a big disappointment, said the O Level Institute student.

Coincidentally, DePeiza, Agard and Benn have all had significant changes to their game in recent times.

Agard said advice from the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers during a two-week development programme had helped him tremendously.

I was running up and bowling straight onto the bat. He showed me a different way a different line to bowl to batsmen and a different approach to the wicket.

It had me swinging the ball a lot. I could not even get it control at the start, added Agard, who also lauded the efforts of coaches Alvin Greenidge and Ezra Moseley.

Six-footer Benn said it was Moseley who first drew to his attention that there were deficiencies in his action. Since then, Benn has rectified it with help from veteran Barbados left-arm spinner Winston Reid.

DePeiza, an opening batsman by upbringing, has only recently turned to fast bowling.

It was a luck thing. It started at practice when there were not enough bowlers, he said.

I just used to bowl at practice and when the guys went away to Guyana (to the 1997 Nortel championship), I had the chance to bowl more often.

As the trio gave their stories, tournament officials were meeting to finalise arrangements for a proposed One-Day championship which is likely to start next Monday.

It is uncertain what format the tournament will take and the details are expected to be announced today following approval from the West Indies Cricket Board.

Even if conditions are suitable for play on todays third and final day of Barbados match against the Windward Islands, the feeling is that the teams would prefer to have a net session instead.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)