‘I am more mentally focused’- Fudadin

By Avenash Ramzan
Ever since arriving on the scene as an effervescent all-rounder at the Under-15 level in the late 90s, Assad Badyr Fudadin, has been earmarked as one for the future.
And so the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) interest in his development was exemplified when he was drafted in for the Cross Cutter Under-15 World Cup team in 2000, and four years later, in the West Indies Under-19 World Cup squad. That same year he would graduate to the Regional First-Class level, making his debut for the West Indies ‘B’ team against Kenya on January 9.
However, inconsistency plagued the early part of his career, and he was subjected to a chequered one up until the 2009-2010 season when he was Guyana’s leading run scorer in the WICB Regional Four-Day tournament. That effort earned him a spot on the West Indies ‘A’ side which toured England in 2010, besides fetching him a developmental contract from the board.
But while all those achievements would have been welcomed by the Rose Hall Town left-hander, the joy of scoring a First-Class hundred kept eluding the 26-year- old, who is enjoying, by quite a distance, his best year in Regional Four-Day cricket this year.
After six games, the elegant middle-order batsman has chalked up 538 runs and sits only behind Narsingh Deonarine, who is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 547, inclusive of six fifties. Critically among those runs is not just one, but two hundreds that have driven Guyana to the runner-up spot behind four-time defending champions Jamaica on the points table.
For good measure, three fifties complement those pair of centuries. After half-centuries in the first two games against the Leeward and Windward Islands, the maiden hundred, an unbeaten 102, came against the Combined Campuses and Colleges- a match Guyana won by four wickets.
“It was very emotional getting that first hundred,” Fudadin related to this publication via telephone yesterday from his home. “Those who know me, my family and so on, know how much this means to me. It was something that I was looking for a long time now.”
Scores of 39 and 47 against Jamaica; 62 against Barbados, and 24 against Trinidad and Tobago followed, before the second hundred (108) dug the Guyanese out of a hole after they surrendered first innings points to the twin-islanders and were in a precarious position on the final day.
But what has Fudadin done differently this year to break the jinx? “I am more mentally focused now; I have more belief in myself. I’ve worked very hard on my game, especially on the mental aspect, and while I’m happy to score those centuries, I personally think I would have done better. I threw my hand [give wicket away] a few times after getting some good starts,” he related.
In giving an assessment of the tournament, Fudadin said that the bowling of all the teams have been a revelation this year. “All the teams have very good bowling attacks, so you have to dig in real hard to score runs. It wasn’t easy batting for anyone, so as a batsman you had to lift your game.”
The Guyanese have drawn the bye for the next round of the competition, but Fudadin feels that the South Americans have a great chance of winning the competition once they get past semi-final stage, should they qualify.
“Obviously, we have been playing very good cricket. The guys are confident of winning, but like I said, we’re taking it one game at a time. I think once we win the semi-finals, we have a very good chance of lifting the title,” he declared.
Fudadin added that the experience of Test batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan has been a great motivator for Guyana in the seven-team competition. “Yes, their experience and knowledge has been a great boost to the team; they also bring a positive attitude to the camp,” he concluded.
With a break in the competition this weekend, Fudadin will seek to refuel his energies and watch with much anticipation this weekend’s games, which will determine the final three teams to qualify for the semis. The Jamaicans, four-time defending champions, are the only team assured of a semi-final berth after winning all five of their games to date and have an unassailable 60 points. Guyana (39 points), Barbados (36), Trinidad and Tobago (34) and the Windward Islands (28) are the four contenders for the three remaining semi-final spots. An outright win is twelve (12) points.
By Avenash Ramzan
Ever since arriving on the scene as an effervescent all-rounder at the Under-15 level in the late 90s, Assad Badyr Fudadin, has been earmarked as one for the future. And so the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) interest in his development was exemplified when he was drafted in for the Cross Cutter Under-15 World Cup team in 2000, and four years later, in the West Indies Under-19 World Cup squad. That same year he would graduate to the Regional First-Class level, making his debut for the West Indies ‘B’ team against Kenya on January 9. However, inconsistency plagued the early part of his career, and he was subjected to a chequered one up until the 2009-2010 season when he was Guyana’s leading run scorer in the WICB Regional Four-Day tournament. That effort earned him a spot on the West Indies ‘A’ side which toured England in 2010, besides fetching him a developmental contract from the board. But while all those achievements would have been welcomed by the Rose Hall Town left-hander, the joy of scoring a First-Class hundred kept eluding the 26-year- old, who is enjoying, by quite a distance, his best year in Regional Four-Day cricket this year. After six games, the elegant middle-order batsman has chalked up 538 runs and sits only behind Narsingh Deonarine, who is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 547, inclusive of six fifties. Critically among those runs is not just one, but two hundreds that have driven Guyana to the runner-up spot behind four-time defending champions Jamaica on the points table. For good measure, three fifties complement those pair of centuries. After half-centuries in the first two games against the Leeward and Windward Islands, the maiden hundred, an unbeaten 102, came against the Combined Campuses and Colleges- a match Guyana won by four wickets. “It was very emotional getting that first hundred,” Fudadin related to this publication via telephone yesterday from his home. “Those who know me, my family and so on, know how much this means to me. It was something that I was looking for a long time now.” Scores of 39 and 47 against Jamaica; 62 against Barbados, and 24 against Trinidad and Tobago followed, before the second hundred (108) dug the Guyanese out of a hole after they surrendered first innings points to the twin-islanders and were in a precarious position on the final day. But what has Fudadin done differently this year to break the jinx? “I am more mentally focused now; I have more belief in myself. I’ve worked very hard on my game, especially on the mental aspect, and while I’m happy to score those centuries, I personally think I would have done better. I threw my hand [give wicket away] a few times after getting some good starts,” he related. In giving an assessment of the tournament, Fudadin said that the bowling of all the teams have been a revelation this year. “All the teams have very good bowling attacks, so you have to dig in real hard to score runs. It wasn’t easy batting for anyone, so as a batsman you had to lift your game.” The Guyanese have drawn the bye for the next round of the competition, but Fudadin feels that the South Americans have a great chance of winning the competition once they get past semi-final stage, should they qualify.“Obviously, we have been playing very good cricket. The guys are confident of winning, but like I said, we’re taking it one game at a time. I think once we win the semi-finals, we have a very good chance of lifting the title,” he declared. Fudadin added that the experience of Test batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan has been a great motivator for Guyana in the seven-team competition. “Yes, their experience and knowledge has been a great boost to the team; they also bring a positive attitude to the camp,” he concluded. With a break in the competition this weekend, Fudadin will seek to refuel his energies and watch with much anticipation this weekend’s games, which will determine the final three teams to qualify for the semis. The Jamaicans, four-time defending champions, are the only team assured of a semi-final berth after winning all five of their games to date and have an unassailable 60 points. Guyana (39 points), Barbados (36), Trinidad and Tobago (34) and the Windward Islands (28) are the four contenders for the three remaining semi-final spots. An outright win is twelve (12) points.