Twenty year old Shimron Hetmyer’s selection to the West Indies Test squad to take on Pakistan in the Caribbean is hailed as a victory for the Young Warriors Cricket Club (YWCC), according to the club’s former President Anil Beharry.
Hetmyer and fellow Guyanese Vishaul Singh was called to be a part of the 13-man squad which will be led by Jason Holder in the Q Mobile Cup Test Series starting on Friday at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. Hetmyer and Singh’s selection came after stunning performances against the Pakistanis recently while playing for the West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI.
The left-handed batsmen gained selection to the WICB President’s XI after consistent performances for the Guyana Jaguars in the ongoing Digicel Regional Four day Tournament and on the West Indies ‘A’ team’s recent tour to Sri Lanka.
Beharry, also former President of the Berbice Cricket Board, described Hetmyer as very humble and extends his congratulations to the young cricketer. Beharry assisted in mentoring Hetmyer while he played for the YWCC in Berbice.
“I am very elated and I must say congratulation to both of them….Shimron is extremely talented and a natural born cricketer and he will definitely move to the highest level and consistently perform,” he said.
He added that Hetmyer can earn a place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since he believes that he is capable and ready to extend his boundaries.
“From the first time I saw Hetmyer, at age 6, he was taller than his age group, supremely talented than his age group and that is why we dragged him in to the club structure…at the age of 11 he made the Berbice Under 15 team, at the 14 he made the Under 17 team and at 16 he made both Berbice and Guyana’s Under 19 team,” Beharry reminisced.
He noted that Hetmyer scored his first century at the age of 16 while representing Berbice at the Inter-County games, where he had difficulties participating since there were issues with him leaving school and as a result he had to sneak out without anyone’s knowledge. He was later selected to as a member of the Guyana Under-19 squad and later led the team at the ICC Youth World Cup.
“I just spoke to the President of the Young Warriors Cricket Club, Rafeek Hasim, and he asked me to extend his congratulations to Shimron Hetmyer and Vishaul Singh on behalf of the club,” Beharry said.
The West Indies first Test 13-man squad also sees a return for Kittitian Kieran Powell while Marlon Samuels, Leon Johnson, Darren Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite and Jomel Warrican who were part of the recent Test side were overlooked. The full squad reads; Jason Holder (Captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph.
