Guyana Jaguars middle-order batsman Vishaul “Cheesy” Singh said he was honoured by his selection to the week-long West Indies spin bowling and batting camp at the High Performance Centre in Barbados and plans to garner as much as he can from the experience should a possible West Indies call-up arrive.
Singh, the Jaguars Vice-Captain was speaking to Stabroek Sport in an exclusive from Barbados yesterday where he along with teammates; batsman Leon Johnson, Rajendra Chandrika and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai began their encampment last week.
Other members of the training camp include Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, and Jomel Warrican. The camp aims at improving the techniques of the batsmen as well as expanding the slower bowlers’ arsenal.
A modest Singh, who has arguably been one of the more senior batters in the side over the past few seasons, ended the 2015/16 West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four Day tournament with some 712 runs along with three tons and a highest of 150, the third leading run-scorer of the tournament behind Devon Smith (719) and teammate Johnson (807).
Reacting to his selection to the camp, the left-hander said: “To honest I don’t like to see myself as a senior batsman but for me it was very important step in my career as I’m at that point that I need to push on and go on to the next level. It’s an honour to be selected for anything West Indies, the camp is great so far it a very good experience to be with the other West Indian players and learning a lot
it’s definitely a lot of young talent here, he said.
The camp, which is being run by West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons, was organized by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to further evaluate the season’s top performers with ball and bat. While Cricinfo reported that Simmons confirmed that camp selectees are not certain of a place in the Test side for the upcoming home series against India this summer, the 27-year-old Singh was nevertheless upbeat about the exposure and plans to arm himself with the necessary tools in the event he is selected.
“It’s basically a spin camp so we are seeing how each other approaches spin bowling, so I’m working on different approaches for example the sweep shot which I don’t normally play. Spin will be crucial against India because they will be depending heavily on their spinners so that is a key for us to learn to bat well against their spinners.
“If selected for the West Indies it will be an absolute pleasure as that is what I’ve been working all my life for. I’m working at getting my game ready for international cricket every day and that is both physically and technically, he said.
List of players at the camp: Kraigg Brathwaite, Rajendra Chandrika, Shai Hope, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, Leon Johnson, Vishal Singh, Roston Chase, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Imran Khan, Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, Damion Jacobs and Jomel Warrican.
