By Marlon Munroe
Elegant left-handed 18-year-old Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) batsman Trevon Griffith said yesterday he would like to have a bright future in cricket.
“I never had the dream of playing cricket at a certain level but people started to see the potential in me and I thought it best to take it to a higher level,” he told Stabroek Sport yesterday.
Griffith scored Guyana’s only century against the Leeward Islands in the opening round of the TCL Regional Under-19 three-day competition at the Up Park Ground in Jamaica in July.
He joined the illustrious company of other DCC players to have achieved the feat at the under-19 level.
Mark Harper started the trend with consecutive centuries against the Windward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago in the opening round of the 1975 Benson & Hedges championship, while Andrew Lyght scored 104 against Jamaica at Sabina’s Park the next year during the Benson & Hedges final. Roger Harper (102) in 1980, Nolan McKenzie (120) against Windward Islands in 1988 and Keith Semple (101) in 1989 are also part of this elite grouping.
“Starting my cricket career at a young age I was driven by the passion and love for the game,” said Griffith who has won selection on the West Indies team to next year’s Youth World Cup competition in New Zealand.
“I have some good feelings to be a part of the WI under-19 team that is going to New Zealand,” he said.
Griffith is upbeat about the World Cup competition which starts in January.
“This is the right situation for me in the new year, making my debut for the WI under-19 team and hopefully, getting some big scores.
“I am also looking forward to making the first-class team and to continue my good form of the past few months.
“I will also be looking to secure a retainer contract in the upcoming year and hope to just continue scoring runs and working on my game.
“I have been training hard and keeping fit and have been listening to my coach and working on my shot selection.
“I have also been listening to players that have been there before me and that is important for a young cricketer coming up.
Among the players Griffith admires are an Australian and a South African.
“I admire J.P. Duminy of South Africa and Mike Hussey of Australia because of the way those lefthanders apply themselves. I probably take a page out of their books because looking at them bat makes me feel good as a cricketer. I listen to the way they go about their innings because I am looking to have a future in cricket.”
