By Marlon Munroe
Trevor Benn was not raised with a gold spoon in his mouth.
He was always told by his parents to work hard to achieve his goals.
Today, his dogged determination has made him the fresh face in the Guyana national team for the upcoming regional first class tournament scheduled to begin early January. The 24-year-old Immigration Officer attached to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), revealed to Stabroek Sport he, along with older brothers Festus, now a teacher with the Bartica Secondary School and Troy, also an Immigration Officer, had to focus on academic pursuits and cricket at no one time was ever on his agenda.
More especially since his father worked far away from home, his mother, Roxanne Benn, constantly instilled in him that he had to be patient to achieve success.
“Growing up consisted of a lot of studying, there were no gold spoons and you had to work hard for whatever you wanted,” Benn explained.
Benn, who also “grew” in the church and is still an active member, played table tennis and ran middle distance at his alma mater Abram Zuil Secondary School.
One year he had made it all the way to National Schools’ Track and Field, Cycling and Swimming Championships. The 5’ 5” bowler pointed out that in school he never liked playing cricket but would support his school games, Guyana and the West Indies teams.
He pointed out that a lot of softball cricket was played in Essequibo.The energetic Benn started playing cricket at the age of 17 when he left Essequibo to join the Guyana Police Force on October 24, 2004. His love for the game grew when he started to play for the Police Sport Club (PSC) third division team in the city and he was promoted to the first division ranks shortly after.
The accurate and attacking medium pacer made 47 in his debut game for the PSC. Subsequently, his then coach, Wayne Jackson, told him that he had a “bright future” and that he should continue training and working hard.
Benn, who was selected ahead of Guyana’s frontline pacer and fellow Essequibian Trevon Garraway, said his will to succeed spurred him to become a better cricketer.
“From playing cricket and developing a love for the game I started working hard and focusing on the game when things started to happen for me. I followed the routine of the other players training hard and then I would go back to work and that became my programme,” he elaborated.
Benn, who was left unbeaten on 13 after featuring in a 47-run partnership in the first practice match for the national team, revealed that playing table tennis has improved his hand/eye coordination as a batsman. He has shown on many occasions that he is a capable batsman.
His last outing in the Guyana Cricket Board three-day first division tournament saw him scoring a fighting half century to rescue his team after a batting collapse against Lusignan. However, Benn’s moment of truth came when he, combined with Garraway to bowl out a Demerara line up that included WI batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, for 136 in the first innings of the GCB President’s Cup four-day competition. He continued to bowl miserly in the limited-overs version of the tournament and his performances were rewarded with selection to the 21-man training squad and then to the final 14-man team after a rigorous three-week training camp. Benn told Stabroek Sport upon his selection that he was stunned and that without God and his discipline, his selection to the senior ranks would not have been possible. The Police Corporal was also honoured last week by the force for his sterling performance during the year on the cricket field. He has represented the PSC first division team since 2005.
Asked who were his favourite cricketers, he said Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and gives neither of them an edge over the other. South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, on the other hand, is Benn’s favourite bowler and he admires the South African pacer for his energy which he brings to the game.
“The energy level that he brings to the game and his consistency I am aspiring to,” he quipped. Benn commenting on his new year’s resolutions, “I just want to remain focus on my game and goals; I know there is a God and I serve him.”
