KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Gifted seamer Jayden Seales believes pressure will be inescapable at the young stage of his international career but has backed himself to confront the challenges, as he prepares to make his white-ball debut for West Indies.
The Trinidadian made an impressive Test debut last year as a 19-year-old and after an outstanding campaign in the Lanka Premier League last month, has been called up for the three-match One-Day International series against Ireland bowling off here today.
Seales, now 20, said he expected to come under constant scrutiny, primarily due to the tender age at which he has entered international cricket.
“For me, I think I’ll be under pressure the majority of the time in my career thus far. I think I’ll be under pressure seeing I’m the youngster and I’ve been performing,” Seales said ahead of the opening ODI at Sabina Park.
“So now the media and everyone will just look at me [with the view that] ‘he has to perform’ or if he doesn’t perform the talk may come up that ‘he’s too young’.
“So yes there’s pressure but I don’t take it on per se. I just go out and enjoy my cricket and play to the best of my ability, and if on the day I happen to perform well for the team, I’m very pleased.”
He added: “I don’t really go on social media during series or during a game. I tend to stay off of social media, stay away from reading comments. I just talk to my parents, my family back home and keep my mind away from the negatives and focus on the cricket.”
Seales made his West Indies debut against the touring South Africans last June, taking three wickets in his side’s innings defeat, and going on to finish the two-match series with five wickets.
However, he followed up with 11 wickets in the subsequent two-Test series against Pakistan at Sabina Park here to be the home side’s leading bowler, including a five-wicket haul in the first Test.
And Seales said the venue was a fond one for him and he hoped to make the best use of conditions once selected against Ireland.
“Obviously as a fast bowler on a good cricket pitch, you always want to get out there and bowl well for the team and get wickets,” Seales said.
“Playing somewhere you’re comfortable, where you’re confident and have had success is always a good thing so being back here in Jamaica at Sabina obviously gives me that extra confidence.
“So once given the opportunity I will go and repay the faith the selectors have in me.”
Seales is fresh from the LPL Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka here he was among the leading bowlers with 15 wickets in his first-ever overseas franchise assignment.
And the soft-spoken former West Indies Under-19 star said he was now hoping to hit the ground running in the international white-ball format.
“I tend to set very realistic goals. I’m not one to say I will go in and get a dream debut and probably get five on debut – that’s not what I tend to look forward to,” Seales explained.
“I try to keep it as simple as possible so if I get to play and I get three wickets in the game or two wickets in a winning effort, I’d be very pleased with that, once I can do my best for the team.”
