OPENER Raymond Perez is another young Guyanese batsman who seems to have a great future.

The 18-year-old was part of the National Under-19 squad, who won both the three-day and 50-over tournaments, at the just concluded Cricket West Indies Regional Youth championships, played in St Kitts and Nevis.
With a generation of stars who brought unprecedented success for Guyana over the years, Perez’s performance with the bat has put him in the spotlight, and no doubt he is quickly emerging as one of the most talented youngsters locally.
Despite a horrible outing in his debut Regional Under-19 season in St Vincent in 2016, his name has been floating around among those of the brightest young batting prospects in the country for some time now.
He finished as this year’s MVP and leading run-scorer in the limited-overs version of the tournament. The right-handed opener recorded 348 runs from a total of six matches at a healthy average of 116. He also counted four half-centuries, with a top score of 77 in his final outing against Windward Islands.
The Demerara Cricket Club player also made an impact for his team in the three-day version of the tournament with returns of 243 runs at an average over 30.
Meanwhile, Perez disclosed that he is pleased with his performance, adding that his eyes are now set on finding a place on the West Indies squad for the ICC Youth World Cup in New Zealand in 2018.
Further, national Under-19 coach Julian Moore rated Perez’s performance as definitely one of Guyana’s standout players during the tournaments, adding that Perez did exceptionally well.
“I always knew his ability and talent but I think to go out there and get the most runs, and not just get the most runs in the one-day version, I thought he was very consistent throughout the three-day format as well.
“His performance is attributed to his hard work and determination he really showcased since inter-county, camp and then in the tournament, and I am pretty much pleased for him,” Moore said upon his return to Guyana on Tuesday.