… can only get better

DASHING all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford’s presence in the West Indies B squad, which participated in the just concluded Global T20 Canada, was significant in more ways than one.

He was there on merit, of course, after performing splendidly in the regional domestic seasons earlier in the year, when he made 383 runs in the CWI regional four-day tournament, averaging just over 38, and collected 22 wickets with a best of 6-32. In the CWI Super50, he tallied 163 runs and bagged four wickets.

However, his performance in Canada could only solidify his raw talent, which makes him a potential star in the making.

His capacity to score quickly was the most eye-catching of a range of talents throughout the tournament.

His attacking instinct was so evident in Qualifier One at King City, where he single-handedly took West Indies B to a memorable win over Vancouver Knights and a place in the final. Unfortunately his side lost to Vancouver Knights by seven wickets in the grand finale.

The left-hander accumulated 230 runs from eight innings, and was the third highest run-scorer, behind Lendl Simmons (321) and H.E. Vander Dussen (255).

However, his most telling contribution of the tournament was the unbeaten 134, where he struck 10 sixes and 11 fours in 66 balls, which eventually took West Indies B from a position of 11-3 to 221-4, winning off the last ball of the Qualifier game.

The 19-year-old also took seven wickets. His performance did not go unnoticed by Rutherford’s club coach Gavin Nedd who believes that there is an abundance of raw cricketing talent that could flourish once nurtured in a competitive environment.

Rutherford plays for the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC), also referred to as the Home of Legends.

“Rutherford has shown maturity. His game awareness and skill set were spot on,” Nedd the former Guyana youth player said.

Nedd feels, while Rutherford has natural abilities and raw talent, consistency will be the key in his moving forward.

“There is no doubt about the youngster natural abilities but what he (Rutherford) needs to do is be steady, something we emphasised a lot here at DCC,” Nedd concluded.