GUYANA and Demerara Cricket Club’s 28-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman Derwin Christian is among four new faces selected to tour England with the West Indies team to play two T20 internationals next month. Apart from Christian, opening batsmen Miles Bascombe and Johnson Charles along with all-rounder Nkrumah Bonner have been called to the squad, while Barbados’ Dwayne Smith makes a return and his countryman Fidel Edwards gets a Twenty20 selection after returning to Test cricket earlier this year.
Christian’s power hitting at the bottom of the order in last year’s West Indies Cricket Board’s Calypso T20 tournament, especially his 13-ball 40 scored against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), was enough to nudge the selection panel led by Chairman Clyde Butts.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, Christian said he was honoured and overwhelmed at being selected to represent the regional side, since it’s his childhood dream that is being made a reality.
“From the time I started playing cricket, I dreamt about representing the West Indies and now with my selection to tour England in September, I am honoured and overwhelmed with the news.
Having said that, I would first like to give praise and thanks to God for has kept me and has given me the ability to perform on the cricket field.  I would also like to thank the selectors for having that faith and confidence in me,” said the soft-spoken Christian.
There is no question over his wicket-keeping ability, while his batting prowess speaks for itself, even though at times, he does have a shot selection problem, something he emphatically stated he has been working on over time.
“I will be taking a lot of wicket-keeping experience into the team along with my ability to hit the ball hard in the lower order. In times gone by, I had a problem with my shot selection, but I went back into the nets at DCC and worked on same with my teammates there.
“I will be looking for bigger and better things in the future, with the hope of making DCC and Guyana proud, while at the same time doing whatever I can do to help with the revival of West Indies cricket.”
Quizzed on his feelings to play alongside national leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo and his club mate; all-rounder Christopher Barnwell, Christian said it would be a privilege.
“I can recall when Bishoo (Devendra) was called away from the Guyana team to play in the World Cup this year. The guys were congratulating him in the dressing room and it was a wonderful atmosphere.
Then came Chrissy’s (Barnwell) turn and we at DCC were filled with excitement, knowing that one of our very own was going to represent the West Indies, following in the footsteps of Travis Dowlin who had done so the previous year.
To be stepping onto the field with these two players in England is a great privilege for me. I would not be fazed by anything, since we played together before in one team and we will be in one team doing what we do best, which is play cricket and I am looking forward to doing so with them.”
Darren Sammy will lead the 14-man squad which will play two International Twenty20s on September 23 and 25 at the Kia Oval in London.
Sammy, whose initial stint as West Indies captain ended at the end of the West Indies v India series, has been re-appointed captain in all forms of the game for the two IT20s along with the tour to Bangladesh and India from October to December this year.
The 25-year-old Bascombe, an aggressive Vincentian opener, plays for the Windward Islands and CCC and has represented the West Indies ‘A’ Team as well, while the 22-year-old Charles who hails from St Lucia, plays for the Windward Islands and is also a Windies A selectee.
Bonner, the 22-year-old CCC leg-spinning all-rounder from Jamaica, is also a student at the Sagicor High Performance Centre and a former West Indies Under-19 player.
Members of the Trinidad and Tobago Twenty20 squad were not considered for selection due to their participation in the Nokia Champions League in India.
“Bascombe is a Twenty20 player who has shown signs that he can take apart bowling attacks at the top of the order while Charles has been consistent in the past two years and has shown that he is capable of understanding the requirements of batting in the opening position in the shortest format,” Butts noted.
“We have identified Bonner as someone who, because he is exciting with the bat, ball and in the field, is a developing player, we are looking to give him some exposure at the highest level,” Butts explained.
“Nkrumah has also had excellent reports from the Sagicor HPC batting coach, Carl Hooper,” Butts said.
“Christian impressed the selectors during the last Caribbean Twenty20 when he batted with a cool head and won games for Guyana. He is a pugnacious batsman who we believe can be a match-winner down the order,” Butts said.
Smith returns after last playing for the West Indies against Zimbabwe in an ODI in March last year. He has played 10 Tests and 77 ODIs and is expected to carry the batting burden along with experienced Jamaican middle-order batsman, the stylish Marlon Samuels.
Samuels’ fellow Jamaican middle-order batsman Danza Hyatt, fast rising all-rounder Andre Russell and Barnwell are all expected to produce with the bat, while the bowling will be spearheaded by Edwards and Bishoo with support from Sammy, Russell, Krishmar Santokie, spinner Ashley Nurse, Smith, Barnwell and Bonner.
The 14-man squad reads: Darren Sammy (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Miles Bascombe, Devendra Bishoo, Nkrumah Bonner, Johnson Charles, Derwin Christian, Fidel Edwards, Danza Hyatt, Ashley Nurse, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie and Dwayne Smith.