KEVIN Umroa feels that his dominance in the three-day format of the Hand-in-Hand Inter-County cricket tournament came down to two factors: one improved his skills and confidence, the other inspired him—the end result was 23 wickets, the most this year.

The Albion Community Centre Cricket Club next-generation left-arm spinner said that he was more poised and willing to bowl to his merits in the four-team competition, which concluded last week.

“I got all of those wickets because I was confident after coming back from the West Indies Under-19 camp. I had to put all my emphasis on my bowling and back myself before heading into this inter-county tournament.”

The camp was held from April 18 to the 28 in Antigua, and Umroa, fellow Berbician Kevlon Anderson (RHTY&SC) and Demerara Cricket Club cricketers Ashmead Nedd and Sachin Singh were coached on their batting, bowling and fielding techniques.
“The camp was a good training experience for me. I have learnt a lot of things and ideas from coaches and players from other countries.”

With his confidence, the 18-year-old was able to extract turn on the pitches. In fact, his dominance with the ball was a key reason that Berbice retained their title. In the final of the competition last week, Umroa finished with an 11-wicket haul, including 6-41 in the second innings.

ENCOURAGING WORDS
Prior to travelling to the capital city for the three-day competition, Umroa was given a pep talk by seasoned bowlers Veerasammy Permaul, his West Indies compatriot Devendra Bishoo and national spinner Gudakesh Motie.
“They all told me to do what I do best.”

The former JC Chandisingh Secondary School student said that he is also ready to make an impact in the one-day competition, which bowls off today in Berbice and Georgetown.
“For bowling I’ll just try and be consistent and keep it simple and if I have the chance to bat, I’ll just try and be positive.”

Berbice are set to play Essequibo at Albion today, while at the Everest Cricket Club Ground, in the capital city, Demerara will challenge the Select U17.