…set to join dad as father/son to play first-class Cricket

By Sean Devers
THE Guyana Harpy Eagles face two-times defending champions, Barbados, in the opening round of the 2023 CWI’s Regional first-class tournament in Antigua from February 1-4.

The two youngest members of the team: 19-year-old West Indies player Matthew Nandu and Ashmead Nedd, who turned 22 this month, are hoping to join their fathers as father/sons to play at the first-class level.

The 51-year-old Arjune Nandu, Matthew’s dad, played four first-class games between 1989-1992 while Ashmead’s dad, 50-year-old Garvin Nedd, played 14 first-class games between 1995-1999.

The pair of dads played together in the 1991 Regional U-19 Championships in Jamaica. Meanwhile, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his son Tagenarine are the only Guyanese father/son pair to play both first-class and Test cricket.

The Chanderpauls join the Trinidadian pair of Lebrun Constantine and his son, Sir Learie Constantine, as the only West Indian father/son combination to play in the same first-class match.

The left-handed Nandu, who was born in Canada on June 9, 2003 to Arjune and Jackie Nandu, scored two fifties in the two practice games at Providence, to pick himself for the trip to Antigua and Grenada.

“It feels good to get runs in the trial games. However, I’m still trying to develop my game as much as possible” informed Nandu, who, like his dad, represented the West Indies U-19 team.

“I am looking forward to making my first class debut. If I do get selected I will try to take full advantage of the opportunity” said the talented Nandu.

Nandu said his initial aim is to enjoy the experience, and make his first class debut.

He feels that for him to be successful at this level he needs to continue putting in the hard work and always look for ways to improve on all aspects of the game.
“I would like to thank my parents and my older brother for their continuous support. As well as Uncle Richard Jodha (ex-Guyana U-19 Batter) and Aunty Sonia Jodah (at whom he resides in Guyana).

It feels great to follow in my dad’s footstep by playing first-class cricket. I just want to learn and enjoy the experience as much as possible and hopefully do well enough to one day play Test cricket for West Indies.

Being in Guyana does not affect my studies because many of my courses were online and my teachers were very understanding of my situation,” informed Nandu, who is presently doing online classes from Canada”

He grew up in Canada but began going back and forth to Guyana since 2017 and played for Demerara in 2018 at the U-17 and in 2019 at U-19.

However, unlike his dad, who played youth and senior cricket for Berbice, Matthew joined city side, Everest and represented East Bank in the Franchise league.

Nandu had an outstanding 2019, scoring five consecutive half-centuries for his Canadian Club, Tranzac, making 150 not out in the Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools tournament and being picked for the Chris Gayle-led Vancouver Knights in the second edition of the Global T20 in Canada.

However, the pandemic put his budding career on ice for over a year and robbed him of the opportunity of representing Guyana in U-19 cricket.

However, Nandu, one of four Guyanese players selected for the practice matches at a camp in Antigua, and Berbice pacer, Isaiah Thorne, were selected to tour England for a six-match youth ODI series between Young England and West Indies U-19s.

In the 2022 U-19 World Cup in January, Nandu scored 128 against PNG in Trinidad in Plate Quarter Final and was one of U-23 players selected for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2022 CPL

Without Tage Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Hetymer, Rutherford, Paul and Shepherd, Nandu’s biggest challenge will be getting consistent partnerships with Chanderpaul Hemraj at the top of the order and converting ‘starts’ into centuries.