Beaming with confidence in his ability, young fast bowler Qumar Torrington has locked his eyes on playing First-class cricket in the near future after but not necessarily for his native Guyana.
The 17 year-old was part of former West Indies Captain Floyd Reifer’s scouting programme which was aimed at unearthing new talents for the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) which participates in the Cricket West Indies (CWI) First-Class circuit.
After an impressive spell of bowling where he took 4-14 in one of the practice
matches, his deep desire stands closer to becoming a reality.
For the former West Indies under-15 player, success should not be a surprise since he has a classical but powerful approach the crease and an open-chested action, which generally helps the tall seamer to generate an appreciable amount of pace.
Reflecting on the outing, the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) player told Guyana Times Sport, “the four-day training which was highly developmental and it could only make me get better and I look forward to being exposed to similar training programmes which would only help to me build my cricket and me gradually progress into West Indian colours.”
He added, “On the first day we conducted basic drills at the indoor facility. He even
helped me with some field placement where I had to bowl five different deliveries with the same field and be successful.”
A career which the young pacer hopes to model after marque international players Dale Steyn and James Anderson, has admitted he left an impressionable mark on Barbadian Reifer.
“Well he said to me that I have a good strong bowling acting and a good follow through but just need to do some more strengthen work to gather some more pace.”
*Balancing Act*
Going full throttle on the field is not the only major aspiration the cricketer has since hitting the stumps in the world of academics is high on his agenda for the Chase Academic Foundation Student.
“Well balancing both cricket and studies is a bit challenging but in order to be successful time management is important. I manage my time efficiently to get my results in the end since my goal is to become an entrepreneur so I’m currently doing business subjects at Sixth Form level.”
Given the CCC structure allows for cricketers to purse their dreams both on and off the field, Torrington contended that similar structures should be developed in Guyana.
“I think they should have more schools placing more emphasis on both sports and studies. Maybe in the same manner my school does. This would further help students like myself to develop in both the academic and whatever sporting arena they are competing in,” disclosed the player who has five passes at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate level.
*Support mechanisms*
To a large degree the ‘gentleman’s sport’ has evolved over the past decade becoming one which situational awareness sometimes overrides raw talent. While the player has showcased glimpses of being a critical thinker on the field he admitted the overwhelming advice imparted has helped to keep him above par.
“As a fast bowler in order to be successful you must stick to the basics and that is what I focus on before games and try to execute it efficiently and with the work of my coaches who keep encouraging me and helping me to remain focus.”
“Coach [Garvin] Nedd, coach [Corey] Colleymore from Barbados who was with us in England with West indies u15 and coach Julian [Moore] who would normally say to me just keep focus and continue working hard.”
In 2016, Torrington had this first taste of the maroon colours when he toured England to play against English U-16 teams in a 50-over invitational tournament.
“I think the tour to England helped me a lot. Firstly, it was a good exposure as it learned to adapt to different conditions, secondly with the quality of the coaches. Robert Samuels from Jamaica, Corey Colleymore and manager Courtney Walsh shared a lot of important information that up to now I still remember and use it in my cricket whenever I play.”
The player also credited the constant jolts of ‘keep going and never give up from parents Daren and Sharon Torrington along with principal Henry Chase.
With entrance to the sport since the age of seven when he joined the Queenstown-based DCC and then playing for Guyana at the age of 14, is now looking to break into the under-19 squad since he has hopes of playing in a Youth World Cup.
“I am looking forward to next year’s regional under-19 since it will give me the opportunity to stake a claim for a spot on the Windies under-19 team hopefully a chance to play in the world cup.”
“But it doesn’t stop there. I know that this first step in me moving forward into First-Class and the Test arena. I know with the help of the Almighty all of these things are possible.”
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