PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – Last December when most persons were preparing for the Yuletide Season one young man had other ideas. Keddy Lesporis decided to go back to basics and try to do some remedial work on his batting.
The tall right-hander was a member of the Sagicor High Performance Centre in 2012, but he decided to return to Barbados in 2013 to “correct a few things” and work on his overall batting skills.
The hardwork has started to pay dividends. He announced himself with a brilliant maiden century on Thursday night as the NAGICO Super50 tournament got off to a thrilling. Lesporis, who turned 25 a month ago, made 100 not out off 98 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. It was however not enough as the Windwards ended on 268-8 off 50 overs in reply to Jamaica’s 282-5 off their 50 overs.
“I had a chat with the Head Coach Graeme West and he told me I needed some work so I decided to go back and put in that additional work. I did a lot hard work also back home in St Lucia and I feel like my batting is getting better,” Lesporis said.
One special feature of the innings was his driving and the ability to pick the gaps on the off-side.
“This is one of the things that I worked with while I was at the Sagicor HPC. I have improved on that but I still have some more work to do, but I believe I’m getting there.”
Lesporis added: “I normally take a little time to get going, especially with my feet. Tonight my feet were moving nicely and I was able to play my shots. I was hitting the ball nicely – the way I like – and when you’re hitting the ball nicely you tend to get it through the gaps.
“Things were flowing for me. It was a huge target and we needed to step up the pace. We tried our best but we fell just short. I thought I had it at one point…I felt I could win it, but I needed a bit more help, but unfortunately the wickets kept falling. We have two games to go and we are now in a must-win situation so we know we have to respond.”
The Windwards will play their next match against Guyana next Tuesday at the Queen’s Park Oval.
The NAGICO Super50 will be played in Trinidad and Tobago from January 30 to February 16. Matches will be at the historic Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain and the picturesque Shaw Park in Tobago.
The champions will take home the Clive Lloyd Trophy – named in honour of the legendary captain of the 1975 and 1979 World Cup winning teams.
MATCH SCHEDULE and RESULTS
Matches at Queen’s Park Oval – 2pm/1pm Jamaica Time
Matches at Shaw Park – 9am/8am Jamaica Time
January
Thursday, 30th: Jamaica beat Windwards by 14 runs at Queen’s Park Oval
Friday, 31st: Guyana vs Ireland at Queen’s Park Oval
February
Saturday, 1st: Leewards vs CCC at Queen’s Park Oval
Sunday, 2nd: T&T vs Barbados at Queen’s Park Oval
Monday, 3rd: Jamaica vs Ireland at Queen’s Park Oval
Tuesday, 4th: Guyana vs Windwards at Queen’s Park Oval
Wednesday, 5th: Leewards vs T&T at Shaw Park
Thursday, 6th: CCC vs Barbados at Shaw Park
Friday, 7th: Ireland vs Windwards at Queen’s Park Oval
Saturday, 8th: Guyana vs Jamaica at Queen’s Park Oval
Sunday, 9th: CCC vs T&T at Queen’s Park Oval
Monday, 10th: Barbados vs Leewards at Queen’s Park Oval
Wednesday, 12th: Semi-final 1 – Zone A winner vs Zone B second at Queen’s Park Oval
Thursday, 13th: Semi-final 2 – Zone B winner vs Zone A second at Queen’s Park Oval
Saturday 15th: FINAL – Winner of Semi-final 1 vs Winner of Semi-final 2 at Queen’s Park Oval
FULL SQUADS
GUYANA: Christopher Barnwell (captain), Shiv Chanderpaul (vice captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Anthony Bramble (wicket-keeper), Robin Bacchus, Trevon Griffith, Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine, Royston Crandon, Assad Fudadin, Devendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Paul Wintz; Esuan Crandon (coach)
WINDWARD ISLANDS: Liam Sebastien (captain), Andre Fletcher (vice captain/wicket-keeper), Johnson Charles (wicket-keeper), Tyron Theophille, Mervin Matthew, Craig Emmanuel, Garey Mathurin, Keddy Lesporis, Devon Smith, Dalton Polius, Delorn Johnson, Kenroy Peters, Romel Currency, Alston Bobb; Ian Allen (coach)
IRELAND: William Porterfield (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young; Phil Simmons (coach).
JAMAICA: David Bernard Jr (captain), Nikita Miller (vice captain), Andre Russell, Carlton Baugh Jr (wicket-keeper), Tamar Lambert, Andrew Richardson, Horace Miller, John Campbell, Jermaine Blackwood, Andre McCarthy, Sheldon Cottrell, Jerome Taylor, Nkrumah Bonner, Kenar Lewis; Junior Bennett (coach)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Dwayne Bravo (captain), Adrian Barath, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Denesh Ramdin (wicket-keeper), Rayad Emrit, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Imran Khan, Yannick Ottley, Shannon Gabriel, Kevon Cooper; Kelvin Williams (coach)
COMBINED CAMPUSES & COLLEGES: Steven Jacobs (captain), Anthony Alleyne, Ryan Austin, Kyle Corbin, Akeem Dewar, Kavem Hodge, Kyle Mayers, Kristopher Ramsaran, Wayne Morgan, Shacaya Thomas, Raymon Reifer, Chadwick Walton (wicket-keeper), Kesrick Williams, Floyd Reifer (player/coach)
BARBADOS: Kevin Stoute (captain), Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Rashidi Boucher, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich (wicket-keeper), Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Dwayne Smith, Kenroy Williams; Hendy Springer (coach)
LEEWARD ISLANDS: Kieran Powell (captain), Devon Thomas (vice captain/wicket-keeper), Justin Athanaze, Lionel Baker, Quinton Boatswain, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Montcin Hodge, Sylvester Joseph, Anthony Martin, Mali Richards, Gavin Tonge, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kelbert Walters; Ridley Jacobs (coach)
