On the road back! Tyrell Tull eyes Guyana One-Day call-up

Dec 25, 2009 Sports

---

Gifted Keeper has lost 20 pounds in 30 days

By Sean Devers
If talent alone was the recipe for success former Guyana 20/20 wicketkeeper Tyrell Tull would have been an outstanding Test cricketer living the large life.
Undoubtedly Guyana’s most naturally talented wicketkeeper, the career of the 23-year-old took off into orbit when he became a multi-millionaire as a teenager in 2006 when he helped Guyana to championship honours in the inaugural Stanford 20/20 series in Antigua. But a combination of set-backs, not least a knee injury which required surgery in October 2006, has stalled his promising cricket career.
Although his surgery required an 8-month rest which resulted in him putting on several pounds of excess weight, many feel Tull’s immaturity and irresponsible life style after his 20/20 success dealt crucial blows to his upward mobility as a cricketer and person.
Born on October 5th 1986, Tyrell Avery Tull says he is now a changed person and feels that life has taught him some tough lessons and that he has learnt them well.
Three years after his 20/20 glory and far from peak fitness, the burly Tull is still Guyana’s best Keeper and his sensational hand speed exhibited in his last first division match for GCC against Transport Sports club at Bourda last Sunday provided a mixture of pleasure and disappointment for those who have watched him waste his god-given gift to wicket keep.
But according to the former North Georgetown Student who later attended Saints Stanislaus College, he is on the road back to proving that he will play for the West Indies and his intense daily training sessions with his childhood friend, West Indies ODI player Leon Johnson at the Flex Gym in Kitty is geared towards getting him fit for the job.
“I aim to make the Guyana One-Day team next year October and I am confident that once I work hard, with my ability, I will get back into the Guyana team since I am still young,” Tull told Kaieteur Sport after a football session at GCC this week.
The Keeper, who grew up in Golden Grove on the East Coast of Demerara before moving to live in Robb Street when he was 12, trains for 2 hours every day at the Gym before practicing at Bourda from 3-6.
“I run 6 laps everyday at GCC and I have lost 20 pounds in the last 30 days…I am feeling and seeing the weight come off. By April my goal is to shed 50 more pounds. I pay close attention to what I eat and I basically eat one meal per day,” Tull disclosed.
Tull, who now resides in Church Street in the City, came to prominence when he played the first of his 3 years at the regional under-15 level as a 12 year-old before becoming the youngest player to be invited to a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) senior training camp when he attended the 2000 camp in Antigua at age 13.
Tull’s love for the good life and disregard for stringent rules was evident since then and he missed a morning training session because he had consumed too much of a milk-based alcoholic beverage not realizing that it contained a high percentage of rum.
The hyper-active and garrulous Tull is an only child who was always big for his age and growing up with his mother alone allowed him privileges a stern father might not have tolerated.
Even among his peers and those older than him he was often allowed to get his own way because of his fantastic ability behind the stumps.
Although he was the most naturally keeper in each of his 3 years of under-15 cricket for Guyana and in his 2 (2003 & 2004) at the under-19 level, Tull was edged out of West Indies youth selection at both levels by present Test Keeper Denesh Ramdin who while not as natural as Tull was a level-headed and hard-working cricketer.
When asked by former West Indies opener Gordon Greenidge to pad up to bat against Franklyn Rose and company at the Antigua Training camp, Tull, never short of words, told Greenidge that he was not there to bat but to keep.
In Trinidad when he hit his finger and came off the field leaving Julian Moore to Keep Wicket at the under-15 level, he told the then West Indies youth selector and former Test batsman Gus Logie that he was taking a little rest. He did not know who Logie was at that time.
Tull’s unwillingness to work hard on his fitness and his ‘mouth’ has often got him into trouble at GYO where he started his career, and later GCC. But from observing the youth and his present work ethic Tull looks a changed man.
“After my knee injury I put on a lot of weight and I lost interest in cricket. Looking back I realize that I made some bad decisions and wasted money on foolishness. I was rich and popular at a young age and I got distracted with a lot of things and it eventually affected my cricket,” Tull, who won over $16 million from the 2006 Stanford 20/20 success, explained.
The dynamic Keeper says he was always a wicketkeeper although he is capable of bowling decent off-spin and actually turns the ball more than several specialist off-spinners locally.
“I was passing GYO one day from school and saw (Ramnaresh) Sarwan and Paul Beavon bowling to him without anyone behind the stumps. They needed someone to stop the balls and that’s when my wicket keeping career began,” Tull remembered.
Tull has been friends with Johnson since he was 7 years old and after his final year at the regional under-19 level in Jamaica in 2004, he was encouraged to join GCC.
“I have learnt that you should not take anything for granted and never waste your ability.
I was young and made some mistakes but only a fool makes the same mistakes twice. Many things that happened in my life in the last 2 years have made me a stronger and more focused person now,” Tull said.
“Nobody can take away your ability and once you are willing to put in the hard work you could achieve anything. I still see myself playing for the West Indies since apart from Ramdin I don’t think there are any real outstanding keepers in the region at the senior level,” Tull added.
Many who know cricket rate Tull as good any of the international Keepers standing up to the pacers or spin but feel he is not as good when standing back.
Tull says while many people might think he does not listen to people, he is aware of constructive criticism and takes advice from those whom he feels knows cricket.
“On the field I am a very chatty person and I think it unsettles batsmen who are not confident. Of course I have flaws and one is that I am not as good standing back as compared to standing up to the stumps.
I think I am now improving away from the stumps to the pacers because I have lost weight. I was not moving fast enough but now I am lighter I am moving more, my feet are working more and feel I am now a better keeper. When you are up to the stumps you depend on your eye sight, hand speed and reflexes and not so much on lateral movement…It might not look as spectacular but keeping back to the pacers is more work on you physically,” Tull explained.
He disclosed that he began playing seriously again this year when he returned to GCC after a brief stint with Transport Sports Club.
The glove-man who says he is also working on his batting, said that he returned to GCC because of the better facilities and higher professionalism at practice sessions there.
“I also grew up playing with Leon, who I don’t consider my friend but my brother. I also grew up playing with Cheezy (Vishal Singh), Ravi (Sarwan) and Treon (Forde) and I missed playing with them. I think if I really want to play national cricket again GCC is the best place for me. The new GCC President (Dr Lionel Jaikarran) has also shown interest in me,” Tull said.
While Tull thinks that it would be good if keepers could get big scores with the bat consistently he thinks it is more important for them to effect stumpings and take catches and make a big contribution behind the stumps instead of making some runs and not being able to excel as Keeper.
Tull seems more at peace with himself and while it would be impossible for him to be seen and not heard he has toned down his antics both on and off the field and one gets the impression that he is now more matured and ready for his second chance at stardom.
“Making those who have kept faith in me proud motivates me to work hard.
Director of Sport Neil Kumar, Kashif from the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, the Hits and Jams family, Marcus Watkins, Gavin Dover, Yannick Charles, Cheezy, Orin Forde, Quinton Proctor and my sister Collyann McNichol are among those who have been behind me with my cricket. Dwayne Bravo and Wavel Hinds have spoken to me about not wasting my talent and Chris Gayle calls me to check up on me…When he was in Guyana the other day he even had a talk with my mom and told her to ensure I do the right things with my life and my cricket,” Tull informed.
The youth says that training and practicing with Johnson, who is not in the best of form, is important for him since it could also inspire Johnson to realize that you can get back from any situation and do well once you don’t give up.
“My mom has played a tremendous role in my life and there were a lot of things I took for granted as she was there as a mother and father for me. I want her to see that she did not waste her time with me and my cricket when I was younger and I know I will get far more than I lost and prove all those who feel I was finished wrong,” Tull said with passion.
“As you get older you see life in a different way and you think different. I have a lot to prove. I am once again enjoying my cricket. With all that I have passed through I have never once doubted my ability as a Keeper. I suffered a broken heart recently after losing someone I really cared for. Trust me…. I know more than most people what it is like to have things and lose it because you felt you could not loose it. Tyrell Tull will be back!” Tull concluded.
He seems prepared to go the long haul. But at the end of the day only Tull can know if he is really serious about his comeback and willing to do what is required to make it a success. The natural talent and support from others is there…its now up to him to do the rest.

---

---