Nedd making a mark in debut Super50

Dec 01, 2019 Sports

Aims to help Windies win U-19 WC and play 1st Class cricket

By Sean Devers in Trinidad

Born on January 10, 2001 in Georgetown, Guyana and West Indies U-19 left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd says he gained mostly experience from playing for the West Indies Emerging Players in the Colonial Medical Super50 Cup tournament here in Trinidad.

Ashmead Nedd had career best 4-29 in the Super50 semis at the Oval.

“Franchise cricket back home isn’t that much competitive. Coming into this tournament and coming up against good batsmen was a bit challenging,” Nedd, the son of former Guyana off-spinner Gavin Nedd, explained.
After losing to hosts T&T’s Red Force by 10 wickets in their last preliminary game the young West Indians were hoping that the USA would somehow upset Guyana Jaguars in their final game, since that was the only chance for Emerging Players to reach an unexpected final.
Following the game from the Hilton Hotel; when USA won in the last over, the youngsters celebrated their good fortune as if they had won the World Cup.
“Losing to Trinidad was tough but we kept on believing that we’ll make it through to the semi-finals.
At first we just wanted to perform well and win a few games but as the tournament moved forward we started believing the team gonna upset a lot of big teams,” said Nedd, who has the second lowest economy rate in the tournament behind teammate fellow Guyanese Kevin Sinclair.
The young West Indians have played spirted team cricket in this tournament and beat Barbados by three wickets in the first semi-finals last Thursday as Nedd and Sinclair shared six wickets between them as debutants, Emerging Players became the first team to qualify for the Final.
The 18-year-old Nedd has 10 wickets for 94 runs from 30.3 overs in five matches at an average of 9.40 and an Economy Rate of 3.08, and says it felt great being the first team in the finals.
“My main goal was to take two to three five-wicket hauls in the tournament (but) it didn’t play out the way how I wanted it to, but I’m proud of myself,” the DCC First-Division cricketer reflected.
Today Nedd, who had a career-best 4-29 in the semis, Sinclair and the tournament’s second leading fast bowler, Bajan Keon Harding (17 wickets), will need be on top of their game with the likes of 29-year-old Kieran Powell, the only batsman with 500 runs in the tournament, in the Leewards Hurricane side.
Justin Greaves, Joshua DaSilva,Roland Cato, Kimani Melius and Yannic Cariah will hope to contribute with the bat against pacer

Demerara’s U-19 Skipper Ashmead Nedd square drives at Bourda.

s Sheeno Berridge (21 wkts) and Quinton Hubert Boatswain (11 wkts).
“We’re very confident heading into the final as a young team, we just keep on believing,” said Nedd, whose favourite cricketer is Shakib Al Hassan.
Nedd’s next assignment is the Tri-Nation U-19 tournament involving host West Indies, Sri Lanka and England with the home team facing Sri Lanka in the opening game on Saturday in Antigua.
After that, Nedd and fellow Guyanese Kevlon Anderson are a part of the West Indies team which will be one of the sixteen teams participatingthe ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa from next January 17 to February 9.
This will be the thirteenth edition and the second to be held in South Africa and Nedd is confident of West Indies retaining the Trophy they won in 2016 but lost in 2018 in New Zealand when he was a member of that team.
“Yes I am confident in winning the World Cup since the players that have been selected know a lot about each other and everybody understands the role they have to play,” said Nedd, who enjoys getting batsmen LBW and bowled.
“I’d consider myself as a bowling all-rounder. In the modern cricket you have to be capable of bringing something else to your game. Yes, I do bat in the nets, batting is something I work on every day,” said Nedd whose aim is to play four-day cricket in the PCL in the not too distant future.
When asked who are the main people that have helped his cricket, he said, “Mostly my father and club mates like Chris Barnwell and other senior players around the club.”
Today the talented Guyanese will focus on helping the Emerging Players beat the Leewards in what would be the biggest upset in the history of Regional 50 overs cricket which was first played in 1973 when Barbados beat Clive Lloyd’s Guyana in the final.
Combined Colleges & Campuses (CCC) who defeated Guyana in the last Final in Barbados, is the only non-Nation to win a Championship title.
Leewards hunt their eighth title (four of them being shared) including their last title in 2010 when the final against Barbados ended in a tie at Sabina Park in Jamaica with both being bowled out for 139.