At 14, Rampertab Ramnauth is a little runs machine

Jul 14, 2020 Sports

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By Sean Devers

Gifted fourteen-year-old West Indies U-16 left-handed stroke player Rampertab Ramnauth is a little runs machine and already has scored 16 centuries including a double.

He seemed capable of joining his Port Mourant club mate Roopnarine Ramgobin as the only Guyanese to play for the West Indies U-15 and U-19 teams when still at the U-15 level.
But the Regional U-15 tournament fixed for April, the U-17 fixture which was set for June in Trinidad and the Regional U-19 competition, set for August, have all been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic although a CGI official says there is still some hope of playing the U-15 competition in December.
Last year April in Antigua, in the final round of the CWI Regional 50-over U-15 tournament, Guyana and T&T met in the Championship match which Guyana, led by Man-of-the-Match Ramnauth’s unbeaten 92 and Mavindra Dindyal’s 52, reached a revised target of 204, making 204-3 from 30.2 overs.
T&T had reached 180-2 from 43 overs in the rain affected game giving Guyana a seven-wicket win on the DLS system.
However, Guyana finished .1 of a point behind TT since their fast bowlers took one more wicket than the Guyanese although both teams ended with four wins and one loss from five matches.
TT took the title because of the fast bowling points. Each wicket taken by a fast bowler gets .1 of a point for their team.
After T&T and Barbados won the first two titles in 1996 and 1997, Guyana won their first tournament in 1998 in Jamaica when Damodar, Dasrath, Narsingh Deonarine and Keeper Imran Hussain made the first ever West Indies U-15 team.
Guyana again emerged Champions the next year at home before winning their third and fourth titles in 2014 in Jamaica and 2015 in Guyana.

But despite being denied their fifth title and first in four years, Ramnauth, who still has this year at U-15 level, says this was his second most memorable game playing for Guyana. His most memorable was his debut 114 against Jamaica in the opening round.
Ramnauth had scores of 114, 0, 57, 8 and 93 in Antigua which led to him being selected last year to tour England with the West Indies U-16 team along with fellow Guyanese Mavindra Dindyal and Pacer Isai Thorne.
“The conditions in England were challenging. Playing the ball late and leaving the ball away from off-stump were key things I leant there,” said Ramnauth.
Ramnauth was born on December 4, 2005 and grew-up in Clifton Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice.
He is the son of Roopnarine Ramnauth and Lilowtie Lacchminarine and one of nine siblings including five sisters.
Ramnauth grew up in a single parent home, since his mom who has been working for 12 years at the Port Mourant Hospital and his dad, are no longer together.
Ramnauth attended the Tain Nursery and Primary schools and Port Mourant Secondary and is now a fourth form student of RVC, preparing to write five CXC exams next year.
According to Ramnauth’s mom he loved cricket since he very little and was always with a bat in his hand.
Rampertab joined Port Mourant as an eight-year-old and made his Inter-County Under-15 debut as a 12-year-old after making 51 against Rose Hall Canje in his debut U-15 game for PM in 2016.
Last year he became the youngest player to participate in the CWI franchise league (Guyana’s highest domestic tournament) when he was picked in the Upper Corentyne Squad at the age of 13 after returning from the West Indies under-16 tour to England.

This is his second year playing Franchise cricket.
“The Franchise cricket is far tougher than club cricket because there are so many senior players in the teams so you have concentrate more when you are batting. But it has been a great experience for leaning from the senior players,” said Ramnauth who enjoys playing a game called Sal pass.
He was among seven batsmen with half-centuries in this year’s U-17 Inter-County tournament scoring the most runs (136).
His runs were more than the tournament’s best batsman, Dindyal and fellow Berbician Mahendra Gopilall; the other two batsmen reached 100 runs from their three matches.
Ramnauth (78), Gopilall (58 & 54), Zeynul Ramsammy (50), Shemar Yearwood (54), Dindyal (50), Jaden Campbell (58) and Aryan Persaud (51*) were the batsmen with half-centuries.
“I know education is the key to success and I am writing five CXC subjects next year, but I still want play for Guyana and then West Indies in Test Cricket. So I have to focus on cricket and studies…I can’t go to school now due to the COVID-19 Virus and I can’t go to the ground to practice but our pastor bowls to me in the yard,” informed Rampertab who loves Maths.
“I don’t go to lessons but don’t watch TV unless it showing cricket and I enjoy studying my school work and reading…. don’t really play other sports,” says Rampertab who loves playing the cover drive.

“My favourite batsman is Indian right-hander Virat Kholi because of his talent, technique and his professional attitude to his cricket and training,” informed Ramnauth who wants to play Test cricket and become one of the top 10 batsmen in the world.
The young runs machine fashioned a majestic 265 against Number 73 Village in the Jai Hind Ground in Berbice as Port Mourant scored a record 447-run win after he had scored his brilliant 179 which orchestrated a win over Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes. He followed-up his top score of 37 in Berbice’s upset defeat against Demerara at Bourda.
Ramnauth disclosed that his only double century was unforgettable.
“My most memorable match is last January when I made 265 against Number 73 in the U-15 competition. I hit 28 fours and 17 sixes and was LBW in the 41st over. But I prefer two innings and 50 overs cricket. I don’t really like T20 cricket,” says Rampertab, who loves fish broth.”
Last February at Lusignan, Ramnauth hit a masterful unbeaten 147 from 178 balls, 225 minutes with 11 fours and shared in a century second wicket stand with Thameshwar Mahadeo to give Berbice an empathic 257-run victory over Essequibo in the second round of the GCB’s Dave West Indian Imports 50-over U-15 cricket encounter.
“That match was my most memorable match for Berbice in U15 cricket,” said Ramnauth who scored his first of 11 centuries at the age of 11. “My family, BCB President Mr Foster and my Coach Leslie Solomon are among the main people who have helped and supported me with my cricket,” concluded Rampertab who says he can also bowl part-time leg-spin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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