Persaud delighted with South Africa tour

May 21, 2023 Sports

Kaieteur Sports – All-rounder Basil Persaud stated that he is overwhelmed with his maiden tour of South Africa with West Indies over-50 team that participated in the recently concluded World Cup limited-over tournament.

Basil Persaud

According to the former Essequibo Inter-County player, despite his side’s failure to win the prestigious trophy, his experience is memorable.

Persaud represented West Indies in five matches churning out some impressive performances with both bat and ball. Against Wales, he bowled eight overs for 28 runs and snapped a wicket.

In the 14-team tournament, there were two groups with the top two teams contested in the final. England came out victorious having defeated the hosts-country.

For the Essequibian Persaud, it was exciting cricket and a great honour to play at an event of this magnitude.

“I was happy to represent the West Indies over-50 team; it was indeed a lifetime experience; yes, little disappointing we didn’t win the trophy but generally we played good and committed cricket,” the 52-year-old right-handed batsman related.

Quizzed on what were some of the challenges, especially against a bunch of quality teams, Persaud responded: “I think every team was there to be victorious; it was a huge tournament and it was a world cup so you would have expected competitive cricket from the beginning,” the right-arm seamer explained.

In West Indies Group A, New Zealand led the points table while West Indies finished at number 5 with three victories and three defeats.

In Group, B, England led the standing.

The other 11 participating countries were: Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, the United States of America, Pakistan, India, Wales, the United Arab Emirates and Namibia.

West Indies team was captained by former Guyana youth player, the left-arm orthodox spinner Zamin Amin while the team was made up of several former first-players including Jamaican Delroy Morgan, Canada-based Guyanese Sunil Dhaniram among others. Persaud highlighted the trip of being at the other with Morgan who scored a century against New Zealand. His role was supportive.

Meanwhile, Persaud had expressed profound gratitude to several people for making his trip to an African nation a reality. He also thanked his clubs, the Everest Cricket Club (Georgetown) and Reliance Sports Club (Essequibo Coast) as well for their support.

He mentioned Raj Singh, the Manager of the team, His Excellency of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana DR. Irfaan Ali, Cabinet Minister Nigel Dharamlall, members of Everest and Bridgelall Lall of Reliance Sports Club.

“I must take the opportunity to thank everyone who helped me on my way to South Africa; I thanked the selectors too for believing in my abilities and was glad to make a contribution as well,” Persaud declared.

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Basil Persaud, England, Essequibo Inter-County, magnitude, West Indies over-50

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