Player Spotlight: Emerging Player Kevin Sinclair reflects on his 2019/20 season
Cricket West Indies new investment and focus on emerging and Under-19 players has begun bearing fruit with the success of the West Indies Emerging Players team being crowned the 2019 Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup Champions in only their second year of competition.
At just age 20, Kevin Sinclair is a budding young off-spinning all-rounder who has since forced his way into five-time West Indies Championship winners, Guyana Jaguars.
He did so on the back of his exploits in the Super50 and he offered solid bowling support to Veerasammy Permaul, who was the leading wicket-taker in the four-day tournament.
Sinclair, fondly remembered for his acrobatic wicket-taking celebrations during the Super50, spoke to CWI Media as he recapped his 2019/20 season.
Kevin Sinclair Interview:
In your maiden season of domestic cricket, you were part of a winning West Indies Emerging Players in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup and became a fixture in Guyana Jaguars four-day team.
It’s been fantastic because all my hard work paid off being part of a team that won the Super50 and getting picked in the five-time defending champions, Guyana Jaguars team.
The successful Guyana team had spinners such as Verasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Gudakesh Motie and Jamaican Ramaal Lewis. After the Super50, were you confident that you could break into the team? Looking back, how would you describe this experience so far?
My mindset at the time was that we had trials coming up and not to be complacent and try to put my best foot forward. I scored a fifty and took four wickets and everything progressed from there.
Considering that the West Indies Emerging Players team consisted of players who just missed out on national team selection, for you personally how big was the experience of playing Super50 in preparing you for the eventual Guyana team call-up?
It was a great experience playing and getting to showcase my talent. So I would say the preparation coach Floyd Reifer gave us in the Super50 was a great platform going into the four-day matches.
Describe your life in cricket for fans in the West Indies?
Basically, I started playing at the age of seven. I felt great playing against Shane Shillingford in the Super50, because as I told him he was the person that inspired me to play cricket as an off-spinner because he was dominating at the time. My grandfather, Carlton Sinclair, who also was a cricketer, was also a big inspiration.
I am a member of the Rosehall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) and I consider myself to be an all-rounder that can bat and bowl. Of course, I won’t overrate myself just aiming to keep working hard until I can accomplish my dream of wearing the maroon colours.
What have you learnt about your all-round game in the 2019/20 season that you are seeking to improve on?
I don’t believe I need to change much of my basics other than working on a few technical areas having got a taste of regional cricket this year.
How have you been keeping active during the lockdown in Guyana?
I’ve been trying to hit a few balls just to keep my hands active and doing all my regular fitness work. I was selected in the CPL this year so I can’t relax despite the uncertainty.