Presentation’s Bankay delivers under pressure

NEWSDAY continues to closely follow the action in the 2019 PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League premiership 50-over competition. Each week a player will be selected as Newsday’s star of the week and profiled.

There were a number of top performances in the penultimate round, on Tuesday, making it difficult to select this week’s star.

After much deliberation Presentation College, Chaguanas player Aaron Bankay was chosen after a knock of 64 that almost guarantees his team will remain in the premiership division next season.

Opener Bankay, who batted almost the entire Presentation innings, helped steer his team to a six-wicket win over Fatima College.

Newsday spoke with Bankay about his effort.

Name: Aaron Bankay

School: Presentation

College, Chaguanas

Age: 15

Form: Four

Club: Queen’s Park

Cricket Club

Left-handed batsman/

wicketkeeper

Star Performance: 64 runs

Favourite Cricketer: AB

de Villiers (South Africa)

Accomplishments: TT

Under-15, TT Under-17

Newsday: When did you start playing cricket?

Bankay: At seven or eight years old at Harvard Coaching Clinic.

Newsday: Why is AB de Villiers your favourite cricketer?

Bankay: He is a very good batsman/wicketkeeper and he is able to bat under pressure very well in any format of the game – Test cricket, ODI and T20.

Newsday: Did you and the team feel pressure, on Tuesday, knowing a win was important in trying to avoid relegation?

Bankay: When I went out to bat my frame of mind was trying to keep my team up in the premiership and I was trying to bat as many overs as possible. I was hoping to get as much points as possible for the team so we could stay up in the premiership.

Newsday: Do you feel pressure to perform for Presentation being a national youth player?

Bankay: As a national player you have to live up to the standards that people expect from you.

I try to do my best and try not to take on talk from outside such as people saying, ‘He is a national player, he not making runs.’

I try to focus on what I am doing and try to perform for my team.

Newsday: What improvements do you need to make in your game?

Bankay: I think I need to be able to bat longer and rotate the strike a little bit quicker.