Naps opener aims for more runs, consistency

Newsday continues to cover the performances in the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) 50-over Premiership Division. Each week a player will be selected as Newsday’s star of the week and profiled.

After missing out on the star of the week earlier in the season, Naparima College opening batsman Kyle Roopchand ensured he was selected as the round five star with a knock of 73. Roopchand, who faced 48 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes, helped Naps post a competitive 176/8 in a shortened 25-over contest against St Mary’s College at Fatima Grounds, on Tuesday.

Chasing a revised target of 142 in 20 overs, Naps restricted St Mary’s for 136/9 to win by five runs.

Name: Kyle Roopchand

Age: 16

School: Naparima College

Form: Five

Batting Style/Bowling Style: Right-handed/leg break

Club: Cosmos

Favourite Cricketer:

]Rohit Sharma

Performance: 73 runs (48 balls, nine fours, two sixes)

Q How do you feel about your effort on Tuesday?

A I feel that I should have stayed and bat until the end and score a little bit more runs, but in the end it was a team effort and I was happy for another victory.

What do you think has led to the success of Naparima in the last two rounds?

We started to train a little bit more disciplined and we started to value our wicket more. We started having more penalties every time we got out in sessions so that the batsmen would be able to focus and try to bat longer without getting out.

As an opener, how would you describe your role on the team?

My main role, as the coach always tries to tell us, is to bat 50 overs. That is always in the back of the head to bat the 50 overs, anchor the innings and score as many runs as I could.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

I just hope to keep scoring runs consistently and help any team that I play for win all their games. I have been working on my batting as well to focus for longer, so I will be able to concentrate in the middle overs so I will be able to bat and dominate the bowling.

How high do you think Naps can finish this season?

I hope we could come in the top three. That will give us a good confidence boost to go into the Intercol (T20) because we started off poorly but it is how we finish.

What are your goals for the next two years?

I am just trying to score more runs and be a little more consistent in the matches, so I will be able to get selected for a West Indies (Under-19) team.

Who is your favourite cricketer and why?

I like Rohit Sharma because I like the way he approaches his batting in all formats of the game. He looks to take on bowlers and score runs quickly and he is also able to adapt to any conditions and still score runs.

What is your favourite format and why?

I like to play 50 overs because I have more time...some time to settle in and have a look at how the pitch playing and in the end I could always step it up and score runs freely.