I value runs equally

LEFT-ARM TT Red Force spinner Akeal Hosein was satisfied with his performance with the ball last season, but was not pleased with the number of runs he compiled as he wants to fulfil his role as an all-rounder.

Hosein finished tied for second on the bowling charts with 36 wickets in the West Indies Four-Day Championships that concluded recently.

Cricket West Indies made the decision to cancel the final two rounds of the tournament because of the coronavirus. Barbados Pride were declared the winners and Red Force had to settle for second place.

Hosein bowled in 15 innings with his best bowling figures being 6/62 against Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

The left-arm spinner managed a heavy workload bowling 318.4 overs – the most overs in the tournament.

Barbados Pride fast bowler Chemar Holder also ended with 36 wickets (207.3 overs) and recorded top figures of 6/47.

Guyana Jaguars left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul ended as the top wicket-taker with 50 wickets with best figures of 8/18. Permaul’s arms may have also needed a rest at the end of the season as he bowled 310.4 overs.

Hosein, 26, said, “I was pretty pleased with the effort having been away from the four-day set up for a while and also being away from the TT senior team for a while. It is good to come back and have that outstanding performance and be the leading wicket-taker this year.”

The Queen’s Park Cricket Club cricketer did not point to anything specifically that led to his form last season, but said consistent hard work was key.

“I have always been one to work hard on my game, so it was just continuing to keep a strong mindset, continue to put in my work and just try and grab the opportunities that come along.”

Hosein, who has not been in the Red Force set up for a few years, said it was tough bowling more than 300 overs, but says Red Force coach Mervyn Dillon and trainer Clinton Jeremiah helped him manage the job.

“To be honest it was very difficult (to bowl over 300 overs). One, it was my first experience bowling that amount of overs in any tournament ever since I started playing cricket. It was very difficult, you need to manage yourself.

“Mr Dillon always looked after me. He told me, ‘you have been bowling a lot of overs, ease up in training.’ He would shift things to make sure that I was not burnt out or overworked...I thought the staff around me did their best to make sure that no one was burnt out.”

Hosein did not have the most prolific season with the bat as he amassed 170 runs in 11 innings at an average of 15.45.

Discussing his batting this season, Hosein said, “I was disappointed, to be honest. As coach said he knew me a couple years ago as a batsman. I had a fantastic season (last year) with the bat for Queen’s Park, but having said that I was not able to transfer that into the regional set up.”

The former West Indies Under-19 cricketer, who had some issues with his batting stance last season, takes pride in being an all-rounder.

“As I always tell myself I am a 50/50 player, so I am just going to go back to the drawing board and work as hard as possible because I value runs just as much or even more than getting wickets. So that’s my aim - to be able to give 100 per cent to the team and be able to put up my hand and perform with bat and ball for TT.”

Due to the coronavirus, Hosein along with his team-mates has been exercising at home and posting videos on a Red Force Whatsapp group. The players are being guided by Dillon and the team’s trainers including Jeremiah. Hosein said exercises include running drills, push-ups, sit-ups and planks.

Hosein, who represented the West Indies Under-19 team at the 2012 Under-19 50-over World Cup, was hoping to get a West Indies senior team call up in 2020. The virus has delayed his goals.

“I had hopes and aspirations of wearing some sort of maroon colours this year, but having said that a lot of stuff is going to be pushed back. We just have to wait and see, play the patient game, train and stay fit and hopefully as I said this virus passes and cricket could get back on the ground running again.”