Newsday SSCL Star of the Week: Another Badree in town – Roberto

FORMER West Indies spinner Samuel Badree certainly made a name for himself during his playing days, but there is another Badree starting to make waves. His name is Roberto, the nephew of Samuel.

Like his uncle, Roberto is a leg spinner.

The Naparima College student delivered a performance worth highlighting. He snatched five wickets for one run, including a hat-trick, to lead "Naps" to a 198-run win over Toco Secondary in a round-three match in the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) premier division on January 31.

Naparima scored 281 in 43.4 overs batting first, before Roberto's bowling helped dismiss Toco for 83 in 18.5 overs.

Naparima are in contention for the title after a promising start to their campaign. Roberto, who is also showing form with the bat, spoke to Newsday about his performance, the rest of the season and the discussions he has with his uncle.

Name: Roberto Badree

Class: Form Four

Batting style: Right-handed batsman

Bowling style: Leg spinner

Residence: Barrackpore

Favourite cricketer: Shai Hope

Star performance: Five wickets for one run

Five wickets for one run is excellent. What do you think you did well on that day?

It was a tremendous feeling being able to achieve those incredible bowling figures. On the day I didn’t change my pre-game routine. I kept my warm up quite simple like any other game. I bowled a very good, consistent line and length and placed the ball in the right areas and to that I attribute my success.

How would you describe your season? You have been scoring runs and taking wickets?

I would describe my 2025 season so far as challenging, but also rewarding in the sense that I have been taking wickets and scoring runs consistently, which is a great step in the right direction as the season continues.

What advice do you get from your uncle Samuel Badree?

Yes, I try to ask my uncle for advice whenever he is around as I try to navigate through a similar path he would have went through. He tells me to figure out my own mistakes and learn from them. With that he allows me to think on my own and allows me to create my own path which encourages the growth and development of my young, growing cricket career.

How did you get the name Roberto?

I get this quite a lot, people ask if I got my name from the famous (Brazilian) footballer Roberto Carlos, but the answer is actually much more boring than that. My father’s first name is Robert and I guess it made the naming process for my parents quite simple by adding an "o" to the end of my dad’s name.

There is a big match between "Naps" and Presentation College Chaguanas next week. What does Naparima have to improve on?

The team has been doing quite exceptional so far in the 2025 SSCL season. The bonding and brotherhood in our team has really lifted the spirit and the hunger for success. The upcoming game against "Pres" Chaguanas will be a great challenge for us, but I think we have been doing a tremendous job so far in the past few games. I think if we continue onwards, doing the right things and keep playing our best cricket, as well as support each other, we will come out victorious.

Can you describe the feeling getting a hat-trick?

Getting a hat-trick was an exhilarating feeling as well, as it was my first hat-trick. It’s a feeling like no other. Also being able to do that for my school made that first hat-trick feeling even sweeter.

What are your goals as a cricketer?

My goals as a cricketer is to play the sport at the highest level, playing for the West Indies, having a career in cricket. I also want to have a platform where I can be able to assist younger cricketers in their development and growth.