‘I consider myself a genuine all-rounder’: Guyanese Sinclair focused on delivering for West Indies

By Akeem Greene

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Ambition is priceless and at this point, it is limitless for the goal-driven Guyanese Kevin Sinclair, recently recalled to the West Indies One-Day International squad.

A recall was inevitable, given his impressive form with both bat and ball across formats.

The Guyana Harpy Eagles’ all-rounder got the nod for the upcoming three matches against the United Arab Emirates in Sharjah from June 4, and for the 23-year-old, it is a massive opportunity to show his transformation as a player.

His prior ascension to the ‘maroon’ came mainly through exploits with his off-spin, but in recent seasons there has been a significant turnaround in his batting output across formats.

A defensive bowler in the white-ball format was the tag Sinclair entered senior regional and international cricket with, offering teams a chance to ‘squeeze’ an end with a miserly spell.

However, he is now much more.

Though a top-order batsman at the youth level, Sinclair was batting in the lower order in senior cricket, playing mainly mostly as a bowler, and there was justification for this given the little output with the bat when opportunities were presented.

Now with more focus in the nets, Sinclair is reaping the rewards, putting up impressive numbers with bat and ball.

At last year’s Super50, his 153 runs in seven innings came at an average of 30.25, to go with six wickets at an economy rate of under five.

Then, in the Four-Day tournament, 285 runs at 31.66 and 18 wickets further enhanced in all-round quality and adaptability.

The performances didn’t end there, as in the specially arranged Headley/Weekes Tri-Nation series that followed the Regional Four-Day Championship, the Berbician shone yet again with bat and ball.

An average of 49 after the two matches and eight wickets yet again underlined his growing prowess to potentially bat in the top six.

The runs and wickets continued to flow, this time for West Indies ‘A’. In the ongoing three-match Four-Day ‘Test’ series against Bangladesh ‘A’, Sinclair has scored 53* and 32 and produced a match-winning bowling performance of 7-123 (2-44 and 5-79) in game two to give West Indies ‘A’ a 1-0 series lead.

With those performances his confidence has grown, and he is now optimistic about offering more in a substantive role as an all-rounder for West Indies.

Speaking to News Room Sport after the news of selection broke, Sinclair stated: “I have been working hard in the nets, trying to hit more balls than usual, focus on my shot selection and spending more time at the crease.”

“I consider myself a genuine all-rounder and my aim is to definitely bat in the top six. I started my career as an opener and I’m definitely confident about that (batting ability).”

Sinclair, who replaced injured compatriot Gudakesh Motie in the ODI squad, was close to selection in the initial squad, according to Lead Selector Desmond Haynes.

In explaining his recall, Haynes spoke of the young man’s form and improvement in both aspects of his game.

For the man from Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, this return is the result of hard work and now “it is about being humble and staying disciplined as I work harder.”

The 23-year-old played his last of three ODIs in August 2022 against New Zealand in Bridgetown, Barbados, while he has six Twenty20 Internationals under his belt.