Two young Dominican female cricketers- Abini St.Jean and Merkala Herman- have been selected to the Windward Islands under-19 cricket squad to take part in a series of T-20 matches versus the USA U-19 team in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Dominica Cricket Association (DCA), the series forms part of a long term strategic partnership between USA Cricket and Cricket West Indies.
Speaking to Dominica News Online (DNO), 17-year-old St. Jean who is a student of the Academic School of Learning, expressed excitement over her selection, noting that it has been an opportunity she’s been anticipating for a very long time.
“Anyone that knows me, knows that I’ve always loved cricket. I praise God for this blessing and I thank my parents, sister, coaches, friends and family for their support,” she said.
Similar comments were shared by 15-year-old Herman, a student of the Northeast comprehensive school (NECS), who says that her selection to the elite squad is a means of additional motivation to “train harder and keep believing in myself when no one else would.”
They both note that this opportunity places them one step closer to furthering their career in the sport of cricket and highlighted that among their top plans is to do their utmost in ensuring they leave a lasting impression on the field.
“I’m known to be very determined and I will represent my country to the best of my ability. I will give it all I have and just leave everything out on that pitch and make my family, friends, coaches, my country and most importantly myself proud,” St. Jean told DNO.
As for Herman, she revealed that outside of believing in herself when she gets on the pitch, she also intends on putting into practice many of the new knowledge she will gain from this experience.
“In cricket, my goal is to score as many runs as possible against the opponent and also learn how to cope with winning and losing. Social interaction is a great way to meet new people; so that would be awesome for me and to be acknowledged for my great work I have put into the sport I enjoy playing,” she stated.
As it pertains to preparation, while St Jean stressed that thus far, it has been very challenging balancing school and other sporting activities, she placed on record an immense amount of gratitude to their coach Sam Kirnon “for being so accommodating.”
“Though this was at short notice, we touched on every aspect of the game: field placement, batting and balling techniques.”
St. Jean and Herman will leave Island for St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday, January 21, and will return on January 30 2022.
Great,Great,Great,congratulations to both young ladies,FANTASTIC.The playing fields the cricket greats of Dominica played on are still there,eg the St.Joseph cricket field.It is a good thing these two young ladies did not listen to the NEGATIVITY from IBO FRANCE