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By Neto Baptiste
Antiguan all-rounder and former West Indies spinner, Hayden Walsh Jr., is disappointed but not surprised over his ‘non-selection’ to the Leeward Islands Hurricanes senior men’s team for the CG United Super 50 Cup set to bowl off on November 19 in Trinidad.
Walsh Jr, representing Montserrat, ended the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) Mixed Format Tournament as the top bowler with 17 wickets but was overlooked by the Leeward Islands selection panel for the pending tournament.
“You know, the way how things happen around here and I’ve done a few interviews and I feel as though those were going to play against me. So it just kind of proved my point but I still do my practice, I still go training and I am still dedicated to this sport. It breaks my heart that I am putting in the work, putting on performances and the door is being closed in front of me,” he said.
The Liberta Blackhawks player opted to represent Montserrat in the tournament despite being called in an 18-member national preparatory squad ahead of the tournament.
Walsh Jr said he was welcomed with open arms by the players and people of Montserrat.
“People really put their arms around me and showed me some great love so it just felt like this is what I have to do. I only can just make them proud but I would like to do it again. I really would like to go down there [Montserrat] because I see, just a little fine-detail stuff that we really could have worked on to get over the line,” he said.
Also having amassed 120 runs in four innings during the multi-format tournament, Walsh Jr said he enjoyed both the rivalry and comraderie during his team’s clash with Antigua and Barbuda.
“I really enjoyed the little competition. There were no hard feelings trying to get at one another, but just playing against them, it just felt like a Liberta vs. Empire or you know New Winthorpes, so I really enjoyed it,” the all-rounder said.
Antigua and Barbuda finished second in the tournament which was captured by St Kitts. Montserrat finished fourth with St Maarten in fifth and Anguilla sixth.
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