'Patience was a key to my 50'

In a tour that had many successes, Kamau Leverock had a coming out party against the UAE.

His 52 was the bright spot in Bermuda’s only loss of the tour.

Leverock, 16, said: “I was excited to get my first international 50. It was a lot of hard work..

“There were a little bit of nerves when I was building in my 40s.”

Coach David Moore stressed to the players to be patient and wait to play their shots — don’t allow the bowlers to dictate the terms.

Leverock said that was helpful.

“When I got into my 40s it took me about four overs to get my half century. There was a lot of patience involved.

The teenager said once he played the shot that got him to the half century mark, the rest of the team “was excited for me”.

He said the tour provided a valuable learning experience in his cricket education.

“I learned a lot of things on the tour, but mainly to remain focused throughout the game.

“I also learned a lot from the rest of the team players on batting and fielding technique.

“There’s a lot I can take from this.”

He said making the jump from Bermuda cricket to full senior international level didn’t “seem like a very big jump, but maybe that was due to hard work and training.”

The talented young sportsman said he eventually came to the conclusion to choose cricket over football.

“There are more doors of opportunity for cricket than football. Since Mr. (coach David) Moore has many connections, maybe he can help me get playing in a foreign country. That’s why I chose cricket, plus I love it more.”

While Leverock impressed on the UAE tour, he knows there is plenty of hard work to be done if he wants to get selected for a return engagement in April.

There will be plenty of competition for spots as several senior national team players did not go on the UAE tour.

“I’m going to have to work pretty hard as Irving Romaine and Stephen Outerbridge are coming off of injuries soon. That’s going to mean I have to work pretty hard to make the April squad.

“I have a pretty good chance. I made the most of my opportunities. I just hope that he picks me.”