Beaton willing to deliver for Trinbago Knight Riders

PACE LIKE fire. Many Caribbean fans are hoping for the re-emergence of these days. Australia coach Justin Langer recently implored West Indies to improve pitches so as to boost their quickies’ development. Alzarri Joseph was one he mentioned. No surprise, given the 2016 West Indies Under-19 World Cup winner was bowling to Langer’s squad in the nets looking to impress and rile batsmen.

Ronsford Rodwick Beaton, born 17 September 1992, is one of those bowlers that fans have long harboured hope for to help return us to these glory days. He’s shown that while he’s a work-in-progress, he’s finally coming into his own.

Formerly of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Beaton is currently Dwayne Bravo’s pace spearhead for the defending champs, Trinbago Knight Riders, in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). With the rebranded franchise aiming to be the first to retain the crown, he knows he needs to bolster his game having gone for an expensive 69 runs from 6.3 overs in three games thus far.

However, if anything, the region knows his potential. Beaton has represented Guyana at the First Class level and made inroads at a tender age with the heart of a lion.

Born in Montserrat, he moved to Guyana as a child and attended the Abram Zuil Secondary School in Georgetown before moving to the Guyana School of Agriculture.

He was raised in Reliance, a village in the Pomeroon-Supenaam region, and made his mark in the 2012 Under-19 World Cup in Australia with the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite and Akeal Hosein, taking eight wickets in five matches.

He finished as the third leading wicket-taker for the Windies in that series.

Beaton made his First Class debut one year earlier against England Lions at home in Providence and grew into the player who would aid Guyana Jaguars to the 2015-16 Regional Four-Day title.

In the latter, he scalped 17 wickets from seven games, to illustrate his budding maturity. He debuted in the NAGICO Super50 in 2013 and notched two for 37 in a five-wicket win over Leewards but they failed to make the knockouts.

One season after, he grabbed seven (second-highest for Guyana) but they went out at the semi-final stage to eventual winners, Barbados. In the 2015 tournament, Guyana progressed to the final, losing to hosts Trinidad and Tobago (also winners) as he played three games without any wickets.

This year, Beaton didn’t feature as he’s faced some injury issues over the last couple months.

However, his propensity to disarm batsmen has seen West Indies A recruit him for both the long and short formats of the game due to his adaptability. With 64 First Class wickets to his name and 18 List-A scalps, Beaton admits he has some way to go and believes he’s proving himself slowly but surely. He’s nabbed 25 Twenty20 (T20) victims as well since his debut against CCC in 2013, which his team lost again in the final to TT.

He led his team with seven wickets and signalled that he was prepared to play the 120-ball game.

“I know Tests and One Days are what players should aspire to. And I do plan on playing the long formats for years to come. But I like T20 cricket as well. It keeps me thinking as a bowler because batsmen usually attack from ball one.

But I believe that once I put my mind to it, I can deliver, especially with such a high-pressure franchise like TKR,” he stated.

Beaton revealed that he needed to up his game, as coach Simon Helmot indicated they needed to provide support for Sunil Narine, and the Guyanese made it clear he’s “more than up for the challenge”.

Passionate. Dynamic. Ambitious.

With huge expectations to live up to. That’s the story of Ronsford Beaton, aiming to usher in a new era of raw aggression and deliver “licks like peas.”