Keron bats in Lara’s corner

REGARDLESS of how strong one’s will to succeed is, no matter how much your individuality shines through, we all need guidance in our lives. To those who readily accept that fact, it would be nice to know that we can find that person who is almost a blueprint of what we expect to become in our chosen field of endeavour. Having lived next door to West Indies Captain Brian Lara, young Keron Malchan has such a blueprint to follow and his father serves as a similar guide in the life of this 15-year-old. The National Un-der-15 allrounder had the opportunity of sharing the cricket pi-tch with Lara only once, but says that he will never forget the experience.

“Last year I had the chance to practice with him and bowl at him a few times. He’s really a good batsman. I pattern my game after him because he is the greatest. I’m also a left-handed batsman so that makes it natural for me to follow him as a guide,” said the Fourth Form Tranquillity Government Secondary student. Regarding his start in cricket, Malchan explained: “I just always liked the game and loved to watch people play or watch on television. Because of this, about three years ago I started training and playing with the Santa Cruz Cricket Club. Malchan’s father has dedicated himself to harnessing his son’s talent and directing it toward his goal of playing professional cricket. “My father was really a football player, but he is like my personal trainer. Two to three times every week we would go out to train together.”

Keron opened his eyes wide, shook his head and smiled before adding, “Boy, with my dad it is real running. It could be hard at times. I’ll make several laps of the Brian Lara Recreational Ground or the Queen’s Park Oval then get into some fielding, with different catching drills and then we do a little batting practice. The entire process takes about two to three hours depending on the conditions, how well I’m performing and what my father sees as appropriate for the day.” Malchan plays for Micro-Anands Electrical First League squad in the National League and has developed a tendency to leave prospective Man-of-the-Match awardees in the dust. “When I went to Barbados last year, I won three Man-of-the-Match trophies. Basically I was awarded the Man-of-the-Match in every game I played. I was also recently named Man-of-the- Match when the National Under-15 team played an England team at the Oval,” declared the hard-working cricketer.

He’s at school five days a week and trains both with his father and his club, so this evidently doesn’t leave much time for too many other activities. On the topic of recreation, Malchan said: “I was never really into liming or partying too much at least during the week. I like to watch a little TV or read a book. I really like reading books relating to cricket, like one that I have that taught me all about Gary Sobers, his life and how he played. Actually my parents always told me about the possibility that friends will carry you and won’t bring you back so, in life, I try not to skylark. I focus on school and the game.”

So where does Malchan see himself in a few years time? “Just like any other cricketer in Trinidad, I want to make the West Indies team as an allrounder, so I work just as hard on batting, bowling and fielding. But right now I just want to get all my passes so if the cricket doesn’t work out I will have something solid to fall back on. If I don’t become a cricketer, I could see myself being a police officer.” Malchan’s father is a police officer himself, thus providing yet another near perfect blueprint for the focused teen to follow.