Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Miller

YOUNG BATTING sensations 18-year-old Horace Miller and 22-year-old Yanick Elliott have expressed delight at their call-up to the national senior cricket team for the upcoming regional one-day tournament to be held in Guyana and Jamaica.

The duo, who have represented the country at the regional Under-15 and Under-19 levels and are both past students of Norman Manley High, were named to the national 14-man squad, which will defend its title beginning on November 14.

Miller, who is the youngest batsman to be named to the national team since Marlon Samuels - who got his call-up at 16, said he was pleasantly surprised when he heard his name, but it's an opportunity he welcomes.

"When I heard the news I was surprised, as throughout the trials, I did not bat up to expectations until the final trial match when I scored a half-century," Miller, who bats right handed and was a member of the West Indies Under-19 team to the youth World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year, said.

"But it feels great, as over the past couple of seasons, I have been batting really well and now that I get this golden opportunity I plan to make full use of it. I am happy to know that I am in the team as a youngster," he said.

Two minds

Meanwhile, as it relates to Elliott who, along with Miller, was a member of Norman Manley's victorious Under-19 Grace Shield team in 2003, he was in two minds before the announcement, as he knew that with eight players out due to West Indies duties anything was possible.

"It was a touch-and-go situation as I was not getting as much runs I was capable of in the trials. But I thought I bowled extremely well and that is what kept my hopes up," Elliott, whose right-hand batting style reminds many observers of the legendary Lawrence Rowe and to a lesser extent Samuels, said.

"Since Under-19s, I have been expecting a call-up having performed well in the past couple of seasons in Senior Cup cricket, but it didn't come and my confidence fell.

"But through inspiration from a people around me, who have been telling me that I have got talent, people like (Donald) McNaughton, and my co-workers at Cable and Wireless, I decided to work harder and now it has paid off. I am really happy," he said.

Newcomers

Miller, who represents Kensington CC, and Elliott, who plays for Melbourne, are among three newcomers to the national team for the tournament. The other is former St Elizabeth standout, leg-spinner Gavin Wallace, who represents St Catherine CC and played for the Combined Colleges and Campuses team last season.

The other members of the national team are Tamar Lambert (captain), Brenton Parchment, Lorenzo Ingram, Danza Hyatt, David Bernard Jr, Donovan Sinclair, Andrew Richardson, Andre Russell, Bevon Brown, Krishmar Santokie and Keith Hibbert.

Batsmen Christopher Gayle, Xavier Marshall, Shawn Findlay and Brendon Nash and bowlers Nikita Miller, Jerome Taylor, Darren Powell and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr will be away on West Indies duties.