By Marcus Uhe
Lynbrook coach Shane D’Rozario has declared that the “sky’s the limit” for his child prodigy leg spinner Yashwant Singh, whose exploits are beginning to permeate the wider cricketing scene.
Despite being just 11-years-old, Singh has played every game in Lynbrook’s Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) Turf 3 side this summer, more than holding his own as the Lakers’ leading wicket taker through 10-and-a-half rounds.
In his last three matches alone for the Lakers, he has taken 14 wickets with two five-wicket hauls, and now has 23 wickets at an average of 10.7 for the season.
Last week during the Victorian Metropolitan Cricket Union Junior Carnival K Mitchell Shield competition as a member of the DDCA’s Under 12 side, however, his status grew even further against some of the brightest talents in his age bracket from across the city, thanks to impressive performances with the bat.
Following the DDCA’s opening five contests last week, he topped both the wickets taken and runs scored list, with eight scalps and 269 runs.
Against the Casey Cardinia Cricket Association, he made an unbeaten 111 from just 60 deliveries and took 3/11 in the successful defence, while he also made 63 against the Ringwood District Cricket Association, and 72 against the Eastern Cricket Association.
D’Rozario showed no fear in selecting him for the Lakers’ opening contest of the year and the primary school-aged talent has not looked back.
Having worked closely with the youngster to refine his approach to the crease last summer, D’Rozario and Singh are beginning to see the fruits of their labour come to bare on the field.
“His control is second-to-none as an 11-year-old – you don’t see that too often where you get an 11-year-old who hardly misses his length,” the Lakers’ coach said.
“‘His dad brought him nearly every second week to senior training prior to training for me to do a couple of things with him.
“(His run-up) seemed to be spot on and through juniors last year with his run-up and bowling, he’s improved no end with his accuracy after getting his bowling and run-up right.
“His hard work is second-to-none.
“I’ve always said to the guys that I’m going to promote the kids as much as we can but ‘Yash’ is a little bit of a different talent – he’s right up there with any of the best we’ve got at the moment.”
So strong is Singh’s appetite for cricket that he stunned D’Rozario with his willingness to remain in the nets after copping a blow to the leg at training.
His defiance and will to continue batting took his coach by surprise, cementing the belief that he had more than just an extremely talented cricketer in his squad.
“I walked down the net and had a chat with him, he had a few tears and I got him some ice” D’Rozario recalled in the aftermath of the blow.
“I was more concerned with his health more than anything else but five minutes later I turned around to speak to my batting group and he still had his pads on.
“I said to him ‘what are you doing?’ and he said ‘I still want to go in and bat!’.
“That took me by surprise – I’ve seen a lot of young kids over my days where they’ve gone ‘I’ve been hurt and I don’t want to bat again’ but the same bloke was thundering in and bowling and I was completely shocked.
“When I talk to him about game situations and stuff like that at senior level or at training, he’s really keen and tries to implement that and shows what it is to be a senior cricketer at such a young age.
“We’ve all seen great junior kids with the talent he’s got, but ‘Yashy’ at this stage seems to have something a little bit extra than other kids do.
“He’s done a holding role as well where (opposition batters) haven’t tried to get after him but they can’t get him away at the same time – his accuracy is amazing to see.
“I don’t want to earmark him and say ‘he can do this, he can do that’, but if his willingness is still there in years to come and he’s willing to learn and take on what the next level of coaches tell him, the sky’s the limit.”
Singh’s second five-wicket haul of the summer – and second in consecutive games – was crucial in putting his side in a winning position after day one against Hampton Park.
He claimed 5/60 as the leading wicket-taker in the innings as his side dismissed the Lions for 172 in 56 overs.
Lynbrook is well on its way in the reply, needing just a further 71 runs for victory at 4/102.
With both sides entering the contest tied for fourth place on 24 points, the outcome will be significant for whichever side emerges victorious.
