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FORMER FATIMA College standout cricketer Nicholas Elliott Jr has been selected to join England-based Barrow Cricket Club (BCC) for the 2022 season.
Elliott, 18, will compete in the Palace Shield Cricket Competition Premier Division – the highest level of club cricket below England’s famous county cricket. He flies off to Europe on April 13.
The Palace Shield is a cricket league based in Preston and surrounding districts in Lancashire, England. Last year, BCC finished third in the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield Competition.
Elliott, from Maraval, currently plays in the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) Premiership II division with Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) II.
He plans to use this opportunity to improve his overall gameplay and help fulfil his goal of breaking into the Queen’s Park first team, and by extension, the TT Red Force.
“The national senior team, for me, is a goal I want to achieve within the next four years. This is a right step in my development. I want to work my way up to making the Queen’s Park Premier I team, then the Red Force. That’s why it’s important that I perform well out there, so I can get these stats under my name,” he said.
In January, Elliott used a Brazilian-based TT agent to help source potential cricket clubs in Europe. He submitted all the required information, video footage, statistics and recommendations on his young career, and was surprised when he was chosen to compete at such a high level on the English circuit.
On his selection to the club, Elliott credited Queen's Park coach Gregory Davis, veteran coach Kumar Rampat and Altis Performance.
“It feels great. It shows that hard work pays off.
"I got a lot of support from Fatima College as well. During the pandemic, they allowed me to use the facility as well as the Queen’s Park Oval (to do individual training).
"I would like to perform well because (BCC have) given me a great opportunity. I want to occupy the crease, get a lot of runs under my name and build my stats for when I come back, to be a better player for QPCC,” he added.
In 2018, Elliott joined Queen's Park’s Under-16 squad after deciding to end his successful taekwondo career.
He was then selected for the Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) Under-17 boys touring team, which travelled to Canada and participated in the US Open Youth Cup.
There, he smashed two centuries (117 and 125) and then bagged the Gatorade Under-16 Cricket Tournament best bowler accolade. The right-arm pacer also grabbed the most wickets for the Parkites’ Under-15 (2018) and Under-17 (2019) teams.
He was then chosen for the national U-17 provisional 23-man squad, but was cut from the final team. In 2019, however, he was again chosen to represent the SSCL touring team in England. He scored four half-centuries and snapped up a five-wicket, four-wicket and two three-wicket hauls.
On his return to England this time around, Elliott welcomes the coming challenges and a golden chance to elevate his consistency in foreign conditions.
“As a pace bowler I hope to enjoy the English conditions and really look to dominate in whatever position I play. English conditions will teach me about playing swing and I will learn more about the game.
“Getting exposure to different coaching and conditions will only do well for my game. Their season is at least 30 games, so you get a lot of match experience. Every match is a new scenario and you learn something new every game.
“The more cricket I play and the more match awareness I get, I will be able to better analyse the game.”
Elliott had been working assiduously through the pandemic for selection to the West Indies team for the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup, but a grade-two ankle sprain ruled him out.
He affirmed his absence from the team hurt a lot and he had to endure severe “mental battles” to get himself back into the game. Owing to Altis Performance, Elliott is now fully recovered.
Covid19, he said, helped him focus more on his individual strengths and weaknesses.
“Because of the pandemic, I improved the quality of my game. What I did was stay consistent. The downtime allowed me to analyse my game and focus more on my personal game, as there were mainly individual sessions.
“My dad, coach Davis, coach Vasu and Kumar Rampat all had really important parts to play. At the beginning of covid19 (March 2020), my dad and I would go in the backyard every day and do drills. It was just working on my technique, my shot selection and everything else.”
Elliott concluded, “For me, it’s just about getting that match experience and getting those runs under my belt to build my case in QPCC. Because QPCC’s whole first XI team is made up of national players.
“So to just make the QPCC first team to start off would really show that my hard work is paying off."
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