Cricket: Kamau Leverock On T20 Qualifier
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Kamau Leverock believes Bermuda have nothing to fear at the T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Antigua, insisting: “We’re not just looking to qualify, we’re looking to win the tournament.”
Leverock, who will captain his country for the first time, said leading Bermuda at next month’s event will be the “biggest honour” of his career and believes Bermuda’s 14-man squad is the strongest assembled in recent years.
The travelling party, which departs to Antigua today [Friday], includes several players that helped Bermuda qualify for the Global Qualifiers in 2019, including Leverock, Delray Rawlins, Allan Douglas, Rodney Trott, Malachi Jones, Onias Bascome and Dion Stovell.
Standing in Bermuda’s way of securing one of two qualifying spots to advance to the Global Qualifiers for the T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia next year, are regional heavyweights Canada and the United States, Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands and Panama.
“It’s going to be hard picking a starting team!” Leverock said. “This is one of the most talented squads we’ve had in recent years. Everybody who’s had a good season in their respective leagues has made themselves available. That’s not always been the case in previous years.
“With the talent we have, we should be looking not just to qualify but win the whole competition [Americas Qualifier]. I don’t think Canada and the US have been playing as regularly as we have been because of the Covid situation. We have to try and use that to our advantage and play some hard cricket.”
The all-rounder has never been shy about his ambition to captain his country. A deep-thinker about the game and an effective communicator, Leverock will work closely with Trott and Sussex professional Rawlins as part of a leadership group and hopes to create a sense of togetherness and clear purpose within the dressing room.
“I’ve put my hand up [to captain Bermuda] a few times; I’ve been waiting in line for a while,” said Leverock, whose uncle Dwayne Leverock is chairman of selectors.
“To be put in this position is very exciting. I’m looking to be in this role for as long as I can and take Bermuda forward.
“My captaincy style will involve heavy planning. I like my bowlers and batters to have clear plans. I enjoy communicating with my teammates; I will often talk to my bowlers during an over to see what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling.
“The whole group will be sitting down to discuss our plans, our brand of cricket and the style of cricket we want to play. Delray and I have always been students of the game. We’ve always offered our thoughts on any decisions made and I value his input.”
Helping shape and influence Leverock’s captaincy style has been former West Indies Test player Gus Logie, who the Bermuda Cricket Board brought in as a consultant in August.
Leverock was 12 years old when Logie coached Bermuda to a historic first World Cup appearance in 2007 in the Caribbean. It was the tournament where his uncle Dwayne became cricket’s ultimate cult hero, taking a catch of a lifetime to get rid of India batsman Robin Uthappa off the bowling of Jones, who is the sole survivor from the class of ‘07.
“I’ve had numerous chats with Gus,” Leverock added. “I’ve talked to him after every training session about leadership; he’s always sending me e-mails about leadership styles and man-management. He’s been so helpful; it’s been great having him around.
“I’ve worked with a lot of coaches over the years, and Gus is head and shoulders above a lot of them.”
Still only 27, Leverock’s career has run parallel with the dramatic growth and popularity of T20, once derided as a fun-filled gimmick but now arguably the most dominant form of the game.
He played alongside West Indies stars Chris Gayle and Andre Russell for the Vancouver Knights in the inaugural Global T20 Canada in 2018 and believes the shorter format is now Bermuda’s best chance of success on the international stage.
“It’s the ideal format for us to focus on simply because there are more opportunities to reach a T20 World Cup than a 50-over World Cup,” said Leverock, who played for Caythorpe in the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board Premier League last summer.
“Putting a lot more effort into T20 makes sense for Bermuda.”
Leverock’s free-scoring batting style might owe much to touch and rhythm, but the left-hander is not averse to data analytics to help inform his decision-making at the crease, especially in T20, where every ball matters.
“I tend to focus more on dot-ball percentages; strike rate only tells half of the story,” said Leverock, who helped inspire Somerset to a ten-wicket win over St George’s in Cup Match at Wellington Oval last summer.
“You can have a great strike rate but also have a high dot-ball percentage. I try and get the players around me to think alike and ask, ‘How can I limit my dot balls?’.
“If you’re a big boundary hitter and scoring fast, imagine if you start taking quick singles or get twos between those boundaries; then you’ll be scoring at an even quicker rate. It’s about knowing your hitting areas. When the ball’s not in your hitting area, it’s about taking the ones, twos and threes.”
Bermuda squad [for T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Antigua from November 7 to 14]: Kamau Leverock [captain, Caythorpe], Rodney Trott [vice-captain, Bailey’s Bay], Okera Bascome [Coventry & North Warwickshire], Onias Bascome [St George's], Zeko Burgess [Bailey's Bay], Allan Douglas Jr [St George's], Chris Douglas [Somerset], Kyle Hodsoll [Bailey's Bay], Malachi Jones [Southampton Rangers], Tre Manders [Western Stars], Delray Rawlins [Sussex], Dominic Sabir [Warwick Workmen's Club], Macai Simmons [St George's], Dion Stovell [Southampton Rangers]. Stand-by: Greg Maybury [Somerset], Jabari Darrell [St George's].
