Evelyn reflects on maiden first-class century

Damel Christophe Evelyn scored his maiden first-class century for Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) against Barbados Pride on the opening day of the regional fourth round match at Kensington Oval on Wednesday.

In what was his ninth match at this level, the 23-year-old opening batsman, one of seven Barbadians in the CCC team, made 110 in a total of 262 all out. He faced 202 balls in 257 minutes and struck 11 fours and three sixes.

Barbados replied with 428 and then dismissed CCC for 193 in the second innings before winning by ten wickets after tea on the third day today.

Evelyn is the leading run-scorer for CCC this season with 349 (Ave: 49.85). He spoke with columnist Keith Holder on his century.

HOLDER: What would you attribute to such a high-class hundred?

EVELYN: I first want to say it’s always good to represent CCC. I am grateful for the opportunity. It’s just hard work and a lot of talk from my Dad (Melvin Brereton) and my Mum (Pamela Evelyn), friends and coaches that got me to that point.

It is always good to repay that with a hundred and with good scores and good performances, and I was pleased to do that especially at home in Barbados.

HOLDER: How special was it with both of your parents present at the ground?

EVELYN: I am not going to lie. I had to hold back the tears because it was a real surreal feeling to be able to do that. My Dad has been there from the start and just to repay some of that kindness with a hundred was a very good feeling.

HOLDER: Can you give us the background behind your Dad following your progress, not only in Barbados but also throughout the Caribbean when the opportunity presents itself?

EVELYN: Shout out to him, number One supporter. From the get go. My debut would have been in Jamaica against the Windwards (February 2024). He was there before that as well when I subbed in the first two games against Barbados and the Leewards.

But he has been there from the get go. He started me out from about the age of 16. He threw balls at me before he handed me over to Shayne Moseley (Wanderers and Barbados opening batsman, who has also represented West Indies in Tests). He tends to be there at every moment that he can, so much appreciated.

HOLDER: Against a Barbados bowling attack including international players Kemar Roach, Jason Holder, Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase, how much does the century mean to you?

EVELYN: Going into this game I knew it was going to be a test. You have called a lot of names that have been there and done that before, as you would say.

For me it was more about just not playing the names but batting what I see. To be able to score a hundred with that kind of attack it shows that I have what it takes. You are not only looking to stay here at first-class but you are looking to go on so I guess that test and to be able to come out, I would say that I passed the test a little bit. Obviously I wanted to go on but to get a hundred with that bowling attack I would say that I can give myself a pat on the back for that.

HOLDER: What was your take on the pitch?

EVELYN: Very good for batting but you don’t want to take anything away from the bowlers. It was just about composing the innings, knowing when to attack, knowing when to defend and when to put pressure on the bowling and allowing the bowlers to come to you and that kind of stuff, so a very good surface for batting.

HOLDER: You mixed defence with aggression. What do you reckon were some of the strokes that pleased you immensely?

EVELYN: Earlier against Ramon Simmonds when I would have straight driven him for four and a couple of the sixes off Roston Chase but the cover drive off him to score the 100 obviously was my favourite.

HOLDER: You retired hurt on 106 with the score 209 for three. You returned and eventually CCC crumbled to 262 all out. What was the nature of the injury that led to your retirement?

EVELYN: The ball before when I got hit on my elbow and after that my body literally had no salt in it. So both my hands and my whole body were going to shut down so I had to find a solution which brought me back but unfortunately I couldn’t carry on.

HOLDER: What is your cricketing background?

EVELYN: I was not a cricketer at first. I was actually swimming in the Dolphins at the Aquatic Centre but things got a bit rough in terms of money so we went on to cricket, which would have been at primary school, Charles F. Brome. Even then I was playing cricket but I wasn’t really getting the opportunities because of my skill level. My skill level wasn’t up enough to make the team but I was always around.

At around 15, 16, my Dad took me to Wanderers Cricket Club and he started to throw balls at me, and that kind of stuff. Shayne Moseley happened to be there and he said that he can see something in me and he would like to coach me as well. So then that was years of training, spin drills, pull drills, pace drills from Shayne and then obviously on to secondary school. The Foundation School coach Nhamo Winn would have worked with me as well.

It wasn’t much cricket at Deighton Griffith (before going to Foundation in sixth form). Yeah, I was getting a play but the coaching there wasn’t up to par so I always had to do things myself. I had to do drills for myself.

So I moved on to Foundation where there was more of a structure obviously going on to sixth form. I worked with Nhamo Winn.

Then I moved on from there to UWI where I was working with Pedro Collins, Floyd Reifer and Rohan Nurse at the time.

There was the Centre of Excellence from Under-17 and Pedro saw something in me and he just picked me up from Foundation. At the same time I got a scholarship with them as well and he worked with me straight to this point.

HOLDER: What did you study in sixth form at Foundation and what are you into now at UWI?

EVELYN: A lot of business subjects and physical education and now I am into sports management, hoping to be a physiotherapist.

HOLDER: I think it goes without saying that you want to play at the highest level and be a professional cricketer. What goals have you set?

EVELYN: Well, for this season I can tick off one off the box, which is my first first-class hundred. Going on now it is just about maintaining my average and getting a couple more scores and then from there everything else will work out itself.

HOLDER: Apart from the century, you have scored two half-centuries this season. Can you tell us about the manner of dismissals for the half-centuries?

EVELYN: It is simple. I just didn’t carry on. Either I got a good ball or a lapse in concentration. But I would have talked a lot with Kieran Powell, Kyle Corbin and even Jonathan Carter who was there last year. I am just picking their brains on how to get past that stage and it was good that I was able to do it in this game.

HOLDER: I saw you on Thursday morning at Kensington Oval greeting your UWI and CCC teammate Kyle Corbin with a warm embrace. What did he say to you?

EVELYN: We talked a lot about this game and what it means to perform, especially in this game and what it means to perform. The hundred is not only for me but also for a lot of people. Believe me.

HOLDER: Who are your cricketing heroes?

EVELYN: Obviously Brian Lara but outside of him I follow Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne due to the fact that the amount of balls they bat as well. I shape my game around that.

HOLDER: In last season’s BCA Elite division three-day Championship, you struggled somewhat, scoring 142 runs at an average of 14.20 in seven matches for UWI. What do you believe led to such a disappointing performance?

EVELYN: I think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. In terms of obviously going up to a level and then coming down you want to try to dominate but it just didn’t happen.

But funny enough, me and Kraigg Brathwaite had a conversation at Wanderers when we played against them and he was like “don’t worry about it, continue to train hard and continue to do the right things and you are going to score some runs in first-class cricket and so said, so done.

I am playing for UWI now but really and truly I am a Wanderers man so we still have the conversations a lot.

NB: Following are comments on Evelyn’s century from Pedro Collins, the CCC head coach and former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler, and Philo Wallace, a former Barbados captain and West Indies opening batsman.

COLLINS: I thought that the hundred was very, very special. I know that Damel has what it takes to score a hundred.

The amount of work Damel puts in is unbelievable. His work ethic is very high. He is a guy who comes to UWI on mornings and leaves on evenings. All he does is hit balls, do drills and go through his routines, takes lunch and then repeat.

It was a very mature hundred. I am very proud of him. What better place to score a hundred than at Kensington Oval. His roots are in Barbados and to score a hundred against that bowling attack which Barbados has, must go down as a really good hundred.  You have the likes of Kemar Roach, Jason Holder, Jomel Warrican, Roston Chase – all those Test players. To bat the way he did I am really, really happy for him. It was very special not only for him but also for the team. I know it’s just the first of many. I am sure of that so I am really proud of the young man.

I think it was a very proud moment to score that hundred in front of his father, who travels all over the Caribbean even when Damel was 12th man in our team he still travels to support him. It was unbelievable.

It was good to see both of his parents here at Kensington. It touched me. It gave me goose pimples that he scored a hundred in front of them.

WALLACE: For an opening batter, Damel showed good batting skills on a first day pitch, knowing that there would be moisture, lateral movement and bounce.

His strokeplay was on par in that when he attacked, he scored off deliveries that were loose and he defended the good balls in an appropriate manner.

Another key feature of his batting was his ability to score quickly. He also showed game awareness and the importance of building partnerships.

(Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (rebranded Elite in 2012) Championship for over four decades and provides statistics and stories for the BCA website (www.barbadoscricket.org). Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com)