Playing for his native Guyana Amazon Warriors in his debut Season of the recently concluded 2020 Caribbean Premier League,
19 year old Ashmead Romano Nedd captured 3 wickets at a 24.33 average and 4.86 economy rate from the 15 overs he bowled
during the Tournament. His wickets, which included that of the Jamaica Tallawah’s top order batsman Glenn Phillips from the very first ball of his opening spell, signaled an impressive start to Nedd’s T20 professional career.
Cricket West Indies selectors have always known, from quite early on,
that there is something very special about Ashmead Nedd. Now firmly
on the Selectors’ radar screen as an emerging player worthy of near
future consideration for all three of the game’s formats, Nedd has been
constantly improving since he first introduced himself to the world at the
Under 19 World Cup of 2018, when he was only 17 years old.
He played 5 matches at that tournament and his 4 maidens were the
most amongst the West Indies team. Nedd then went back to the regional
youth tournaments and worked on his craft, knowing that experiencing a
world tournament at such a young age could only be a benefit.
Ashmead’s blossoming career is now following that of his father, the
former Guyana National off-spinner Garvin Nedd who took 29 wickets
from 14 games between 1995 and 2000.Born on January 10, 2001 in
Georgetown to Garvin and his wife Roxanne, Ashmead
grew up in Albertown and attended the St Gabriel’s
Primary and later Tutorial High School and Chase
Academy.
Ashmead literally grew up at DCC in Queenstown, a club
which Lance Gibbs, Clive Lloyd and Roy Fredericks, three
of the greatest West Indies Test players called ‘home’. He loves
playing football and represented Tutorial High in the Digicel School’s
Football competition. Ashmead was also outstanding with both bat
and ball in the National Secondary School’s Cricket League as he
helped Chase Academy to North Georgetown Zone title. Ashmead
played his debut First Division match for DCC against Police when
he was only 13 and since then his cricket has progressed at a rapid
rate.
When he was 14, Ashmead had his first taste of international conditions
when the Tony Hartford U-17 Academy team of Trinidad & Tobago toured New
Zealand. Ashmead represented Guyana at U-15, 17 and 19 levels before subsequently
making his West Indies U19 World Cup and Regional Super50 debuts.
He introduced himself to the senior regional circuit by performing impressively
at the 2019 Colonial Medical Insurance Super 50 competition, as a part of the
eventual championship team, the West Indies Emerging Players. Reflecting on his
journey, Nedd credits the regional Super50 tournament as the ideal preparation he
needed to attain the performance he did at the following ICC U19 World Cup earlier
this year. Nedd picked up 11 wickets at an average of 10.27, achieving a remarkable
economy of 3.27 throughout the tournament and caught the eye of many in the
region.
That confidence shined through via performances
in the 2020 ICC Under 19 World Cup, where he
managed grab 11 wickets, being the West Indies’
top wicket taker and a tied 10th in the entire
competition. Nedd achieved this feat with an
economy of 3.54.
Now having added the CPL to his ever burgeoning
list of impressive tournament outings, Nedd has
however made it clear that his eyes are ultimately
set on pulling on the West Indies jersey at senior
level. He expressed that he has a deep love for
the longest format of the game. With all that he
has impressively achieved so far who would now
doubt that Ashmead Nedd will very soon indeed
be banging on the West Indies Selectors’ door
demanding his merited Senior team entry!
Ashmead Nedd: A Star on the Rise
