When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
— Edward Mote
Pooran’s reflection on his cricket career during a recent interview on the social media platform Instagram reminds one of that old popular Christian hymn titled, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less,” written by Edward Mote.
Mote was the pastor of Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham West Sussex in the United Kingdom.
Many believe that the song was inspired by the parable told by Jesus of the wise and foolish builders.
In the parable, Jesus speaks of the foolish builder who built his house on sinking sand while the wise builder built his on solid rock.
The hymn is very popular as it is sang by many believers and is undoubtedly a source of comfort when faced with a crisis.
Pooran is regarded as a Windies rising star cricketer. Today, the 24-year-old Trinidad and Windies batsman and wicketkeeper enjoys pride of place in the Windies setup.
However, he was forced out of the game and cooped up in a hospital for an extended period because of a motor vehicle accident.
“My mindset, to be honest … sitting down at the hospital and sitting at home, I knew my dream was to be a professional cricketer. Mentally, I was so strong. I decided that anything that happened to me happened for a reason, and I just started to believe. Every time I saw improvement in myself, I started to believe that it was possible. I will play cricket again. I didn’t believe I would be down forever. Every time I went to sleep and woke up, I just decided that today was going to be a better day,” he recounted.
This ‘every shot’ cricketer has had dark days, but courage and faith have allowed him to overcome early setbacks and difficulties in his budding career.
Today, he is one of the most sought-after cricketers in the T-20 cricket league around the world.
However, he does not want to be limited to this format of the game, and he looks forward to representing the Windies in Test.
“Growing up, I always watched Test cricket, and I’ve always wanted to play. I had an unfortunate accident; I had to make decisions and had to live with the consequences. But now everything is alright with me, and whenever I am called to play Test cricket, I am ready to play,” said Pooran.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled his cricketing prowess, he is not wasting time during the lockdown period but is busy engaging in mental and physical fitness.
When posed with the following questions, Pooran responded accordingly:
Who is your toughest bowler to date?
Pooran rates Sunil Narine as the toughest bowler he has faced to date. He related an experience playing against Narine at the junior level, where he was bamboozled by him to the extent that he only managed to hit one ball.
At the international level, Pooran said that he hasn’t played against too many bowlers as yet to say which he would be definitely bothered by in the game.
What is your Favorite shot?
Pooran declared that the cover drive is his favorite shot, and rightly so as it not only lends to photo ops but is also one of the most exquisite and elegant drives in the playbook.
Who would Nicholas Pooran be today if not a cricketer?
Pooran stated that from early childhood his dream was always to become a professional cricketer and nothing else.
He also said Windies former captain and star batsman Brian Charles Lara inspired him the most as a cricketer.
What is the key to playing spin so well?
Pooran proffered practice and getting feedback as the prescription.
There is no doubt that Nicholas Pooran is the real McCoy in batsmanship and, in the future, may well be regarded as one of the Windies’ greats.
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