Matthew Nandu (born 9 June 2003) is a Canada born Guyanese cricketer who also plays for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.[1] His father Arjune Nandu is also a first-class cricketer who went onto appear in four first-class matches for the Guyana team.[2] His playing style is often compared with former Guyanese batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.[3]

Matthew Nandu
Personal information
Born (2003-06-09) 9 June 2003 (age 21)
Canada
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm offbreak
RoleBatsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2023-presentGuyana cricket team
2022-presentGuyana Amazon Warriors
Career statistics
Competition FC List A T20
Matches 7 9 2
Runs scored 314 326 40
Batting average 24.15 40.75 20.00
100s/50s 1/1 0/3 0/0
Top score 126 84 37
Balls bowled 29 30 -
Wickets 0 1 0
Bowling average - 32.00 -
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0
Best bowling - 1/19 -
Catches/stumpings 4/0 2/0 0/0
Source: Cricinfo, 4 December 2023

Biography

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He was born in Canada where he also spent majority of his childhood. He attended St. Luke Catholic Elementary School where he also plied his trade in various sports including volleyball, baseball, basketball and athletics. He also attended the St. David Catholic Secondary School, where he served as the captain of the school's basketball and volleyball teams. He pursued his higher studies, obtaining Bachelor of Arts in psychology at the Wilfrid Laurier University.[3] He joined the Kaiteur Cricket Club and received his first taste of club cricket during his time in Canada.[4] He began seriously pursuing an interest in cricket, mainly through his father and elder brother Marcus Nandu.

Career

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He also played domestic cricket for Everest Cricket Club in Guyana's capital Georgetown.[5] He was picked by Vancouver Knights in the players' draft for the 2019 Global T20 Canada.[6] In December 2021, he was named in the West Indies squad for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[7][8] He scored a century in the plate quarter-finals against Papua New Guinea at 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and was awarded the player of the match.[9] He was drafted by the Guyana Amazon Warriors team for the 2022 Caribbean Premier League and he did not play in any of the games during that season.[10][11]

He made his first-class debut for Guyana against Barbados on 1 February 2023 during the 2022–23 West Indies Championship.[12][13][14] He eventually scored a century on his first-class debut and reached his century off 295 deliveries.[15][16] He also became the first batsman from Guyana to score a first-class hundred on debut since the turn of the century (Sudesh Dhaniram was the previous Guyanese batsman to have scored a first-class century on debut against Barbados in 1987).[3]

He was named in Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for the inaugural edition of The 6ixty which was played in 2022.[17] He scored a century playing for Kaiteur Cricket Club against Phoenix in the 2023 Brampton-Etobicoke and District Cricket League in Canada.[18] He was retained by Guyana Amazon Warriors in the players' draft held ahead of the 2023 CPL season.

He made his T20 debut playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in a league stage match against Jamaica Tallawahs on 13 September 2023 during the 2023 Caribbean Premier League. He stitched a crucial match-winning century partnership, adding 112 runs for the first wicket along with Saim Ayub in his first CPL match while chasing a modest target of 153 runs, and he ended up scoring 37 runs off 35 deliveries to seal the deal for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.[19]

He made his List A debut for West Indies Academy against Combined Campuses and Colleges on 19 October 2023 during the 2023–24 Super50 Cup.[20] In November 2023, he was named in the West Indies Academy squad to face Emerging Ireland side in List A and first-class series.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ "Matthew Nandu Profile - Cricket Player West Indies | Stats, Records, Video". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Arjune Nandu Profile - Cricket Player West Indies | Stats, Records, Video". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "'I always trusted his ability'- father of Harpy Eagles debut centurion Matthew Nandu". News Room Guyana. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  4. ^ KNews (22 October 2021). "The story of Windies U-19 cricketer Matthew Nandu". Kaieteur News. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Everest CC congratulates Nandu on West Indies U19 selection". News Room Guyana. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  6. ^ Cricket, Emerging (22 June 2019). "60 Associates in GT20 Canada squads, Sandeep top AM pick". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  7. ^ "CWI names West Indies Rising Stars U19 squad for ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup". Cricket West Indies. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Guyanese Nandu and Thorne in West Indies U-19 World Cup squad". News Room Guyana. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  9. ^ "WI19 vs PNG19, ICC Under-19 World Cup 2021/22, Plate Quarter-Final 4 at Diego Martin, January 26, 2022 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  10. ^ "PRE-DRAFT PLAYER RETENTIONS AND SIGNINGS ANNOUNCED CPL T20". www.cplt20.com. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ "'Grateful'- Nandu excited about CPL opportunity with 'home' franchise". News Room Guyana. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  12. ^ "BDOS vs GUY, West Indies Championship 2022/23, 2nd Match at North Sound, February 01 - 04, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Three Harpy Eagles players debut, but no caps presented". News Room Guyana. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Four newcomers in Guyana Harpy Eagles Four-Day squad". News Room Guyana. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  15. ^ Jacks, Bradley. "Nandu scores 126 on debut to put Harpy Eagles in good position against Pride". sportsmax.tv. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Guyana Cricket Board congratulates debut centurion Matthew Nandu". News Room Guyana. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Amir, Green, Seifert, Brevis, Lamichhane headline overseas presence in 6IXTY". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  18. ^ KNews (23 June 2023). "Matthew Nandu strikes century (107*) in Canada". Kaieteur News. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  19. ^ "GAW vs JT, Caribbean Premier League 2023, 25th Match at Providence, September 13, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  20. ^ "CC&C vs WIA, Super50 Cup 2023/24, 5th Match at Tarouba, October 19, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  21. ^ "West Indies Academy squad named to face Ireland Academy in five-match series in Antigua | Windies Cricket news". Windies. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Young, Nandu seal series win for CWI Academy". Jamaica Observer. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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