by HAYDN GILL

A PROMISING St Lucy Secondary schoolboy cricketer who has not been able to break into the Barbados Youth team for the new Division 1 season has had his disappointment eased by the reward of a scholarship in England.

Jared Bernadin, a former national under-15 fast bowling all-rounder, will embark on a two-year programme at the St Bedes School in Sussex at the start of the new term in September.

"I feel good to be selected. It is a good scholarship. I am a little surprised because it just came out of the blue. I am excited about it," Bernadin said.

"I have heard that it could be very cold in England. It is going to be challenging, but I will be up to it."

Bernadin, who is turning out for Super Centre Spartan in this season's Division 1 competition, is a former student of Wesley Hall and has credited coaches like Richard Clarke for his development.

He made his Division 1 debut at the end of last season and immediately impressed with a five-wicket haul against YMPC. He is also a capable batsman and made 38 against Police in the first match of this season.

Being coached

In recent times, Bernadin has been under the wings of Spartan batsman Rohan Nurse, a teacher at St Lucy where he has helped developed a number of their players in the last two years.

Nurse, who has been instrumental in getting Bernadin to Spartan, has described the youngster as a very talented cricketer and is in a position to tell him what to expect in England where he himself benefited from a scholarship to King's School.

"He has all the attributes to go far. He just needs to put his head down, buckle up and continue to work hard," Nurse said.

"I will get him aware of the situations which may arise. He must understand that he is going to deal with people from different cultural backgrounds."

Julian Annel, who played a part in helping St Bedes spot Bernadin, said there was a possibility the school would offer similar scholarships every two years.

Annel also disclosed that while the scholarship would cover most of the expenses, some money is needed to help make up the shortfall.

"Due to the lateness of it and having offered scholarships to other people, it was not possible to get a full scholarship," Annel said.

"It is a decent offer, but he has to fund 25 per cent of it. We are going to work with various organisations to see what we can do for him."