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It is a dream come true. It is something that I always wanted to do.

With those words, you could sense how much it meant to Rohan Nurse to be appointed Barbados youth team captain for the forthcoming regional Under-19 Cricket Championship.

Nurse would have been adequately prepared for the assignment after spending the last ten months in a new environment in which discipline and professionalism were the order of the day.

The 18-year-old, the beneficiary of a Barbados Cricket Association scholarship that allowed him to pursue Advanced Level studies at King's School in England, returned home last week, having observed systems that are not always common in this part of the world.

Everything is done to a `t'. Everything is done to the finest end, he said.

A case in point is punctuality.

Everyone has to be at the game early. The way the system is run, if a side does not have the full team by the start, points are deducted. That makes sure that everyone is on his toes.

Nurse enjoyed a phenomenal season in which he scored 1 225 runs at an average of 83. And he made good progress in the classroom where he is doing computer studies, business studies and physical education.

He is now turning his attention to a job that would have been earmarked for him since his days as an Under-15 cricketer for Combermere in the annual Cable & Wireless championship.

As Barbados youth captain, however, he faces the task of reversing the disappointment of last season when the defending champions could do no better than fifth place.

It is going to be challenging, but we must realise that we have players in our side who are capable of doing the job, Nurse said.

As long as each player plays his role in the side, I can see us coming out on top.

He does not believe that his not being part of Barbados' build-up in recent months will put him at a disadvantage in leading the side.

I've been around these guys for about five years. We are close friends off the field and on the field, he said.

Nurse is now into his third season at this level and he knows what is required to gain success.

We have to be aggressive and play positively, he said.

In our side we have a lot of `show' players and I think everyone must play to his full potential.

Nurse becomes the third Combermerian to captain the Barbados youth team in the last five years, following the unrelated Grahams, Shawn in 1997 and Marlon the next year.

He believes a lesson can be learnt from the manner in which Australians approach their game.

They are always aggressive, looking to take the initiative from teams. That's how we have to go about our job, but with a little caution.

The venue for this year's championship is Guyana, the same country in which Barbados struggled last season. Surely, there could be some psychological discomfort in having to return there.

I plan to talk to the guys about it, because last year I thought the problem was that in the first week, it was just rain and we lost our focus, Nurse said.

The guys must be prepared for that this year. Six guys from last year are going and we should be able to get the younger guys prepared for what might happen.

The opportunity also presents Nurse with a chance to enhance his reputation as a classy right-handed batsman.

He has a two-day trial with English county Nottinghamshire when he returns to England in September, and a prolific tournament in Guyana will do his cause no harm.

I have personal goals, but I won't disclose them, he said.

He had no problem in publicly stating the team goal.

I would like to bring back home the Cup for Barbados, he said.

We have a crop of good youngsters coming up through the line and it's time that we put ourselves on the map again.

© The Barbados Nation