In February, during the ICC U19 World Cup, former West Indies star Ian Bishop compared Jayden Seales to a young Alzarri Joseph.
Joseph was a key part of the Windies side that triumphed in the same competition in 2016, before going on to make his mark in ODI and Test cricket.
Bishop, a greatly respected voice in the game, said that Seales was slightly ahead of where Joseph had been at the same age and therefore, he was ready to make the jump to senior regional cricket.
The management of the Trinbago Knight Riders clearly agreed and the 18-year-old has featured in the franchise’s first three matches of CPL 2020.
His individual returns haven’t been spectacular as yet, but he has already made some notable contributions and his talent is there for all to see.
Seales was introduced as third change against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the opening match of the tournament and had the daunting task of bowling to Ross Taylor and Nicholas Pooran.
The young quick showed no sign of nerves, though, and in touching 90mph on multiple occasions looked to be troubling Taylor for pace.
Despite beating him all ends up in his first over he wasn’t able to dismiss the Kiwi but he did pick up the crucial wicket of Pooran just as the Warriors were putting the foot on the accelerator.
Impressive figures of 2-21 followed in the second match against the Jamaica Tallawahs, with Seales halting Glenn Phillips’ explosive innings and then pinning Nicholas Kirton lbw first ball.
Trinbago made it three from three with victory over Barbados Pride on Sunday and although the teenager was expensive when introduced as first change, he was later trusted with the final over in which he dismissed Ashley Nurse.
Four wickets from three games is a strong start at this level and while he hasn’t had a chance to make an impact with the bat just yet, he’s shown plenty of athleticism in the field.
Seales’ senior career is only just beginning but it’s clear that he has the kind of X-Factor that has made West Indies stars Andre Russell and Dwanye Bravo such big attractions around the world.
As long as he stays grounded and injury-free and continues to develop at the same rate, it’s easy to see Seales soon becoming the next West Indies white-ball superstar.