TRINIDAD & Tobago fast bowling sensation Shannon Gabriel is generally pleased with the progress he has made over the last few months as he seeks to grab the attention of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) selection panel.

Speaking during last month’s preliminary round WICB Regional four-day clash against the Jamaicans at Sabina Park, the quiet-spoken Trinidadian said he has been inspired by the interest of cricket fans across the region and is working hard to improve his game.

“It’s motivating that people are excited about me, but I have to just continue doing the basics right and try to come up trumps for Trinidad.

“I’ve been putting in the hard work for the past four to five months and it’s paying off. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m growing from strength to strength,” he said.

Gabriel, who is also a member of the Sagicor High Performance Centre (HPC), took 23 wickets at an average of 32.78 in the recently-concluded four-day tournament and impressed many cricket followers with his pace and aggression.

The Trinidad & Tobago team finished second in the league phase of the tournament but lost in the semi-final to eventual champions Jamaica, who proceeded to take their fourth straight title.

Despite having a decent early run to his first-class career, a lack of control in some instances hampered his ability to maintain the pressure on opposing batsmen during the regional competition and the 22-year-old is aware of that shortcoming.

“I’ve been good but I know I could be better and hopefully, I can show that. Some games I’ve been going for some runs so I think I need to work a little on my consistency and accuracy,” Gabriel told the Observer.

The Sagicor HPC programme, directed by Welshman Toby Radford, will enter its second phase later this year and is geared at fast-tracking promising players into the West Indies ‘A’ and senior teams by providing them with good training facilities and high-calibre coaching.

Gabriel has attributed his rise to the experience gained at the academy programme and declared his readiness to hone his skills even further upon its resumption.

“Being a part of the HPC programme has helped me mentally and made me physically stronger and I’ve been able to work on some technical areas of my game. I did some work on my run-up, but since that has smoothened out, I started working on pitching the ball in the right areas and moving the ball around a bit.

“Since the break last year I’ve been trying to keep fit by running and doing some gym work. In the coming months the programme should be ready for resumption and I’m up for it,” he said.