West Indies U 19 Cricketer, Mr. Keacy Carty, arrived in Anguilla for a brief visit on Monday 22nd, February. He was ushered from the ferry terminal to a press conference – put on by the Department of Sports – at the James Ronal Webster Park Conference Room. The panel featured Mr. Carty, government officials and members of the Anguilla Cricket Association. As Man of the Match, Keacy Carty made history for both St. Maarten and Anguilla when he scored 52 runs and emerged victorious with his West Indies U-19 Team in the recently held U-19 Cricket World Cup 2016 in Bangladesh.
Parliamentary Secretary, Cardigan Connor, congratulated the young cricketer on his achievements and offered words of encouragement. Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers, Minister with responsibility for sports, as well as the Director of Sports, Rawlins Richardson, also congratulated Keacy.
President of the Anguilla Cricket Association, Ralph Hodge, said: “We in Anguilla have no intention of stealing away Keacy from St. Maarten but we want to partner with them in ensuring that the young man is properly developed. His ascension to the level where he is has been a direct result of the care taken in Anguilla”. Mr. Hodge said that Keacy has played in tournaments and championships in the Under 15 and Under 17 categories as an Anguillian representative. He credits Chaka Hodge for peaking Keacy’s interest after he described him as the best right handed batsman in the Caribbean after an under 19 tour he took with Keacy. He continued: “I was so sure of what Chaka told me that I had perfect confidence in this young man and I figured that this was the start for Keacy if we take good care of him, if St. Maarten take good care of him and if the West Indies take good care of him – we are going to hear quite a lot about him. What I like about him is not only his cricketing attitude but his humility and the way he approaches life”. Mr. Hodge said he is certain that this is just a stepping stone for Keacy as well as young cricketers both in St. Maarten and Anguilla.
In response to questions posed by the media, Keacy said that while West Indies cricket is not where it can be, he hopes that this new breed of players can make a difference and take the league back to the glory days. He encouraged upcoming cricketers to train hard, stay disciplined and be dedicated to the sport.
In attendance at the press conference was also Keacy’s father, Keith Carty, otherwise known as King Repeater (a calypsonian), old coaches and fellow teammates from Anguilla who are very proud of Keacy’s achievements. Keith Carty said while his cricket experience was little he still trained his son from a young boy and that he is proud of his achievements thus far. “I’ve watched him grow from one stage to another, with the final stage being the West Indies U19 team, where he had a good enough innings in the finals that played a big deal in terms of bringing home the championship. I could only hope that that innings would remain with him for a very long time, the way he approached it. With it comes a lot of fame and notoriety and different gifts. I could only hope that those gifts would not come in the sense of making him loose focus. I hope he can remain grounded, humble and be willing to listen to anyone who is prepared to give advise,” Keith said.
Keacy is currently playing for the Leeward Islands and is stationed in St. Kitts. He rejoined his team on Tuesday 23rd February.
