Boys and girls from the six public Primary Schools, and the privately-run Central Christian School in Anguilla, are now engaged in a number of training sessions in Kiddies Cricket. The tournament, now in its fourteenth year, will be played on the island at an appropriate time in 2015.
The opportunity for the youngsters to develop their skills, and probably to become skilful cricketers, was provided by Scotiabank and the West Indies Cricketl Board, as part of their regional initiative.
The Anguillian youngsters were presented with their training gear at a ceremony at Scotiabank (Anguilla) Limited on Friday, October 24. The event was chaired by Mr Cardigan Connor, Cricket Development Officer for Anguilla and St Maarten.
Asked to comment on the occasion, Mr Connor told The Anguillian: “The West Indies Cricket Board and Scotiabank really appreciate what it means to have the very young interested in cricket. In fact, the future of the game is dependent on them, and I think one of the positives to mention is the number of girls that are interested in cricket here in Anguilla. When they see the West Indies women cricket team, they believe that cricket is there for them as well. We will have a great advantage if we can get the youth interested in sport. Not all of them will go on to become Leeward Islands or West Indies cricketers, but I think the disciplines that are learnt from sport, at a very early age, give them a great understanding of how to deal with each other later on in life.”
Those who also participated in the cricket gear presentation ceremony were Mr Valdez Johnson, the Scotiabank’s representative for Kiddies Cricket for fourteen years; Mr Rawlins Richardson of the Ministry and Department of Sports; Mr Winston Duncan who represented the Ministry and Department of Education; and Mr Frankie Claxton, Public Relations Officer for the Anguilla Cricket Association.
