AIRPORT--Screams of joy greeted West Indies U19 World Cup champion Keacy Carty as he arrived in St. Maarten after steering the West Indies to victory over India in the final of the ICC Youth World Cup in Bangladesh.
More than 500 passionate supporters gathered inside the arrival hall with hardly any standing room to welcome home the cricket star. There were shouts of “Keacy, Keacy, Keacy” as he came face-to-face with the massive crowd. Pandemonium broke out as fans tried to get close to him for that Kodak moment with the man of the match of the final.
He was literally mobbed and had difficulty walking through the crowd because everyone took the opportunity to greet the first West Indies cricketer from St. Maarten. The crowd included three ladies cricket teams dressed in their cricket uniforms, present and former cricketers, along with persons from the business community. Dow Ebony Steel Orchestra provided live entertainment for the crowd.
Carty was named man of the match in the final of the ICC Youth World Cup after scoring 52 not out as West Indies beat India by five wickets to win its first Youth World Cup on Sunday, February 14.
As he disembarked the plane, Carty was greeted by his parents Keith and Angela Carty, Prime Minister of St. Maarten William Marlin, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Sylveria Jacobs, members of Parliament, including Chairman Sarah Wescot-Williams, NAGICO Chairman Imran McSood Amjad, NAGICO CEO Dwayne Elgin and Cricket St. Maarten board members.
At the cocktail party in the VIP lounge, Marlin expressed congratulations, stating, “I’m so, so proud, so happy for what you have done for yourself and St. Maarten. And for those who have been listening to the live broadcast [of the match – Ed.] I can imagine what it was to hear the name St. Maarten and a St. Maartener’s name shouted.
“You may not understand the impact, but because of that one stroke that secured that win, throughout the cricket community, which is larger in a certain sense than maybe the baseball community, worldwide, the name St. Maarten is resonating. And because of you today, people from Sri Lanka, Madagascar or Timbuktu because they are cricket fans will know that somewhere in the Caribbean a little tiny island called St. Maarten was able to produce a giant.”
Marlin then pinned Carty with a flag of St. Maarten and encouraged him to wear it as a “son of the soil” whenever he leaves St. Maarten again.
An elated McSood stated, “I am such a proud man today to see the fruits of my labour materialise in such a way. It just made my day. A lot of people thought that I was a madman trying to do what I was trying to do with cricket on the island, but thankfully I had the support of a lot of people who loved the game, because I could not do it all alone.”
He gave a brief history of when the first cricket board was organised in St. Maarten and the formation of NAGICO Cricket Club, and said he, Keith Carty and Tony Christopher had been the torchbearers for the club. “I watched the game on television and just to hear the commentators talking about St. Maarten and about you, tears were in my eyes whether you guys won or not. It was just amazing.”
McSood stated that his dreams and ambitions of St. Maarten producing a West Indies cricketer surpassed all expectation with Keacy’s achievement. He continued, “To be honest, I never believed we would produce a West Indies cricketer who would be the man of the match in a winning World Cup tournament. A better reward than that I cannot imagine.”
McSood hopes Government will seek to sponsor more cricket activities on the island. “I sponsor cricket because I love it. We all do it because we love the game,” he said.
Master of Ceremonies Cedrick Peterson then invited Keacy’s father to speak.
“When the youth programme started in 2004, Keacy was not part of the youth programme because he was attending Sister Regina Primary School and that school was not part of the youth programme. However, as a cricketer myself I decided to instil what I know into my son. It was a journey which I could describe as both enjoyable and challenging,” said Carty Sr.
“I remember very well when he graduated from primary school and was asked when he grows up what he would like to be and he said, ‘When I become a man, I would like to become an international cricketer.’ There was when I said that if I was not serious about training him I will now have to get serious.”
The young Carty wanted to play football, but was encouraged to play cricket instead. Keacy chimed in with the exact words of his father at that time, “No, you ain’t playing football, I can’t teach you no football.”
As father and personal coach his father expressed how proud he was of his son’s achievement. His father told him that while looking at the matches, there had been mixed emotions in which he shed many tears and enjoyed happy moments.
The last message from his personal coach and father to him before the finals last Sunday was, “I know you haven’t gotten the amount of runs you were expecting, but that’s how the game is. When you are getting runs everything goes nicely for you, but when you going through a patch, what is important is how you handle yourself during that time.
“The image you have on this World Cup right now is nothing more than a hairstyle (that triggered laughter from the dignitaries). That is not enough to leave this World Cup. You are now in your last match at youth level. Try and leave a mark on the tournament.”
The senior Carty finished off his remarks by stating, “This is a lot of hype and glamour, but remain humble because that is what got you where you are. With the help of God and your parents and everyone here, everything will go well.”
Keacy thanked everyone for having the ceremony for him. “I want to thank everyone for making this ceremony for me. It’s very nice to know that St. Maarten is taking care of its own. Mac [McSood – Ed.], seeing that your dream has finally come true it is now time for us to get an international cricket stadium so that the kids could have something to look forward to in the future,” he told the gathering.
Minister Jacobs stated, “Keacy has put St. Maarten on the cricket map. We have some great plans for you and come Sunday all those plans will be unveiled to you.”
Carty and his parents led the motorcade home in a lily-white Audi.
Carty is scheduled to pay a courtesy call at the Governor’s Office today and then attend a press conference at the Government Administration Building at 2:00pm.
There will be a prize-giving ceremony at the cricket field next to Cost-U-Less on Sunday from 4:00pm. A scholarship fund is expected to be opened on his behalf and members of the public are encouraged to donate to the fund. At the field, cricket fans will be treated to free drinks and food courtesy of the organisers.
