Cottoy gets just reward

After inexplicably not being selected to last year’s Windwards Under-19 team to the TCL West Indies Tournament in St. Kitts and Nevis, Keiron Cottoy returned this year, but was not only selected, but he will lead the four nation grouping.{{more}}

Commenting on his recent elevation, Cottoy, who led St. Vincent and the Grenadines to their third Windwards Under-19 cricket title in succession, was happy at being chosen as captain.

“It is a great feeling and it was a great experience captaining St. Vincent and the Grenadines”, said a smiling Cottoy, last Sunday at the ET Joshua Airport following the team’s arrival from Grenada.

The leg spinner bagged sixteen wickets in the three matches of the two day competition and added three more in the lone one day match that St. Vincent and the Grenadines played. Cottoy was the leading wicket taker in the competition. Added to this, he returned some useful scores with the bat, including a half century.

But his emotions are in stark contrast to last year’s experience when he did not make the squad.

The previous year, Cottoy was named in the Windwards reserves, but was summoned to Guyana to play the last three of the Windwards matches. His performance was such that he was selected in a 20 man West Indies provisional squad.

“I was very disappointed,” he reflected.

An experience which Cottoy, a student pursuing studies in Electrical Engineering at the Division of Technical & Vocational Education of the SVG Community College, said devastated him.

But Cottoy’s elevation means a hat trick of captains from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Lauron Francois was the Windwards team captain in 2006 and 2007.

Apart from Cottoy, the other Vincentians selected following the tournament are Wayne Harper, Dellorn Johnson, Marvin Small and Kesrick Williams. Johnson and Harper were part of the team last year, with Johnson going one step further to represent the West Indies in the Youth World Cup in Malaysia earlier this year. Small is a former Windwards Under-15 player.

The team is completed by Dominicans: Vincent Lewis, Alton Audain, Kaveem Hodge, Junior Gervier and Oscar George.

Rudolph Paul and Dennis Smith are the two selectees from Grenada, with St. Lucians Audie Alexander and Darrion Polius completing the hopefuls.

The reserves are Micha Narine and Kade Carmichael of Grenada and Kim Charlrey and Dennis Louis are from St. Lucia. St. Lucian Sean Edwards returns as Manager, so, too, does Coach Grenadian Raymond Duncan.(RT)