“I have been working hard at my game”

He is 19-years-old, and it was only this year that he got his opportunity to play for the senior national team; but with a string of outstanding achievements to his name, Keiron Cottoy was the obvious choice of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association’s Senior Cricketer for 2008 award.{{more}}

Cottoy got the accolade last Friday night, December 12, at the Methodist Church Hall, as the Association staged its annual awards ceremony.

Cottoy, a right-arm leg-break bowler, had a stellar year, mainly at the regional Under-19 Tournament in Barbados.

He was the leading wicket-taker in the league segment of that Tournament, with 38 wickets.

Cottoy was elevated to the Windwards Under-19 captaincy after failing to be selected last year.

He also led St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the third straight title in the Windwards Under-19 competition in Grenada.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT soon after receiving the award, Cottoy remarked: “It is a great feeling. Words cannot say how I feel.”

“I was a bit surprised at the announcement, but I have been working hard at my game,” Cottoy revealed.

And, even in his debut year at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior team, Cottoy was named Vice-Captain by the management, when the four-island Windwards Tournament was held in Dominica last September.

The Richland Park resident plans to work even harder, as he is already in the eyes of regional cricket authorities.

Cottoy is among several young players who have been centrally contracted by the West Indies Cricket Board.

One who aspires to represent the West Indies, Cottoy, Captain of local cricket club, Victors One, played a leading role in the club’s retention of the National Lotteries Authority Neil Williams 20/20 competition.

In the final against MVC Rivals, Cottoy bagged 3 for 26, then made 44, to be named Man of the Final.

Also on the night, Cottoy joined Orlanzo Jackson, Rodney Lawrence, Dellorn Johnson and Linden James as the Five Cricketers of the Year.

Sunil Ambris, the first Vincentian to represent the West Indies at the Under-15 level, was named Youth Cricketer of the Year.