Carty reflects on successful start to Hurricanes’ campaign

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Middle-order batsman Keacy Carty’s outlook for his cricket career could be rooted in the Golden Rule of Maturity: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
The Biblical verse came to mind as he responded to a question regarding the management of his transition from Windies Under-19 World Cup hero to Leeward Islands Hurricanes opener, looking to stake a claim for a place on the senior Windies team.
Carty picked up his second first-class hundred to set the foundation for a 34-run victory for the Hurricanes over Barbados Pride in the first round of matches which ended on Sunday in the Regional Four Day Championship.
He was named Player-of-the-Match, after he marked the start of the new season in style with a resolute 114 on the opening day of the day/night contest against the Pride at the Three Ws Oval here.
Carty shot to prominence at the 2016 ICC Youth World Cup in Bangladesh, when he stroked a stylish half-century in the Final to anchor the Windies Under-19s to their first title, an innings that similarly earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.
“Every day, I try to get better and better,” he said.
“I consider that Under-19 experience history. I don’t think about it anymore.
“It was a good performance, but I am trying now to make the senior Windies team, so what I do from here onwards is what really matters.”
Twenty-One year-old Carty hails from the Dutch island of St. Maarten, where there is not a huge cricket culture, but he said that the CWI Professional Cricket League set-up for the Hurricanes in St. Kitts has been of great benefit to him in maturing and setting his sights on senior colours.
“In the off-season, we have to come back to St. Kitts to train with the franchise team,” he said.
“You may get two months off and you return to start training for the season, so I am currently based in St. Kitts with the rest of the players and that’s where I have been doing most of my training.
“Coming into the Hurricanes set up, playing alongside people like Alzarri Joseph, whom I have been around since Under-17s and I know what he is capable of doing, Rahkeem Cornwall, Devon Thomas, Montcin Hodge and all of the guys, it’s just been about asking a lot of questions of the senior players and the support staff, and trying to get experience to elevate your game as quickly as possible.”
During last weekend’s Championship contest, Carty defied a blow to the helmet to lead a revival of the Hurricanes, after they chose to bat and slumped to 65 for four in their first innings.
On the hundred he said: “I am very happy to start the season this way, but I am also happy that the Hurricanes got off to a good start with a win against the
Pride.
“Hopefully, we can carry this good form into the next match against the Guyana Jaguars and into the break for the Christmas/New Year holidays, recuperate and get back at it again in January,” he said.