Thirteen-year old Déantre Drew, from Molineux Village in St. Kitts, captain of the 21-strong Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) U-15 provisional squad 2020, received congratulations from his Area Parliamentary Representative, Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris after his exploits on the cricket field were proclaimed by Rev. Ericson Cumberbatch of the Molineux Wesleyan Holiness Church during a Sunday worship service held Jan. 12.
“I was in church when the announcement was made by Pastor Cumberbatch, and I think the entire church and the entire community we are very proud of this accomplishment and we wish him well on the journey,” Prime Minister Harris said on Saturday when he met Déantre at a social event that was held at Bourryeau Gate.
The player is one of the ushers at Molineux Wesleyan Holiness Church.
“We hope that he will be able to carry the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis proudly and successfully. He has now become one of our stars who we hope will shine, and he will get the fullest support of the government and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis,” Dr. Harris, who was accompanied by Deputy Speaker Senator the Hon Akilah Byron-Nisbett, added.
The Leeward Islands Cricket Board’s Selection Panel released names of the 21 players on the U-15 provisional squad 2020 in December, and of those, five are from St. Kitts, and four are from Nevis. The other players are seven from Antigua and Barbuda, three from St. Maarten, and two from Montserrat.
Of the five players from St. Kitts, four are students of the Cayon High School — Ronvyl Williams, Kejorn Wattley, Rondell Williams, and Captain Déantre Drew. The fifth player from St. Kitts is Elijah Lewis who is a student at the Basseterre High School.
The four Nevis players are Carlton Pluck and Jevon Manners from the Gingerland Secondary School, Delroy Prentice from the Charlestown Secondary School, and Lyhte Browne from the Ivor Walters Primary School.
Prime Minister Harris, while wishing the team well, encouraged the players from St. Kitts and Nevis to be the best ambassadors of the country and to play their best with the expectation of lifting the trophy for the Leeward Islands.
According to Mr. Vernon Springer, Leeward Islands Cricket Board’s Cricket Operations Manager, Cricket West Indies Under-15 Tournament will be held in Antigua and Barbuda April 9-20. The Leeward Islands Under-15 team captained by Drew will be battling it out with the other regional teams for top honours.
Déantre’s father, Mr. Lenroy Drew, said he realised his son loved the game of cricket since he was in grade four, when he started to play softball for the Cayon Primary School. His coach observed that he was good enough to play hardball cricket with the bigger boys, and he ended up being the primary school’s captain for two years and took the team to semi-finals, where they came out as the third placed team.
“His dream is to qualify for the West Indies,” said Mr. Drew. “The games in Antigua in April will be used to select for the West Indies side, so they will pick the best players coming from the different countries.”
“Déantre Drew who is a part of our church, is quite an exciting young cricketer. I am just so pleased to know that he has been selected to be part of the Leeward Islands Under-15, and that he is progressing very nicely — he has been to Antigua for trials and made it,” Rev. Ericson Cumberbatch said, adding Elijah Lewis, who attends the Basseterre High School, “is our godson and he is also progressing very nicely. I have seen him develop and watched him play and realised he has the talent. We are expecting them to progress and go forward and actually become West Indies players — so we are looking forward to that.”
