DOMINICA CELEBRATES AS ALICK ATHANAZE RECEIVES MAIDEN CALL UP TO WEST INDIES TEAM
Twenty four year old Alick Athanaze of Grand Bay has joined the league of Dominica’s cricketing heroes after receiving his maiden call up to the West Indies Senior Men’s Cricket Team.
This follows his consistent run of good from with the bat in the past few months, where he excelled in both regional and local tournaments.
Athanaze’s name first popped up in major headlines when he represented the West Indies Rising Stars in the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup. There he emerged as the leading run scorer with four hundred and eighteen runs with two centuries and two fifties.
Since then, he has only gotten better. His progress was shown when he represented the Windward Island Volcanoes in the 2022/2023 CG Insurance Super50 Cup. There he played six matches, amassing two hundred and ninety two runs, scoring two centuries with a high score of one hundred and forty runs.
He then participated in the 2nd edition of the Dream11 T0 League in Dominica where he led the Champagne Reef Divers to the championship. He copped the awards for Most Valuable Player and leading run scorer having scored over four hundred runs during the T10 League.
His amazing batting form continued, which resulted in him being named as captain for the Windward Island Volcanoes at the start of the West Indies 4 Day Championship. In his first match as captain, Athanaze scored 41 and 51 respectively, against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. He subsequently scored his Maiden First Class Century, with a score of 141 against Guyana in his second match.
All of this led to his selection to the West Indies Test Team which was announced on Tuesday, February 14 2023.
Athanaze says that he is grateful for the opportunity to represent Dominica and the West Indies on the international stage.
“I feel really good to be honest. Playing test cricket is one of, if not the main goal for every young cricketer coming up in the Caribbean, so I am grateful for the opportunity. It is great to see that the hard work that I have been putting in over the years is paying off. I just wat to thank everybody that has helped me along the way, whether they know it or not so I just want to say a big thank you to all of you who have helped me be where I am today,” Athanaze stated.
After the announcement from Cricket West Indies, Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit congratulated Athanaze in a Facebook post.
The post read in part “this is momentous achievement for young Athanaze, the Windward Island Volcanoes Captain who hails from the community of Grand Bay. The Government and People of Dominica are immensely proud and stand in full support of Athanaze as he joins the regional side for the tour of South Africa, which bowls of on February 28.”
The Prime Minister continued that “Athanaze’s selection is yet another gratifying moment for local cricket fans who have tracked his rise over the years. We celebrate with him and the very best wishes for his continued success.”
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for the Grand Bay Constituency, Hon. Dr. Vince Henderson also expressed his congratulations to the 24 year old. He says that this achievement is a source of pride to all Dominicans.
“On behalf of the constituency of Grand Bay and on my own behalf I wish to extend congratulations to Alick Athanaze on his selection for the West Indies team. His achievement is a source of pride and inspiration to all of us in the Grand Bay Constituency and also throughout Dominica. We wish him well especially as he moves on to his first tour of South Africa and we look forward to many great things from him and he will forever have our appreciation and our continued support. All the best Alick, we wish you well,” Dr. Henderson stated.
Minister with responsibility for Youth and Sports, Hon. Oscar George says his selection is a proud moment for all Dominicans who have seen Alick rise through the various levels in his cricketing career.
“It’s a very proud moment for all of us in Dominica in the sporting fraternity and by extension, the Windward Islands. As we know, Alick is a product of Grand Bay South City and I can only imagine how proud they would be in Grand Bay for this call up for Alick. Alick went through the Sports Division U-13 and U-19 programmes, so he is a product of the Sport’s Division and we are happy for that. I can recall just the other day at the launching of the U20 cricket league where I was speaking to the young cricketers and I told them that a few years ago, Alick was standing right where they are. So that’s a good moment for them because they have somebody that they ca look up to and aspire to become,” he stated.
Hon. George, who is a former national cricketer and who has played alongside Alick, described Athanaze as a hard worker. He believes that his work ethic will carry him a long way in his international career.
“Alick has a really good work ethic. I know that he has put in a lot of work in Portsmouth with Coach Sam. But the opportunity to work with the West Indies is something that we all as a nation should be proud of. We expect Alick to do well. We had him dominating in the Super50 competition last year scoring two centuries, and also dominating the local Dream 11 T10 league, and then being appointed captain recently of the Windward Volcanoes and of course excelling in that position and scoring a century. So all these things are clear indications that Alick will do well in terms of representing Dominica and representing West Indies Cricket,” the Sports Minister added.
Sports Coordinator, Trevor Shillingford says this achievement is the result of the consistency that Athanaze has shown over the years.
“To see the elevation of Alick Athanaze at the international level is a very proud moment especially for the Sports Division since Alick is really a product of our age group competitions from the under-13 to the under-19s and on to the Men’s National Senior team. He has been very consistent over the years, he has demonstrated a high level of workmanship; he has been one of the young cricketers who has been very committed to the game and improving on all areas of the game and we are very happy for his elevation into the Senior West Indies Cricket team and we really hope that we will be having a very long career at the international level,” Mr. Shillingford stated.
The Sports Coordinator added that this selection will serve as an inspiration to many of the young cricketers in Dominica.
“His elevation to the West Indies Senior Team can really act as inspiration to our young cricketers so they can realize that there’s an opportunity to make it to the very highest level,” Mr. Shillingford added.
Meanwhile, Former ICC Elite Umpire, Mr. Billy Doctrove says this is wonderful news for Dominica.
“It is wonderful news for Dominica and I am sure it is wonderful news for Alick himself and his family and close friends. It is a memorable occasion and I really want to congratulate him on his selection to the West Indies,” Mr. Doctrove stated.
Mr. Doctrove, who was an international umpire for fourteen years, has a better understanding than most of what it takes to succeed and have longevity in the international arena.
He encouraged Alick to work on his mental fitness as well as his physical body if he is to succeed in his test career.
“Test cricket is tough. His opponents recognize and they know that he is a new selectee to the West Indies team so they are going to put that metal pressure on him. So he has to be strong. He has to work on his mental toughness. He has to focus because test cricket is a real tough game and to play and succeed at that level for five days, you have to remain focused and concentrate for all of the five days,” he added.
Former Cricket West Indies Vice President, Mr. Emmanuel Nanthan also congratulated Alick on his selection. He says this achievement, as well as the recent selection of two female cricketers for the West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 Women’s Team, augers well for cricket in Dominica.
“There seems to be a rebirth with the success of our young people, the young women in the women’s under 19 and now Alick for West Indies. It means a lot,, we have invested in the young cricketers and now we are seeing it pay off,” Mr. Nanthan stated.
The fifteen man squad departed for South Africa on February 17 2023, while the first test match began on Tuesday, February 28 2023.