By:Curtis Morton
A brief but significant ceremony was held at the E T Willett Park on the afternoon of Wednesday 7th December.
The man in focus was 17 year old Kian Pemberton of Government Road and of the Pennyless All-stars team.
Fresh from leading All-stars to championship honours on Sunday last, in the Keith Arthurton/Windsor/Nagico T-20 tournament in St.Kitts, when he had the remarkable bowling figures of 4 overs, 5 wickets for 11 runs, Kian Pemberton surrounded by family, friends and members of his beloved Cricket club, was the man who held center stage.
The ceremony was chaired by President of the Nevis Cricket Association and West Indies board representative, Mr. Denrick Liburd who noted that he had spotted Kian in action a couple of years back and he had told his Dad, Mikey Slack that this young man is going to go all the way and to look out for him well. He stated that Slack made the commitment then, to look out for the best interest of his son.
The invocation was done by Pastor Ron Daniel who prior to his prayer noted that he had observed the work ethics of young Kian and knew that his hard work will eventually pay off. He stated that he was happy to see that the Pennyless All-stars continues the age old tradition of producing top class cricketers. He prayed for protection and guidance of the young cricketer and asked God to take full control if his life.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Mr. Keith Glasgow, filled in for Minister Hazel Brandy –Williams, who was otherwise engaged and pointed to the fact that the Ministry continues to lend support in various forms to all of the various sporting disciplines on the island but indicated that undoubtedly Cricket has been the biggest success story for Nevis, having placed no fewer than seven players on the West Indies cricket team and stating that he has no doubt that Kian could go all the way. He however, warned him to stay away from vices such as drug use and other negatives that could impair his career.
Area representative, Hon. Robelto Hector noted that he too had observed the work ethics of Kian Pemberton; his attitude of training hard and he pointed to the fact that his mom, continuously states that she continually pleas the blood of Jesus over his life and stated that he knew that he had a very supportive father.
He wished him every success as he moves to the top, taking small steps. He pointed to the fact that as he joins the under 19 training squad in Grenada this weekend, that is the first step and the next is to get into the reduced squad of 15 and then to perform well in the regional super 50 tournament upcoming.
One of the under fifteen cricketers also spoke on behalf of the Nevis under fifteen team and wished him all the best in Grenada.
Member of the NCA, Angela Williams then handed over a bag of cricket gear to Kian, which she had procured for him.
The quietly spoken Kian managed one word on the big day: ‘Thanks.’
The afternoon concluded with a party like atmosphere with music and snacks hosted by the Pennyless All-stars club.