Keacy Carty sharpens spin game in Chennai

BANGLADESH--St. Maarten’s Keacy Carty, after a strong year in ODI cricket, chose to drill his spin game at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai ahead of the Bangladesh series which started today, October 18. His focus, according to a recent ESPNcricinfo feature, is clear: refine decision-making and scoring options against quality spin in Asian conditions.

Carty has settled at No. 3 for West Indies in ODIs, a role that demands control of tempo, sound methods to pace and spin, and the patience to build or rebuild an innings. Since 2024 he has stacked more than a thousand ODI runs at a healthy average and strike rate, form that makes him central to West Indies plans through 2027.

In Chennai he has worked indoors and against live spinners on drills that expand his scoring range in front of the wicket and, when fields tighten, the ability to manipulate gaps. He has also added situational skills like the scoop to shift fields and keep rotations intact, a tool he expects to use more outside the Caribbean.

The choice of India for this block is no accident. Bangladesh surfaces often reward slow bowling, and Carty’s brief dip against Sri Lanka’s spin last year was a reminder that good teams will test patterns. His aim is not a makeover, but tighter options, quicker reads, and fewer stuck phases.

Carty’s rise is built on detail. He studies opposition threats, takes the best bowler out of the game where possible, and then targets softer matchups. That method delivered in Bridgetown in 2024 when he anchored a chase against England, and it underpins his confidence now.

Though he plays CPL for Trinbago, Carty remains a standard-bearer for St. Maarten cricket, crediting senior island players and regional mentors for hard lessons and constant feedback. The Chennai stint is another step on that path, with Bangladesh the first measure of what changed and what held firm.

West Indies need bankable top-order runs to push for direct World Cup qualification. If the Chennai work translates, Carty gives them exactly that: a reliable No. 3 with a sharper plan for spin. His comments in this story are drawn from a recent ESPNcricinfo feature.

As for the match today, Rishad Hossain's 6 for 35, which included the first five West Indies wickets in a chase of 208, paved the way for a Bangladesh win in the series opener in Dhaka. After being on 51 for 0, West Indies were dismissed for 133 in 39 overs.

The visitors' chief tormentor on an unusually dark Dhaka pitch was Rishad, who became only the second legspinner to take the first five wickets in an ODI innings. Sri Lanka's Jeffrey Vandersay is the only other legspinner to this feat, when he took the first six wickets against India last year in Colombo.

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