With just a handful of senior international matches under his belt, Saint Lucia and West Indies cricketer Ackeem Auguste is already looking the part, with a T20 International average of 41. Auguste made his T20I debut in September, away to Nepal, a series the West Indies lost. He also made his One Day International away to Bangladesh, against whom he scored his first fifty. West Indies lost the ODI series, but swept the three T20I contests.
The 22-year-old left-handed batsman, an alumnus of St Mary’s College, shared his thoughts on becoming the 104th man to represent the West Indies in T20s, and the 228th to take the field in the ODI format. He is also the fourth West Indies men’s player from Saint Lucia.
“I think it’s been good so far. It’s definitely at a level that I expected,” he revealed. “It was really nice to watch the guys go about their preparation and finally getting an opportunity to play, and I was able to put in a decent performance for the team and have an impact, so I was really happy about that.”
Auguste said it had been his childhood dream to play for the West Indies. “I think it’s an honour to represent the West Indies at any level, so it was nice to be able to transition from the Under-19 level into senior cricket. So I was just really appreciative of the opportunity given.”
He has come in for high praise from two of the coaches with whom he has worked in recent years. The former West Indies Under-19 captain has been under the guidance of Ramesh Subasinghe in the West Indies Academy setup for the past two years. Subasinghe was in Saint Lucia working with the Saint Lucia Cricket High Performance Centre, and he spoke to St. Lucia Times about the qualities that he thinks set Auguste apart.
Subasinghe described Auguste as “extremely talented”, but emphasised that talent was just the beginning. What truly set Ackeem apart, he said, was his mindset and relentless work ethic.
“Ackeem is one of the hardest workers in West Indies cricket,” Subasinghe noted, adding that the young player actively seeks out challenges and thrives under pressure. That hunger, he believed, would carry Ackeem far. “It’s not going to be easy,” he admitted, “but I think he has the right mindset to flourish, thrive, and be a world-class player for West Indies cricket.”
Former director of the West Indies High Performance Centre and former West Indies assistant coach Toby Radford did an intense one-on-one clinic with Auguste in 2022, focusing on improving his batting technique. Like Subasinghe, Radford extolled the Saint Lucian’s ability and lauded his ability to put his nose to the grindstone.
“His attitude was excellent,” said Radford. “I could see from very early on that he was a quality player. Played very straight, had a lot of time. Looked like he had some flair. Wanted to learn, wanted to be here, which is obviously a big part of it. Was very coachable.”
Radford was the West Indies’ batting coach when the team was crowned T20 World Champions in 2012, and he helped the West Indies win their 2018–2019 home Test series against England 2-1. He told St. Lucia Times that he has seen evidence of some of the technical tweaks he made in Auguste’s game during his time with the Saint Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League, and during his brief time with the West Indies so far.
“Over the last couple of years, from what I can see, I think he’s merged the technical understanding of his game with playing the conditions and what he finds out in the middle, the challenge of the opposition, the pitches,” explained Radford. “And I think his tactics now are merging with his technique.”
Radford said he wasn’t surprised at all by Auguste’s success, calling it “brilliant”. He expressed his happiness not just for the player, but also for his father, acknowledging the time, money and effort they had invested in flying him to the UK. Radford hoped that experience had contributed to Ackeem’s development and believed he would only continue to grow from here.
In October, Auguste was confirmed to be joining the MI Emirates for the 2025 edition of the DP World ILT20. The Blue and Gold will roar into action against Gulf Giants when the Desert Carnival bowls off in December. The tournament will be played in the United Arab Emirates, where the series between West Indies and Nepal was played.
