Birthday special: Kemar Roach – West Indies’ relentless bowling machine
For more than a decade, he has run in like a machine, tirelessly. He has hurried batsmen with his pace, has flummoxed them with the movement he gets off the deck, and is surely a prized asset for the West Indian side in the bowling department who deserves to be appreciated.
Kemar Roach has carved out an excellent career for the West Indies, both in Tests as well as in limited-overs cricket. The right arm pacer has taken 223 wickets for the West Indies in 65 Test matches and stands at the 8th place in the list of bowlers with the most wickets for West Indies in the longest format of the game. In ODI cricket too, Roach has taken 124 wickets in 92 matches.
Career highlights
And, in his illustrious career, there are a few spells from Roach that stand out for the control and prowess that he exhibited with the ball. The 5/60 that he took in the first Test against New Zealand in the year 2012 helped the West Indies thrash the Kiwis with 9 wickets to spare. Another scintillating performance from Roach in Tests came against Australia, in April 2012.
Roach scalped five-wicket hauls in both innings of the Test match and rattled the Australian side. In the match that ended in a draw, Roach stood out for his splendid performance, as the kangaroos were all at sea, unable to find answers to the questions posed by Roach.
In ODI cricket too, Roach has had his moments. In an ODI match on 26th July 2009 against the Bangladesh side, he scalped a five-wicket haul, giving away 44 runs in his 10 overs. Among his five wickets, the two crucial wickets he scalped of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan helped the West Indies restrict the Bangladesh side to a total of 246.
Another stunning spell from Roach in ODI cricket is the 4/27 that he took against Sri Lanka. Against a batting lineup consisting of the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga, Roach shone through with the pace and control he exhibited.
Roach turns 33 today but is not done yet. Let us wish this tireless West Indian bowling machine a very happy birthday.
