KemarRoach

Following in the footsteps of Walsh, Ambrose, Garner and Holding, Kemar Roach might not have the same daunting height as his predecessors but he is every bit as dangerous as them.

Big things were expected of Roach from the moment he took a hat-trick against Pakistan in a warm-up match before the Under-19 World Cup in 2006. His searing pace and late swing made him virtually unplayable, and he immediately caught the eye of West Indian selectors.

Roach made his international debut in 2008, where he took two wickets in the West Indies’ comfortable T20 win over Australia. The national honours continued to flow that year, as he snared 2/29 in his first ODI match against Bermuda.

The West Indian pay dispute in 2009 gave him his first chance at Test cricket, and he didn’t disappoint. Although the weakened squad were beaten in both the Tests and ODIs, Roach was the lone star in both forms of the game. 13 wickets in the Test series, including career best figures of 6-48, were soon followed by 10 wickets in the ODI series.

His excellent stats against Bangladesh saw him picked for the tour of Australia. The hosts had not seen much of Roach, but it didn’t take long for them to realise they were dealing with a man of prodigious talent. The most telling moment of his career came in the third Test in Perth on a pitch that was always going to suit his style of bowling. Ricky Ponting was the victim on this occasion; struck on the elbow by a bouncer that almost clocked 150kph. It was the delivery that made the world take notice.

Roach continued to deliver in the Test arena, this time in Sri Lanka. His ten wickets in two matches saw him named Man of the Series in conditions that should have seen him struggle. His form against Australia in 2012 was equally impressive, and saw him become the first West Indies bowler since 2005 to claim ten wickets in a match.