We’ve all known that the production line of West Indian pacemen has long lost its motor and become out of commission.
Since the glory days, West Indian cricket has failed to produce bowlers in the mould of Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Curtley Ambrose.
These tall, destructive West Indian pacemen dominated the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, making the West Indies almost unbeatable when international teams travelled to the Caribbean during this era.
Fast forward 20 years. You’re watching the first day of the second Test between Australia and the West Indies with these legend’s names etched in your mind. You think to yourself, will there ever be another Garner, Ambrose or Walsh?
Enter Kemar Roach.
Roach dominated the rain-affected Test match, claiming figures of 5-105 in the first innings and 5-41 in the second to record his first ever 10-wicket haul.
Roach’s 10-wicket haul was also the first by a West Indian against Australia since Curtley Ambrose took his back in 1997.
The 23 year old’s first 10- wicket haul makes him only the 15th West Indian player in history to record the achievement, joining the esteemed company of such legends as Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh.
This devastating display raises the question, would Roach have been able to break into the legendary West Indian pace attacks which dominated world cricket across their three decades of dominance?
Based on physical appearance, Roach wouldn’t even be able to be seen in the change-rooms. The current West Indian spearhead is a very short compared to the traditional West Indian paceman; standing at 1.72 metres, or five-foot-eight in the old English.
Curtley Ambrose stood at six-foot-seven, just over two metres.
Speed-wise Kemar Roach would have definitely featured; bowling an average of 147km/h, where Ambrose’s highest recorded speed was 140km/h back in August of 2000.
That said, Ambrose was not a genuine express bowler, but his height made batsmen fear whether to come forward or to stay back, causing trouble for all international batsmen.
From the change in generation between Ambrose and Roach, something had gone. Something that looked like it wasn’t coming back.
The genuine fear of West Indian fast bowlers. But perhaps Roach is helping it make the slightest comeback.
Who could forget when the West Indies toured Australia back in 2009?
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was struck on the arm by a thunderbolt by Kemar Roach in the first innings, which injured the former skipper.
Ponting came in at number eight during the second innings and was out for a duck, caught at short leg by Roach.
Current Australian captain Michael Clarke said that if the Australians were to have success in the final Test, they would have to nullify Roach. The danger of West Indian pacemen is entering the minds of Australian cricketers once again.
Australia has managed to retain the Frank Worrell trophy in the three-Test series against the Windies.
Roach has been a shining light, leading an inexperienced bowling attack against a solid Australian outfit.
The lack of depth in the West Indian batting line-up is not the sole factor in conceding the series, but if the likes of Greenidge, Lara and Richards featured in the Windies top- order, the series would have panned out a lot differently.
The West Indies has slumped to No. 7 on the world Test rankings, despite Roach’s outstanding bowling.
The paceman production line needs to be remodelled and repaired before the West Indies can return to their glory days. Kemar Roach wouldn’t be a bad prototype in building a pace attack that could compete with the Windies almost unbeatable era.
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