Kemar Roach Biography

Full Name : Kharab Andre Jamal Roach 

Date of Birth : 30th June 1988 (1988-06-30) (age 23)

Place of Birth  : Saint Lucy, Barbados 

Height : 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) 

Batting Style : Right-handed 

Bowling Style : Right-Arm Fast 

Role  : Bowler 

Test Debut (cap 279): 9th July 2009 v Bangladesh 

ODI Debut (cap 144) : 20th August 2008 v Bermuda 

Kharab Andre Jamal Roach is a Barbadian cricketer. Kemar Roach played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka and has represented the West Indies in Test and One Day International cricket.  Kemar Roach is a fast bowler capable of express speeds and has reached 150 kilometres per hour (93 mph) on a number of occasions.

International Career

Early Representation

Roach represented the West Indies at U19 level, participating in the 2006 U-19 World Cup. In a warm up match for the Cup, Roach took 4/44 against Pakistan including a hat trick.  Kemar Roach finished his Youth One Day International career with nine wickets from seven matches at an average of 27.44 and a highest batting score of 30 not out.

On 7 June 2008, Roach was selected in the West Indies Test squad to face Australia in the third Test. At the time he had played in only four first class matches.  Kemar Roach  was not picked for the final team and said "I know that when a Test match comes around, they sometimes draft in players in the island where the match is, but I wasn't expecting to be in the squad. I'm quite happy to be there. If selected, I want to put in a good performance". Roach made his international debut on 20 June 2008 in a Twenty20 international against Australia; it was also the first senior Twenty20 match he had played in. Kemar Roach  finished with the best bowling figures in the match of 2/29 from three overs, claiming the scalps of Shaun Marsh and Luke Ronchi as the West Indies won by seven wickets. Roach was drafted into the squad for the last two ODIs against Australia in July 2008 after Australia won the first three games and sealed a series victory.

Roach did not play in the last two matches of the series against Australia and had to wait until the triangular series with Bermuda and Canada to make his debut. On 20 August 2008 Roach – along with fellow debutants Leon Johnson and Brendan Nash – made his first appearance for the West Indies in a One Day International.  Kemar Roach finished with figures of 10-1-29-2 as the West Indies beat Bermuda by six wickets.  Kemar Roach first wicket was that of Stephen Outerbridge and his second was the Bermuda captain, Irving Romaine.  Kemar Roach played in the second match of the series, taking 1/49 from eight overs against Canada as the West Indies won by 49 runs but did not play in the final against Canada which the West Indies won.

On 1 November 2008, the ODI squad to tour Pakistan was announced, with Roach as one of the members. John Dyson, the West Indies coach, said that Roach was expected to put the more experienced and established bowlers such as Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor under pressure for a place in the team.On the same day, it was announced that Roach was one of four players – along with Lionel Baker, Leon Johnson, and Brendan Nash – without a Test cap to be named in the 15-man squad selected to tour New Zealand for a Test series.

Break Through

Roach made his Test debut on 9 July 2009.  Kemar Roach was part of an understrength team fielded by the West Indies against Bangladesh; in the 15-man squad, there were nine uncapped players and in the Test seven West Indies players made their debut. The side was captained by Floyd Reifer who had played the last of his four Tests ten years earlier. The first XI had made themselves unavailable due to a pay dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board.  Kemar Roach first Test wicket was that of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Although Bangladesh won by 95 runs, Roach helped put pressure on the Bangladesh batsmen through a combination of yorkers and swinging deliveries, although he bowled slightly wide to the left-handers. Reifer praised Roach's efforts, saying "The first time I saw him as an under-19 bowler, I always thought he was going to play for West Indies.  Kemar Roach does a lot, especially with the old ball, getting it to move in and out and he performed very well this morning, bowling decent lengths and lines".Although Bangladesh won the second Test to take the series 2–0, Roach again bowled with pace and aggression, unsettling the Bangladesh batsmen. Varying his length and exploiting the Bangladesh batsmen's weakness against short bowling – even hitting Raqibul Hasan on the elbow with one delivery – Roach proceeded to take career-best figures of 6/48 in the first innings. With 13 wickets to his name, Roach finished as West Indies' leading wicket-taker from the series. Although Bangladesh won the three-match ODI series that followed 3–0,Roach was leading wicket-taker for the series, with 10 wickets at an average of 16.20; in the first of the ODIs he took his maiden five-wicket haul in one day matches (5/44), beating his previous best figures of 2/29. In the second ODI, Roach was fined 10% of his match fee for bowling beamers. The core of the same squad was retained for September's 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. Roach played in two of West Indies' three matches, as they exited the tournament in the first round, and took three wickets at 33.33.

Shortly before West Indies embarked on a tour of Australia in November to December 2009; senior players such as Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul returned to the squad, but Roach had sufficiently impressed selectors during the dispute that he retained his place.The West Indies lost the first Test in three days; Adrian Barath's century on debut and Roach's bowling performance were the main positives for the West Indies; in the opinion of former Australia captain Ian Chappell, Roach's bowling was "exceptionally good" but he lacked support from more senior bowlers.Although the West Indies drew the second Test, Roach (who was regularly bowling over 150 kilometres per hour (93 mph)) and Dwayne Bravo took the West Indies close to levelling the series on the final day of the match. Australia's captain, Ricky Ponting, commended Roach for his control and accuracy and said "Someone who is pretty short at that pace can get the ball to skid onto you pretty quickly off the wicket with not much bounce. We've played him pretty well here [in Adelaide]. The ball reverse-swung for them in both innings.  Kemar Roach's a handful, there's no doubt about that.  Kemar Roach 's someone who could play a fair bit of Test cricket for them in the future." It was the opinion of Tony Cozier that in the absence of experienced fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, Roach was the leader of the bowling attack in Australia.Roach, who was fastest of the West Indies' bowling line-up, troubled the Australian batsmen with his pace through the series, and a rivalry emerged between Roach and Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain. In the first innings of the third and final Test, Roach struck Ponting on the elbow, who was forced to retire hurt. However, he was forced to bowl into the wind, which surprised Australian batsmen Shane Watson as it reduced Roach's pace.

The West Indies hosted the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in April and May. West Indies exited the competition in the first round; Roach played in all three of the team's matches, and was West Indies' equal lead wicket-taker with Darren Sammy (5 wickets at an average of 15.40). After the tournament South Africa remained in the West Indies for their tour of the region in June 2010. South Africa won the three-match Test series 2–0; Roach played in two matches, taking 6 wickets at an average of 31. In the third Test, Roach was involved in an incident with Jacques Kallis; he "repeatedly walked up to and exchanged words with the batsman after testing him with a series of bouncers". As a result, Roach was fined 50% of his match fee.

Roach was part of the West Indies squad which toured Sri Lanka in November and December 2010. Senior bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards were absent, leaving Roach as the head of the attack. In the lead up, he attempted to develop his use of swing to cope with Sri Lankan pitches traditionally unhelpful to fast bowlers. Roach remarked "I still have a little bit of work to do on my lengths, but I'm satisfied with what I got out of the camp". Roach's performance in the Tests, finishing as the West Indies lead wicket-taker with 10 wickets at an average of 24.50 for which he was named Man of the Series, was highlighted by the team's captain Darren Sammy as one of the best performances of the drawn series.

In the West Indies' second game of the World Cup against the Netherlands on 28 February, Kemar Roach became the sixth bowler to have claimed a hat-trick in the ICC World Cup. Roach claimed the wickets of six Dutch batsmen including the hat-trick, which dismissed Seelaar, Loots, and Westdijk. West Indies won this match by 215 runs.

Indian Premier League

Roach was one of the most sought-after players at the 2010 IPL auctions along with Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond.  Kemar Roach was involved in a tug-of-war as both Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers were fiercely bidding on him. Finally the latter managed to get him for a fee of 720,000 USD as the Super Kings had another slot to fill and could not go beyond 700,000 USD.  Kemar Roach played just two matches for the Chargers in the 2010 season, against Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders