PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — Kemar Roach paid tribute to deceased West Indies fast bowling legend Malcolm Marshall, following another penetrative spell for West Indies in the second Digicel Test against Australia on Wednesday.
Kemar Roach celebrates a wicket with teammates. Photo: windiescricket.com
Roach, small in stature, but big in heart, grabbed three wickets for 27 runs in a 10-over burst to leave the Australians wobbling on 73 for three in their second innings – an overall lead of 127 – on the penultimate day which was curtailed by rain.
The Queen’s Park Oval pitch has not favored fast bowling, but Roach has so far captured eight wickets in the match and is “in the hunt for more”.
“Today would have been Malcolm Marshall’s 54th birthday so it’s a special day in West Indies cricket history,” he said.
“I looked up to him as a bowler. As a young boy growing up in Barbados, I modelled myself on Malcolm Marshall. He was a hero for many young fast bowlers in Barbados and he set a standard.”
Roach added: “I’ve watched a lot of clips of him and he was just such a great, great, great bowler, he was the best bowler in the World at the time when he was playing.
“It’s a good feeling to know that I got some wickets on his birthday and it makes me feel warm as a West Indian to know I can go out there and perform for the West Indies like he did.”
Marshall was born on April 18, 1958, and died on November 4, 1999, in his native Barbados. A master of pace and swing, he took a then West Indies record 376 wickets in 81 Test matches at the impressive average of 20.94 apiece.
On a dry surface, Roach showed similar control and skill that was the hallmark of Marshall’s bowling.
In his first over from the Brian Lara Pavilion End, he found the edge of David Warner’s bat for Darren Bravo to hold a low chance at slip and produced the ball of the match to pluck Shane Watson’s off-stump out of the ground and send it cart-wheeling.
He then got rid of left-hander Ed Cowan, as he could not negotiate a fast, full-length delivery and was plumb lbw.
Roach said that Watson’s dismissal was particularly pleasing.
“It was a good sight,” he said. “I really enjoyed that one obviously. To get him, on that pitch, is a good achievement.
“The lower the bounce in the pitch, you obviously want to challenge the stumps a bit more, keep your pace up, be as accurate as possible and challenge the batsmen’s technique. That’s what got me wickets.”
Roach is line to become the first West Indies bowler to take 10 wickets in a match against Australia since Curtly Ambrose performed the feat back in 1993.
“It would be great to get 10 wickets in this match and help the team to a winning position,” he said. “I am in the hunt for it and when we come back [on Thursday], I will adopt the same approach – bowling straight and attacking the stumps and look for more wickets.”
He said: “Looking ahead, we’ll devise a plan and come out looking to be competitive. We look to win every game, that’s our mentality. We’re going to come out and do whatever we have to do. We’re going to do it in a positive way.”
Roach also gave credit to West Indies Head Coach Ottis Gibson for the success that he has reaped with the ball so far this year, after spending plenty of time on the sidelines last year.
“Gibson is a really is a good bowling coach, I enjoy working with him,” he said. “I’ve been working hard with him and I want to thank him for the success I’ve been getting so far and I’m going to keep working with him in the rest of my career hopefully.”