-says Kemar Roach
Kemar Roach is aiming to crank up the pace in the third and final Test against Australia, starting on Wednesday (tomorrow night, 10.30 pm east Caribbean time) at the WACA in Perth.
“I really think I can bowl much faster,” the new, 21-year-old West Indies fast bowler, who was consistently clocked at over 150 kilometers an hour in the first two Tests, told the media yesterday. “I think I can get up to 155 kph in Perth, easy.”
But, while hailing Roach as a “real talent”, former Australian Test captain Steve Waugh believes that he cannot win the match on his own.
“If Jerome Taylor or Fidel Edwards were about to support him the West Indies would be a real chance,” Waugh told The Sun-Herald newspaper.
Both Taylor (82 wickets in 29 Tests) and Edwards (122 wickets in 43 Tests) are capable of speeds of 150 kph. But Taylor broke down with a hip injury after nine overs in the first Test and has returned to Jamaica while Edwards was ruled out of the tour with back and knee problems.
“In their absence I don’t think the West Indies can win because they don’t have enough bowlers to take 20 wickets,” Waugh said. “I consider Roach a real talent, and it is fantastic they’ve found him, but I don’t think there is anyone else in the squad who can bowl quick.
“Ravi Rampaul and Darren Sammy aren’t the answer in Perth,” he added.
“I feel a bit sorry for Roach because he’s worthy of the Ambrose-Walsh, Marshall-Holding-type combinations. The Windies always had great bowling combinations but he’s had to do it all himself here.’‘
Roach, along with the rest of the West Indies team, took the day off net practice yesterday after three days intense work following the drawn second Test in Adelaide.
“I want to bowl as consistently and as fast as possible and try to bowl what the batsmen don’t expect,” he said.
“My rhythm to the crease and my fast arm action gives me the pace, I’m pretty strong. “
“I just try to get my rhythm correct and really pull my left arm through,” he explained. “It creates some really fast deliveries.”
Roach said he had heard the Perth pitch is “pretty quick and bouncy”.
“Most of the wickets in the world are flat, so to get one bouncy and pacy like this makes me really happy. There are not many wickets like this in the world. I should enjoy it here.”
Although he has made a big impression on observers in Australia, Roach noted that he had only four wickets in three innings in the series.
“It seems like I’m making them uncomfortable, but my wickets haven’t showed that,” he said. “I’m looking to really cash in this game and end the tour on a high.”
He is especially pleased with his dismissals of Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
“Ponting is one of the best batsmen in the world and I have a lot of respect for him,” he said. “To have his wicket a couple of times is a really big prize.”
Roach made his Test debut in the Caribbean against Bangladesh in July when the leading players were on strike over a contracts dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
