LONDON, CMC – A destructive spell from Barbados Pride and West Indies pacer Kemar Roach including his 500th first-class wicket, blew Warwickshire away and set up defending champions Surrey for a nine-wicket win in the English County Championship yesterday.
The 34-year-old grabbed five for 34 from 13 overs and ended with match figures of eight for 67 as Warwicks were bowled out for 141 in their second innings on the third day of their Division 1 match at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Blessed with ideal conditions to favour seam and swing, Roach reached his milestone when he got Warwicks captain Will Rhodes lbw for five in his fourth over for his third wicket before lunch that sent the hosts crashing to 22 for four at lunch.
There was no way back from there for Warwicks with Australian pacer Dan Worrall taking three for 55 from 15 overs to end the contest with seven for 93 – and with Roach account for all but five of the wickets Surrey took in the match.
Commenting on Roach’s achievement, former West Indies fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose hailed the durability of the Barbadian paceman and urged him to keep on going.
“I’m a huge Kemar Roach fan, and I enjoy seeing him bowl,” Sir Curtly said. “I want to congratulate him on his milestone of 500 first-class wicket. That’s a huge achievement for a fast bowler.
“He’s one of the stand-out fast bowlers in world cricket and has always been a top-class performer. He should be proud of the accomplishment, and I urge him to stay fit and look to get more wickets under his belt.”
Ed Barnard propped up the Warwicks batting with a resolute 49 – his best score for the club – and Chris Rushworth, batting at 10, made 22.
Needing 11 to win, Surrey knocked off the runs in two overs for their second win in three matches to move to the top of the standings with 52 points.
After Surrey resumed on 211 for eight, their script went perfectly to plan, and they attacked judiciously to gain a 131-run lead, in reply to the Warwicks first innings total of 150.
The Surrey tail wagged to add 70 in 10 overs and lift the total to 281 all out thanks to a top score of 88 from Jamie Smith and a merry 35 off 24 balls from Worrall.
