In a land where fast bowling talent has been dwindling alarmingly over the last decade, Kemar Roach is perhaps the brightest hope. At well under six feet, he doesn't have the height of some of the earlier West Indian greats, but he has extreme pace, consistently touching the late 140s (kph), and can skid on to batsmen quicker than they realise.

Roach burst into international cricket with 13 wickets in his first two Tests, against Bangladesh, but made his name on the tour of Australia in 2009-10. Consistently bowling at around 150kph, he hurried most of the Australian batsmen and made the headlines in the Perth Test, forcing Ricky Ponting to retire hurt after hitting him on the elbow with a pacy 146kph delivery. In the 2010 IPL auction, he was bought by Deccan Chargers for a healthy sum of $720,000, but it's in the longer format that he holds the greatest promise, a fact that was confirmed by his ten-wicket haul in two Tests in Sri Lanka in 2010-11. He picked up his maiden ten-wicket haul in Tests in 2012 against Australia in Trinidad.

By the end of 2014, Roach seemed set to fulfill his promise, with a bowling average in the mid-20s and a strike rate below 50 after 29 Tests. An ankle injury suffered during the Centurion Test in December 2014, however, slowed him down - in both senses of the term. Significantly down on pace after his recovery and return, he took just nine wickets in eight Tests that included a tour of England, and home and away series against Australia. He was left out ahead of the 2016 home Tests against India. Having to prove himself all over again in domestic cricket, Roach took 23 wickets at 16.17 in the 2016-17 Professional Cricket League, and was back in West Indies' Test squad for their 2017 tour of England.

Since 2021, he has been spending parts of the English summers in south London, leading the line for Surrey when he can. In 2022, his 25 wickets from just seven matches - four of those wins - helped the county win their 21st County Championship title.
ESPNcricinfo Staff