Matthew Forde

Providing control as a medium-pacer was what stood out about Matthew Forde from his early days. Such was his body of work with the ball that he rose through T20 cricket in the CPL and LPL to earn ODI and T20I debuts in December 2023 at the age of 21.

He shone as West Indies Under-19s' highest wicket-taker during the one-day tri-series at home against England and Sri Lanka in December 2019, with an excellent economy rate of 3.69. Forde then played the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa in early 2020. In his first game there, he took 3 for 24, and combined with Jayden Seales to bowl Australia out cheaply. Forde was next in action in the CPL in 2022, for St Lucia Kings and two months later, he flew to Sri Lanka for the LPL, where, for Dambulla Aura, he kept things tight again, his nine overs going at an economy rate of only 5.55.

In October 2022, Forde made his List A debut for Combined Campuses and Colleges in the Super50 Cup. His performances in both limited-overs formats earned him his T20I and ODI caps, against England at home in December 2023. Forde quickly found himself in demand in T20 leagues too, as he went from the BPL in Bangladesh in January 2024 to playing three ODIs in Australia in February and then immediately flying to Pakistan in March for a stint in the PSL for Islamabad United.

Forde even toured Nepal with West Indies A for five T20s in April-May 2024, to emerge as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series. Playing against South Africa in a T20I at home next month, he bagged 3 for 27 while opening the bowling to take West Indies to victory.