Enter the tadpole

Watching Dave Mohammed go one-up against the Indians in the fifth ODI at Trinidad must have been especially pleasing for the locals and old-timers who lived through the era of Lance Gibbs and Sonny Ramadhin, better known as the halcyon days of West Indian spin bowling. But then 20 years ago, Clive Lloyd decided that he had had enough - ironically against India - and brought in the transition from spin to raw pace. In the years that followed, the rebirth of spin was reduced to a mere apparition.

Spinners have only had brief moments in the sun since, with the likes of Roger Harper, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Neil McGarrell and Omari Banks, to name a few. But rising through the ranks all the while was a young left-armer from south Trinidad, nicknamed Tadpole by his team-mates, pegging away on the slow pitches in the domestic competitions.

A bagful of wickets in the 2005-06 Carib Beer Cup was enough to convince Brian Lara to throw the ball to Mohammed - not at the eleventh hour - but in the eleventh over of India's chase. The gamble started paying off when Mohammed kept beating the bat with almost fidgety regularity, disguising his googlies intelligently. Reputations against spin took a beating when Yuvraj Singh was squared up by another Mohammed special. His prowess as a fielder too has been well documented over the years, justified by his crucial one-handed fling at the stumps to send Rahul Dravid packing.

The youngest of ten siblings, Mohammed endured a lot of hardship in his early years, hailing from a humble background. Cricket was his saviour, and his first crack at first-class cricket in 2001 was a sensational one. He sent the commentators into raptures with four wickets in his first 16 balls, rattling a bemused West Indies B lineup. A crucial 42 batting at No.4 and another four-wicket haul was enough to shut the opposition out of the match, and he deservedly bagged the Player-of-the-Match Award.

Two games later, he got a feel of the West Indies dressing room atmosphere, fast-tracked into the squad for the third Test against the touring South Africans though he missed out on the final eleven. Two years later against the same opposition, an injury to Jerome Taylor paved the way for his Test debut at Cape Town. Lara sought out Mohammed midway through the tour to exploit South Africa's weaknesses against spin, but his success at the domestic level didn't translate into international success instantly.

Back in the wilderness with Trinidad and Tobago, Mohammed announced his second coming with a roaring season in the 2005-06 Carib Beer Cup, and was instrumental in helping a resurgent T&T clinch the title. His selection for the one-dayers against Zimbabwe was expected and he used his strengths to good effect on debut, taking three wickets. However, the local media was still circumspect about his chances of succeeding against superior teams like India, but that spell at Trinidad was no fluke.

With West Indies in search of a world-class spinner, a pre-requisite for every side, they can take the example of Daniel Vettori and nurture Mohammed as their next hope.

February 2001
First-class debut - Trinidad and Tobago v West Indies B in the Busta Cup

March 2001
Plays for West Indies Board President's XI vs South Africans

August 2001
Tours Kenya with West Indies. Plays in both warm-up matches

October 2001
List A debut - vs Rest of Leeward Islands in the Red Stripe Bowl

January 2004
Test debut - vs South Africa at Cape Town. Takes 3 for 112

July 2004
Tours England with West Indies. Selected for the Old Trafford Test

January - March 2005
Takes 25 wickets from eight matches in the Carib Beer Cup

June - July 2005
Tours Sri Lanka with West Indies A side. Emerges highest wicket-taker in the five limited-overs games with 11 wickets.

May 2006
ODI debut - vs Zimbabwe at St Lucia. Takes 3 for 37. At Trinidad against India, he dismisses Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid as West Indies romp home to a 4-1 series win.

Vital Stat
Mohammed finished as the highest wicket-taker in the 2005-06 Carib Beer Cup with 45 wickets from seven games. This included four five-wicket hauls and a ten-wicket haul. His best effort was the 7 for 48 which sealed T&T a berth in the finals.

What he says
"Since I came in to the Trinidad and Tobago side, I have been playing tough. I just take it on myself to play normal and be confident all the time. The run-up was long and I knew I had to change a few things to make it to a higher grade."

What you may not know
Mohammed is the first player from Princes Town in south Trinidad to play for West Indies. Another former resident, Robin Singh, could have done so but he decided to represent another country - India.