West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach
After a luckless run of 11 months which included the England series opener and partly in the second Test, West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach bounced back in style to take seven wickets in the last three innings as he reached the milestone of 200 Test wickets. Roach reached the milestone on Saturday following the dismissal of Chris Woakes in the first innings of the deciding Test at the Old Trafford Cricket ground in Manchester.
Roach is now the ninth West Indies bowler to join the elite club after Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Lance Gibbs, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Gary Sobers, and Andy Roberts, and the first from his nation since Ambrose had reached the feat in 1994. Roach, who achieved the milestone in his 59th Test, only finds himself faster than Sobers (80) to reach the feat.
Roach, earlier in the third Test, dismissed Dominic Sibley in the first over of the game before setting up the dangerous Ben Stokes with a few short balls and eventually sneaking in that nipbacker through the gates. Roach also dismissed tail-ender Jofra Archer after he nicked one back to Jason Holder at second slip.
Roach's spell on Day 1 reduced West Indies to 122 for 4, but a partnership of 136 runs between Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler revived the hosts as they finished the opening day on 258 for four. But a pumped up Windies side castled down the set batsmen early in the second morning as England added 27 more to the overnight total for the loss of three wickets.
The three-match series is presently tied after Windies won the opener in Southampton while England bounced back in the second Test in Manchester.
