Barbados and West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has been hailed as “The King”, and his return to the English County circuit has been heralded. It was announced on Friday that the pace ace will be back in the colours of Surrey and will be there for the first four four-day first-class matches of the season in April. He will be at home at the historic Oval in London for two of those matches against Hampshire on April 11-14 and against Somerset on April 25-28.
This, therefore means he will miss the last two matches in the West Indies regional championship for Barbados Pride. These will be against the Windward Island Volcanoes at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia next week (April 2-5) and the final round clash against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Warner Park in St Kitts on April 9-12.
In making the announcement of Roach’s much anticipated return, Surrey trumpeted the bowler’s credentials on its social media with a post “Return of the King. Kemar Roach will be back for the start of our County Championship defence”.
The club also stated: “A popular figure at Surrey, the West Indies international is joining the Three Feathers for a fifth consecutive season and will be available to play against Essex, Hampshire, Sussex, and Somerset as Surrey aim to make a strong start to the title defence.”
Speaking ahead of his arrival in the United Kingdom, Roach said: “I’ve enjoyed every moment of my time with Surrey over the last four years and I’m excited to join up with the team again. The Kia Oval is my second home and the environment led by Alec Stewart, Gareth Batty and Rory Burns is one of the best I’ve been a part of. I’m looking forward to contributing to more success for Surrey in whatever way that I can.”
Alec Stewart, the former England captain who is High Performance Cricket Advisor at Surrey, said: “Kemar has been a big part of our dressing room in the last four years and it is great to have him back. His quality, work ethic, and commitment to the Club speak for itself. I am confident he will once again play an important role at the start of this season, and the group is looking forward to working with him again.”
Roach has been an important figure in Surrey’s hat-trick of county championship titles. He has 93 wickets for Surrey, which includes a personal best of 8-40 in 2021 against Hampshire. In May 2023, he was honoured with a Surrey cap for his contributions to the Club.
Earlier this year he was part of the West Indies which recorded the extraordinary comeback series result in Pakistan. On return home he played for Barbados Pride in three of the four home matches at Kensington Oval. He was offered a player/mentor contract by Cricket West Indies also earlier this year with a mandate of working with the young fast bowlers around the region.
The 36-year-old has claimed 284 Test wickets for the West Indies to the fifth on the all-time list of wicket-takers and he also boasts 566 first-class scalps.
(BT)
