Kemar Roach has encouraged Shamar Joseph to "build his own legacy" after bursting onto the Test scene last week in Adelaide but knows there will be distractions for him along the way.
Joseph struck with his first ball in Test cricket when he removed Steven Smith, then finished with 5 for 94 and also showed his prowess with the bat with scores of 36 and 15.
His rise to Test cricket has been remarkable on the back of just five first-class games, having grown up in the village of Baracara in Guyana, which could only be reached by boat.
He has now shot to global prominence and is being talked about as part of West Indies' future as they look to rebuild their Test cricket, but Joseph already has an ILT20 deal and more such offers are unlikely to be far away.
"The best advice I can give him is to build his own legacy," Roach said.
"Understand what you want from cricket. That's up to him to determine, if it's monetary, or if it's just stats and statistics or whatever. There's going to be a lot of distractions… he's a hot commodity right now so he needs to choose what he really wants and what he thinks is best for his career going forward. So, it's up to him as a young man, but I definitely give him that advice."
Roach, the senior figure in West Indies' attack with 80 caps to his name, is happy to take on a mentor role having had similar players to feed off early in his career.
"I had that when I started. Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards [were] some guys around to help me when I started my career," he said.
"I took knowledge and learning from it. So obviously for me now, it's all about passing on the mantle now to the youngsters. He's got a very good career ahead of him. At this stage, he's willing to learn. We have a lot of conversations. So, I think once he keeps doing that, not just coming from me but anyone who he thinks can help him in his career, he can take a lot of knowledge on board and become a better cricketer."
Roach himself is towards the latter stages of his career but has put no end point on his Test career.
"Day by day," he said with a smile, "let's see how it goes."
He made a big impression on his first tour of Australia in 2009 when he forced Ricky Ponting to retire hurt in Perth but has found the country the toughest place to take wickets with 10 at 77.90 from eight matches.
"As a bowler coming to Australia you are bowling against some of the best batters in the world so there is always a good challenge," he said.
"I love a good challenge. I have lived for that my whole career so for me coming here is just about expressing yourself, enjoying and relishing the moment and giving it a good go. Be confident in yourself and your skills and let's see how the day goes for you."
Roach only briefly dipped his toe into the franchise world of T20 - his last game in the format was in 2018 - although that did include a stint with Brisbane Heat, who will play the BBL final against Sydney Sixers on Wednesday.
The last time Heat won the BBL was in 2012-13, when Roach claimed 3 for 18 against Perth Scorchers at the WACA. "I saw my picture on the wall, so good memories," he said of his return to the Gabba, the home ground of Heat.
Test cricket, where he ranks fifth among West Indies' all-time wicket-takers, has remained his No. 1 priority and Roach firmly believes that is the case among many young players in the Caribbean.
"I love Test cricket," he said.
"Honestly, I love the red-ball format. I've played one-dayers and the T20 format as well but I think my heart was always a part of the red ball. I just wanted to be a part of those mega cricketers back in the days. The Joel Garners, the Malcolm Marshalls, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, I just want to be a part of those names.
"And I think for me, obviously, I didn't grow up much in the franchise era. So I had Test cricket at heart, and it has stuck with me throughout. I just think it is different times now. So for me, it's just about these youngsters, what they want to achieve from it. And they make the right decisions and they go forward [in their] careers.
"The franchises are a big distraction," he added. "But guys still want to relish red-ball cricket. Test cricket is still at the hearts of West Indian cricketers at home. It's just about us to provide support around it. To keep those guys interested in red-ball cricket. Discussions will be had. I'm not part of it. They take Tests very seriously still. They are very proud to be a part of the red-ball team for the West Indies."
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
Pooran's unbeaten 48 in vain as Head, Sharma lead Sunrisers to dazzling 10-wicket win over Super Giants
Sunrisers Hyderabad hammered Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets with more than 10 overs to spare in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head struck an unbeaten 167 from the opening partnership to move SRH third in the points table, with LSG unable to come up with any answers to defend their own haul of 165-4.
Head plundered 89 from 30 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, while Sharma's 75 from 28 had eight fours and six maximums, in an explosive batting display that saw the duo hit 100 inside the powerplay.
Earlier, Lucknow struggled to get going in their innings, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-12) conceding only singles and shutting down LSG's top order, who scored just 66 in the first 11.2 overs.
Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran continued his fine build up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup with an unbeaten 26-ball 48, as he crafted a 99-run fifth-wicket stand with Ayush Badoni, who was also unbeaten on 55.
Pooran struck six fours and a solitary six, while Badoni's 30-ball knock had nine fours, as the two gave Lucknow a chance, but in the end, it was nowhere near enough.
Data Debrief: Sunrisers pounce again in the powerplay
Sunrisers scored 107 runs in the powerplay. In all of T20 cricket, there have only been seven instances of a team scoring 100 runs or more in the powerplay – SRH have the two top scores, with both coming this year.
Pooran and Badoni's 99-run partnership was LSG's highest for the fifth wicket in IPL, surpassing the previous record of 87 between Deepak Hooda and Badoni. However, it proved fruitless.
CPL's Russell urges greater collab between franchise leagues to avoid frequent schedule overlap
Caribbean Premier League (CPL)'s CEO believes scheduling arrangements through collaboration by the various T20 leagues should be routine to avoid the frequent tournament clashes, which forces players to fly from one tournament to another in a short window.
Russell’s suggestion came during an interview with ESPNcricinfo, as he called for regular meetings among franchise leagues owners and administrators to solve cricket's global scheduling crisis. This, as CPL and the Hundred have overlapped in the past, but will avoid a clash this season, following dialogue with England Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this year.
“[The ECB] have a defined window that they have to play in, and it happened that we could move everything out to ensure that we didn't clash [with the Hundred]. It makes absolutely zero sense if you've got [Sunil] Narine and [Andre] Russell having to fly back the day before the final of the Hundred. That's in no one's interests, and certainly not the Hundred's,” Russell declared.
"I hope that [collaboration] continues. It's not rocket science; it's what should happen with all leagues. It's just nonsense that we've got all this overlap when it just needs to be worked through. Scheduling is a challenge, I know, but it can't be that you have two leagues going at each other at the same time. To my mind, it doesn't make any sense,” he added.
While there is a precedent for leagues negotiating to manage potential clashes as shown by the PSL and ILT20, there were a number of leagues that ran simultaneously earlier in the year. Australia's Big Bash and New Zealand's Super Smash finished in mid-January; South Africa's SA20 and the UAE's ILT20 started in January and ran into February; the Bangladesh Premier League started in January and finished in March; and the Pakistan Super League ran from mid-February to mid-March.
With the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled for a return next year February, it is expected to further complicate the schedule where franchise leagues are concerned. It is for that reason why the general consensus among players worldwide is for global scheduling windows for franchise leagues and international cricket, to limit overlapping between the two.
While representatives of national governing bodies meet regularly at ICC level - most of whom control their own leagues - there is no specific forum for the owners and administrators of franchise leagues to discuss scheduling.
"It's the logical way to go - because we're all maturing, and we're all getting to a point where we are sustainable. They are generally regarded now as being part of the domestic calendar, wherever they are played,” Russell said.
“I think it is a case of, 'OK, let's have that group of people and say how do you figure out the schedule to the benefit of everyone. I think it's workable. Others might think it's not, but I just think the conversations at least need to take place, just to make sure [there's no clash],” he opined.
Russell used the recent release of Major League Cricket (MLC)'s 2024 fixture list –two months before the tournament starts – as evidence of a shortage of "joined-up thinking" among administrators. MLC is scheduled to begin on July 5 and, as such, is on a six-day overlapping course with the Hundred.
"They've only just come out with their schedule. Why does it take leagues so long to put a schedule together? We have all year to figure it out,” he noted.
That said, Russell also encouraged administrators to find a solution to the perverse incentives that emerged for players earlier this year.
"It can't be right. I saw the other day that where leagues were overlapping, a player who got knocked out before the semi-finals or finals could actually make more money by going to another league. That shouldn't be a thing,” he stated.
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