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Kemar Roach

Roach, Holder combine to help Pride make short work of Jaguars

The Pride were devastating with the ball, restricting the Jaguars to under 100 in both innings, the hosts scoring 55 and 94. While the Pride didn’t cover themselves with glory when they bat either, their 174 and 210 were more than enough.

When the Pride bat first, they had no answer to Keemo Paul, whose 3-61 led the way. They didn’t have many responses to Romario Shepherd (2-15), or Raymon Reifer (2-19).

But if the Pride had no answer to the trio, the Jaguars didn’t even understand the questions Roach, who bagged 5-20 and Holder, who had 4-24, were asking.

The two helped reduce the Jaguars to 54 before going back to bat where they fared a little better in the runs column but still could not deal with the pace and guile of Paul, who had 4-52. Kevin Sinclair, 2-28, and Christopher Barnwell, 2-26, were also markedly difficult for the Pride to negotiate, who benefitted from Kraigg Brathwaite’s 84 and Jonathan Carter’s 43.

In the first innings, Brathwaite had scored an important 48.

With a lead of 329, Roach and Co set to work again.

Roach ended with 4-40, while Chemar Holder got in on the act with 2-29.

Jason Holder had an easy afternoon, bowling just four overs, with 1-10.

Carter was also in the thick of things, taking 3-13.

Roach’s grabs second innings 6-46 as Surrey defeat Warwickshire by nine wickets

Roach took figures of 6-46 off 14 overs to restrict Warwickshire to 209 all out in 59 overs in their second innings, leaving Surrey needing only 89 to win.

Dom Sibley with 46* and Rory Burns with 30 then led the way as Surrey reached 89-1 in the 23rd over.

Earlier in the game, Warwickshire made 343 in 102.5 overs in their first innings thanks to an excellent 108 from Ed Barnard.

Roach also took 2-81 in the first innings in support of Jordan Clark and Sean Abbott who took 4-64 and 2-51, respectively.

Surrey then replied with 464 in 111.4 overs thanks to 155 off 179 balls from Jamie Smith as well as half centuries from Dom Sibley and Sean Abbott.

Full scores:

Warwickshire 343 off 102.5 overs (Ed Barnard 108, Jordan Clark 4-64, Sean Abbot 2-51, Kemar Roach 2-81) & 209 off 59 overs (Rob Yates 52, Ed Barnard 44, Kemar Roach 6-46)

Surrey 434 off 111.4 overs (Jamie Smith 155, Dom Sibley 64, Sean Abbott 50*, Craig Miles 5-43) & 89-1 off 22.4 overs (Dom Sibley 46*, Rory Burns 30)

Seamers find rhythm, Da Silva shows with bat as WI on top against Cricket Australia's XI heading into final day of warm-up match

Having struggled with the bat first-up, West Indies seamers produced a dynamic bowling spell of six for 22 to restrict their opponents to a mere 174 at Karen Rolton Oval.

However, their shortcomings in the batting department were again full display in Thursday's afternoon session, as top-order batsmen Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kirk McKenzie, much like they did in the first innings, again fell cheaply.

It took an unbeaten knock of 55 from wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua da Silva, who was promoted to opening duties, and Kavem Hodge's composed unbeaten 44 to steady the ship. Both showed some attacking flair, which saw the Caribbean side to 137 for 3 at stumps, a lead of 214 runs heading into the final day of the three-day contest.

SCORES: West Indies 251-8 dec and 137 for 3 (da Silva 55*, Hodge 44*, Haskett 2-39) lead Cricket Australia XI 174 (Ward 50, Hope 24, Roach 2-23, Shamar Joseph 2-28) by 214 runs

Things initially looked bleak for West Indies as Cricket Australia's XI cruised to 94-1, before the trio of seamers sliced through their batting card. Tim Ward, who struck seven boundaries in an even 50 at the top of the order, and Bradley Hope with 24, offered most resistance to West Indies' attack.

Shamar Joseph, who is one of seven uncapped players in the 15-man squad, gave Head coach Andre Coley a hint of his readiness for a Test debut in the upcoming two-match series against Australia. He was on-song with crafty swing bowling and vicious short balls, as he snared two wickets for 28 runs. One of his wickets came on a gorgeous in-swinger that smashed the top of Teague Wyllie's off stump.

Meanwhile, Roach improved in his second spell of the day to finish with two wickets for 23 runs from his nine overs, while fellow paceman Alzarri Joseph took two wickets for 40 runs.

Chanderpaul, who made 17 in his side's first innings, pushed a loose Liam Haskett delivery he didn't need to play, straight to gully to fall for his second-innings duck. McKenzie's dismissal was just as avoidable, softly chipping Haskett straight to midwicket.

Alick Athanaze improved on his first innings duck with 15, but failed to push on, as he holed out to Wyllie from Liam Scott's bowling.

Shamar Joseph steals the show but Australia on top on opening day of Adelaide Test

Sent into bat, the Caribbean men struggled to put up a decent total, managing only 188 runs. The top order collapsed, with the team reeling at 133-9, courtesy of the relentless pace duo of Australia's captain Pat Cummins, who took 4-41 and Josh Hazlewood’s 4-44. The lone resistance came from Kirk McKenzie, playing in only his second Test, who scored a gritty half-century amid the crumbling wickets.

It was then that Shamar Joseph, the West Indies' No.11, strode to the crease with determination. The Guyanese player showcased unexpected resilience, smashing 36 runs and contributing significantly to a 10th-wicket partnership of 55 runs alongside fellow bowler Kemar Roach, who remained unbeaten on 17. This unexpected lower-order resistance helped the West Indies reach a somewhat more respectable total.

Buoyed by his batting heroics the debutant carried his positive momentum into the bowling attack. In a stunning turn of events, he dismissed the dangerous Steve Smith, who had been promoted to open the innings following David Warner's retirement. Smith, who had been in sublime touch, fell to Joseph's clever bowling for just 12.

Joseph's dream debut continued as he followed up with the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, who made 10, further denting Australia's innings. He finished the day with figures of 2-18 from his six overs as the hosts ended the day at 59-2, with Usman Khawaja (30) and Cameron Green (6) at the crease.

Notably, Joseph's dream debut wasn't just about his all-around performance. He etched his name in history by becoming the 23rd player in Test history, and the second from the West Indies, to take a wicket with his very first ball in Test cricket. And it wasn't just any wicket.

"Getting Steve Smith, I'll remember this for the rest of my life," Joseph exclaimed after the day's play. "I'll actually take a picture and post it up in my house." He had already predicted to his teammates that he would get a wicket with his first ball, and when it happened, he credited his positive mindset for the success.

"I didn't know it was Steve Smith," Joseph admitted. "That went well for me. You're coming up against the best team in Test cricket. So I just came with a positive mindset and did what I do best."

The West Indies could have been in an even stronger position had Joshua da Silva, who managed only six runs in the West Indies innings, held onto a catch after Alzarri Joseph found Khawaja’s edge when the Australian opener was on three, during the second over of the hosts’ innings.

Significantly improved' Joseph could rattle England warns Roach

Roach and Joseph are expected to form part of a four-pronged bowling attack that also includes the returning Shannon Gabriel and West Indies captain Jason Holder.  The quartet did well on home soil last year when the team secured a 2-1 win over England and the Wisden trophy.

On that occasion, it was Roach that played a starring role with the ball, but Joseph provided plenty of support with a 10-wicket haul for the series and gave the England batsman plenty to think about.  Ahead of the upcoming series, Roach believes his young teammate is even better this time around.

“Once he sticks to his game plan and has confidence in himself, I don’t see why he can’t do very well in this series,” Roach told members of the media.

“He’s a fantastic talent and we all know what he is capable of,” he added.

“At a young age, he is enthusiastic, very good, and always willing to learn.  He has improved significantly in my eyes and I think he has a great future for the West Indies.”

The 23-year-old Joseph made his debut for the West Indies as a 19-year-old against India in 2016.  He has since then, however, been plagued by injury issues but heads into the England Test in good shape.

“I’m looking forward to playing with him and in years to come, i’ll probably be at home and watching him lead the West Indies bowling attack.  So, I think he has a great future and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can produce.”

South Africa v West Indies preview: Proteas turn to spin duo eyeing series win

The Proteas started a new era with Temba Bavuma as captain and Shukri Conrad head coach with an 87-run victory over the Windies at SuperSport Park.

Bavuma has since been dropped from the Twenty20 International team and replaced as skipper by Aiden Markram.

South Africa start the second and final Test in Johannesburg on Wednesday knowing third place in the World Test Championship is there for the taking.

Maharaj and Harmer come into the side along with batter Ryan Rickelton and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.

Anrich Nortje was ruled out with a groin injury, while Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy and Keegan Petersen also drop out of the team.

The tourists are unchanged despite crumbling to 159 all out in the first Test, Kagiso Rabada doing much of the damage with brilliant figures of 6-50.

Both sides turn their attention to trying to qualify for this year's 50-over World Cup after this match, with South Africa not playing again in the longest format until taking on India in December.

West Indies have won only one of their 16 Tests in South Africa, that coming back in December 2007 and have lost 13 of those matches.

South Africa will be striving to secure a 20th Test win at the Wanderers, a tally they have already reached at Newlands and SuperSport Park. 

The Proteas have won both Tests against the Windies at this venue, the last of those triumphs coming in 2003.


Opportunity knocks for Rickelton

Rickelton returns for his fourth Test and Conrad says the 26-year-old left-hander has earned the chance to show he belongs in the middle order.

He said: "Rickelton deserves his crack at it.

"I still feel Keegan has a big role to play in the middle order rather than at the top of the order. I think his best position might be number five going forward in terms of the way he plays.

"But again this Test batting unit is still a work in progress."

Reliable Roach

Kemar Roach has produced the goods time and again for West Indies and he put them in the hunt to win the first Test by taking 5-47 in the second innings, with the Proteas skittled out for only 116.

The paceman has a strike rate of 42.3 against South Africa in Tests, his best against any team in the format.

Stellar bowling display leaves Windies on top against Bangladesh after day one of 1st Test

The hosts won the toss and decided to bowl first, a decision which proved to be correct as the tourists were, at one point, struggling mightily at 45-6 after 15 overs of play with three top-order batsmen being removed without scoring. 

They eventually recorded six ducks in total as a fighting 51 from captain Shakib Al Hasan and 29 from opener Tamim Iqbal helped the Bangladeshis stumble to 103 all out after just 32.5 overs.

Jayden Seales (3-33 from 10 overs), Alzarri Joseph (3-33 from 8.5 overs), Kemar Roach (2-21 from eight overs) and Kyle Mayers (2-10 from five overs) were the wicket-takers for the hosts.

In their reply, the Windies ended the day 95-2 off 48 overs, trailing Bangladesh by just eight runs. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite (42) and Nkrumah Bonner (12) are the batsmen at the crease while John Campbell (24) and Raymon Reifer (11) are the batsmen dismissed so far.

Pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Ebadot Hossain took the wickets.

We are sorry!" Captain Kraigg Brathwaite says the batsmen let the team down in 2-0 whitewash

Those were the words of Captain Kraigg Brathwaite after the West Indies humiliating 158-run defeat to South Africa inside four days at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia on Monday.

The West Indies, resuming from their overnight score of 15 without loss in pursuit of 324, were bundled out for 165 thanks mainly to the bowling of left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took 5-36, including a hat-trick that saw the home side slide from 104-3 to 104-6.

Kagiso Rabada was also among the wickets, taking 3-44 as the West Indies batting one man short, fell for 165.

Kieran Powell, who scored 51, Kyle Mayers 34 and Kemar Roach and Jermaine Blackwood, who scored 27 and 25, respectively got into double figures.

Brathwaite, who made scores of 0 and 6, laid the blame squarely at the feet of the batsmen, himself included, for the poor performance of the team who did not score more than 170 runs in any of their four innings. The batting was especially embarrassing coming off much better performances against Bangladesh in Bangladesh and the home series against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

In the first Test, the West Indies had scores of 97 and 162 and followed those weak scores with 149 and 165 in the second Test capitulation. Confronted with that reality in the post-match media conference, the disappointed captain could not hide from the truth.

“As batsmen, we know we went wrong. We didn’t bat well,” said Brathwaite, who revealed that they had planned to bat better and having consistent partnerships during the series against the South African bowling attack but said they have to come back better for the next series.

“We are very sorry. Obviously, the fans look forward to the West Indies doing well and we were disappointing,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s not about winning but you still want to see the fight and we didn’t show the fans that fight. Myself included, we have to come back better and make the fans proud.”

We have a good crop of fast bowlers' - Roach believes talent of young pacers a promising sign for Windies

The 33-year-old Barbadian-born speedster continued to enhance his own legend this week when he moved up to join Michael Holding on the all-time Windies wicket-takers list.  With 249 Test wickets, Roach has established himself as the premier fast bowler of this Windies generation.

At 33, however, the player is heading towards the back end of his career, with the likes of Shannon Gabriel in the same position.  For pace bowling wickets though, it seems the Windies will continue to have plenty of options for years to come with the likes of Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, and all-rounder Kyle Mayers all showing plenty of promise in recent times.

“You have Jayden and Alzarri 24, 25, and Kyle Mayers who is showing great skill with the ball and there are other guys on the outside trying to get in as well,” Roach told members of the media on Wednesday.

“It’s good that we have a crop of fast bowlers coming through that can get the job done and they are learning every day at practice, how to improve their skills, their body and technique and whatever, that’s all you ask from these guys.  It’s good that we have a pretty big quartet of fast bowlers now.”

West Indies name unchanged squad for second Test against Bangladesh in St Lucia

The match will be played at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia from June 24-28. West Indies have a 1-0 lead in the Padma Bridge – Dream Fulfilled – Friendship Test Series, presented by Walton. They won the first match by seven wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday.

Kemar Roach was named the Player-of-the-Match in the opening contest. He had match figures of 7-74 – including the match-winning 5-53 in the second innings. This took him to 249 wickets in his career, joint sixth alongside the legendary Michael Holding, on the West Indies' all-time list of wickets-takers. He is also the leading West Indies bowler at eighth position in the latest ICC Test Match bowling rankings.

“It was a very good victory in Antigua. The team played really well and must be feeling really confident heading into Saint Lucia for the second match. We have a group of players who are very disciplined and are giving 100 per cent,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes.

“Great credit to our bowlers who worked really hard in the first Test match. We can’t take Bangladesh lightly, they also bowled really well and were quite disciplined. I know we will try our utmost to win the second match.”

Haynes lavished praise on Roach, who is now just one wicket shy of 250 Test wickets in his remarkable career.

“Kemar is a legend. He has done really well for West Indies. He made a great start to his career, then had some injuries, then he worked his way back and is our leading bowler,” Haynes said.
“He’s among the best in the world. I am very pleased with his performances, not just on the field, but the way he had been guiding the younger players and the way he has been interacting with the other members of the team.”

Test squad for the second Test against Bangladesh in St Lucia: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillips, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Devon Thomas.

West Indies off to steady start, after Kohli's century guides India to 438 on day two

Brathwaite ended the day unbeaten on 37, with the Caribbean side at 86-1 in their first innings, still 352 runs behind the visitors, after losing Chanderpaul for 33 shortly before close in this, the 100th Test between the two teams. India lead the two-test series 1-0.

India resumed from their overnight score of 288-4 and though West Indies bowled with some amount of purpose, they couldn’t stop the opponents from posting a daunting 438 all out, just prior to the tea interval.

Kohli scored 121, his first hundred away from home in five years, while Ravendra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, both added half-centuries to what is massive total, give the feeble nature of West Indies batting.

Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican snared two of the last four wickets to end with 3-89 from 39 overs. He had support from veteran pacer Kemar Roach, who had 3-104 from 22 overs, and Jason Holder, who had 2-57 from 21 overs, as West Indies took the last four Indian wickets for a mere 43 runs.

West Indies started their reply in a solid manner, as Chanderpaul and Brathwaite withstood early pressure from India’s seamers, and later capitalised on the hard, easy-paced surface.

The openers hardly played a stroke wrong and had the bowling at their mercy until Jadeja, bowling his left-arm spin, had Chanderpaul caught at backward point, from an ill-advised lofted drive.

It brought Jamaican debutant Kirk McKenzie to the middle and the young left-handed batsman displayed confidence throughout his half-hour knock which included a lofted drive over long-off for six off Ashwin’s off-spin. He will resume on 14 alongside his captain on Saturday’s third day in which they will be targeting at least 239 to avoid being asked to follow-on.

Earlier, Kohli raised a well-deserved century, partnering with Jadeja in a 159-run fifth wicket stand that pushed India past the 350-run mark.

Kohli’s 76th milestone knock came from 180 balls and included 11 boundaries.

Jadeja reached his 50 from 105 balls, before West Indies grabbed a breakthrough when Kohli was run out by Alzarri Joseph.

Further success came for the hosts five overs later when Roach got Jadeja caught behind for 61 after reviewing a negative verdict from South African umpire Marais Erasmus.

West Indies maintained steady bowling in tough conditions after the visitors continued from their lunchtime total of 373 for six, and it paid dividends, though Ashwin defied them to carve out 56.

Holder had Ishan Kishan caught behind for 25, and after being frustrated by Jaydev Unadkat and Ashwin, they eventually made inroads when Warrican had the former stumped.

The spinner then accounted for Mohammed Siraj for a duck, before Roach brought the innings to a close when he had the last laugh in against Ashwin, who smashed three boundaries off in the same over in is 75-ball 50.

West Indies seal 2-0 series win over Bangladesh with comprehensive 10-wicket victory in second Test

Bangladesh started day four 132-6, trailing the Windies by 42 runs with Nurul Hasan on 16 and Mehidy Hasan yet to score.

After the entire morning session was delayed by rain and a wet outfield, proceedings got underway after lunch with the Windies quickly cleaning up the Bangladesh tail with the wickets of Mehidy Hasan (4), Ebadot Hossain (0), Shoriful Islam (0) and Khaled Ahmed (0).

Nurul Hasan was the only batsman to offer any resistance for Bangladesh with an aggressive 60 not out off 50 balls as the tourists were dismissed for 186 with Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales doing the damage with three wickets each.

Needing just 13 runs to win, West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell made short work of the total to secure the win and a 2-0 series triumph.

Final Scores: Bangladesh 234 and 186, West Indies 408 and 13-0.

WI coach Simmons believes having more experienced players should make difference for Test series

World-class spinner Shakib Al Hasan and a full-strength Bangladesh made short work of the regional team in a lopsided 3-0 sweep of the ODI series last week.  The Windies went into the series without several of its regular first-team players who pulled out of the tour for various reasons.

The ODI team, which was captained by Jason Mohammed, was the hardest hit, however, with at least eight players making their international team debut.  With more proven campaigners like bowlers Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel, and batsmen Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood, the Test team should be in better shape, in terms of experience in any case.

“It’s a big difference, we may have one, maybe two debutants for this Test series, whereas we had 10 for the ODI series.  So, it’s a huge difference,” Simmons said.

“The good thing is that those guys have been down here before.  On the last tour down here, Kraigg (Brathwaite) was captain, and Shannon and Roach were here.  So, it’s good to have that kind of experience going into a Test series,” he added.

The West will play Bangladesh in a two-Test series, which begins on February 2nd.  The second Test will take place between February 10th to 15th.

Williamson nears ton as West Indies bowlers struggle on opening day of Hamilton Test

Williamson was unbeaten on 97 at the close with the hosts on 243-2 on a grassy pitch at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Opener Tom Latham was dismissed for 86 but Ross Taylor is 31 not out.

West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and chose to bowl first on a well-grassed pitch after morning rain washed out the entire first session.

When play finally got going after lunch, West Indies struck in the fourth over when Shannon Gabriel trapped Will Young lbw for four. Young had escaped being caught behind the ball before when wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich inexplicably pulled out of a catch after Gabriel’s rising delivery took the edge of the opener’s bat.

Notwithstanding the early success, the West Indies bowlers were not nearly as effective as they could have been. They struggled with line and in some instances, length which allowed Williamson and Latham to proceed relatively untroubled.

A vast number of deliveries were simply allowed to go by to the wicketkeeper.

Aided in part by the wayward bowling, Williamson and Latham posted a second-wicket stand of 154 before the latter was bowled by Kemar Roach.

Any hopes of further breakthroughs were quickly dashed however as Taylor and his captain put on an unbroken stand of 75 by the end of the day’s play.

Windies bowlers produce late fight back after Bavuma, de Zorzi half-centuries put South Africa on top

De Zorzi, the Proteas’ opening batter, was dismissed for 78 before lunch, while Bavuma was dismissed late in the day for 80, allowing West Indies to gradually claw their way back into the contest. Wiaan Mulder, not out on 37, and Kagiso Rabada, on 12, will resume batting for South Africa on Friday’s third day.

Jomel Warrican has been the pick of the Caribbean bowlers so far, with Kemar Roach (2-53) and Jayden Seales (2-57) also picking up key wickets.

Scores: South Africa 342 for 8 (Bavuma 86, de Zorzi 78, Warrican 3-66) vs West Indies

Resuming at 45-1 on a slow pitch that requires patience instead of flair, South Africa were initially kept quiet by West Indies' senior seamers Kemar Roach and Jason Holder, who started on good lengths but were punished as soon as they strayed.

While de Zorzi, who resumed on 32, got to his 50 off 78 balls, Tristan Stubbs (20) didn’t have the same luck as he edged a delivery from Roach to Holder in the slip cordon, adding only 18 to his overnight score of two.

Bavuma, in his first Test innings since March 2023, and de Zorzi kept West Indies at bay with a 51-run third wicket stand, which was eventually broken when the latter gloved to Kavem Hodge off Warrican shortly before the lunch interval.

After the break, Bavuma again dropped anchor and allowed his partner, David Bedingham, to take the fight to West Indies in a partnership worth 50 runs. Bedingham (29) later holed out to debutant Keacy Carty off Seales.

Ryan Rickelton (19) came and went shortly after watching Bavuma raise his 21st Test fifty. However, the captain was later trapped in front, and as the day draws to a close, Warrican struck twice, removing Kyle Vereynne (39) and Keshav Maharaj (zero) to keep West Indies in contention.

Windies coach Simmons expects fired-up Roach for final Test

Roach ended the second Test with overall figures of 4 for 95 but that did not tell the full story.  Prior to that, the pace bowler, despite crafting excellent, economic spells, had failed to claim a wicket for the entire first Test. In fact, Roach’s dismissal of Ben Stokes ended a wicket drought going back to August 31, 2019, and lasting 521 deliveries, or 86.5 overs.

It was a strange for the fast bowler, who starred for the West Indies team the last time the team’s met in the Caribbean, where he claimed 13 wickets, with one five and two four-wicket hauls.  Now that he has got the monkey off his back, however, Simmons expects more wickets to come, which would be good news for the Windies.

“It’s great to see him getting wickets, it’s been a while since I have seen him bowl so well and not get wickets,” Simmons told members of the media on Sunday.

“I’m glad he is back in the wickets that will just fuel his fire for the next Test match.”

The West Indies will play England in the decisive Test, at Old Trafford, beginning on Friday.

Windies fast bowler Kemar Roach to play seven games for Surrey in English County Championships

He is expected to leave for the United Kingdom after the second Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka in late March.

The 32-year-old Barbadian is being brought in by Surrey following the departure of Morne Morkel and Sam Curran and Tom Curran set to miss the start of the season because of duties in the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to ESPNCricinfo.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Surrey for the early part of the summer," Roach said. "Two grounds I wanted to play at as a kid were the two Ovals: Kensington and The Oval, home of Surrey.

"When Alec Stewart showed an interest in me I had no hesitation in saying yes to him. The club has a strong squad with a nice balance of youth and experience. I would like to thank CWI for allowing me the opportunity to go back and play county cricket again after a number of years."

At Surrey, he will join South Africa’s Hashim Amla as the club’s second overseas player for the early part of the season.

Roach, who has 384 first-class wickets, last played in the county championships in 2011 when he suited up for Worcestershire.

Windies rising fast bowler Joseph makes huge leap in the ICC Men’s Test rankings

Joseph, whose breathtaking performances in the recently-concluded two Test series against Australia earned him the Player of the series award, was instrumental in the regional side's historic second Test win against the World Champions. He took five wickets for 94 runs in the first encounter, which Australia won by 10 wickets and seven wickets for 68 runs in West Indies' famous eight-run win.

The 24-year-old Joseph and his pace partners all secured ranking upgrades, as Kemar Roach moved two places up to 17th and Alzarri Joseph inched four places up to 33rd. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson remains the Number one batsman ahead of England’s Joe Root and Australian Steve Smith, while the bowling list is headed by Indian Ravi Ashwin followed by South African Kagiso Rabada and Australia's captain Pat Cummins.

All-rounders Jason Holder, ranked at seventh, and 10th-ranked Kyle Mayers, the highest rated West Indies players on the all-rounders’ list, did not play against Australia in the recent series. India’s Ravi Jadeja heads that list.

Windies skipper Brathwaite confident pace bowlers can play key role in spin-friendly Sri Lanka

The last time the regional team faced Sri Lanka away, in 2015, it was the part-time spin of Brathwaite that stole of as the batsman claimed six wickets in an innings.  The frontline pace bowlers Kemar Roach (2), Jason Holder (3), Shannon Gabriel (1) failed to have a huge impact on the series, with the exception of Jerome Taylor who claimed 6 over two games.

Although the captain admits the surface is likely to favour spinners, Brathwaite is confident the Windies quicks will have a big role to play.

We haven’t been there as yet to see the surface but there’s always a role for the fast bowlers.  Shannon Gabriel really led the way in Bangladesh in the first Test, bowling with some good pace, then Kemar Roach getting an early wicket in the morning was very crucial.  Obviously, Jason wasn’t there but is always crucial.  So, I do believe that possibly there being spin-friendly pitches, I think the pace bowlers will do well.

“I can see them getting wickets.  It’s really about building pressure but seamers are very important and obviously, Shannon will bring some aggression and I look forward to seeing the guys operating.”