Kemar Roach was born stubborn.
At 5'8" he should have been a batter or maybe a spinner. In Caribbean, fast bowlers are supposed to look like they fell out of a coconut tree & kept growing. Roach just ran in faster than physics suggested he should.
In 2009, when senior players went on strike. West Indies had to pick a 2nd string side against Bangladesh with 9 debutants. Roach took 13 wickets in 2 matches. When big names came back, he was the only one they kept.
Then came WACA, December 2009. He hit Ricky Ponting in ribs,then elbow. almost 150 kmph. Ponting's forearm went into spasm. He could not hold the bat. He walked off the field, embarrassed, for first time in a long career. Roach dismissed him in 2nd innings immediately. He got Ponting out 5 times in 6 Tests.
But speed kills the bowler too. By 2013 his shoulder was gone. Surgery in Jamaica.then car crash. Rain on a Bridgetown road & his BMW flipped multiple times. He walked away with a cut on his head. his shoulder though never came back the same. In Australia 2015 he took no wickets in 3 Tests. Dropped & forgktten. His pace had dropped from 88 miles per hour to 80. At that speed, at that height, you are supposed to disappear.
Instead he rebuilt everything. His action, angle, his mind. He became a seam surgeon. Round the wicket to left handers. A front leg brace. Late swing. Since 2018 he has taken 153 wickets at 24.34 average & 48.9 strike rate. Only Bumrah, Cummins & Rabada have taken more wickets than him with better average & strike rate. Mind You, Roach turned 30 years in 2018 itself.
In 2021 Surrey signed him. He took 97 wickets for them. Surrey won 3 consecutive County Championships.
West Indies dropped him again in 2025. Director of cricket wanted youth. Then injury crisis in New Zealand & they called him back. He batted for 233 balls for 58* in almost 5 hours to save a Test.
Then yesterday at Antigua, he bowled Asitha Fernando & became first West Indian to 300 Test wickets since Curtly Ambrose in 1997. 29 years between them. His teammates mobbed him. A shirt with 300 on the back.
West Indies cricket is supposed to be about pairs & quartets. Walsh-Ambrose & Marshall-Holding. Roach did it alone. 161 Test innings & 2590 overs without anyone truly sharing the load. And still he got there.
.@SamiZayn was a member of the #SmackDown roster when he won his FIRST
- IC Title
- US Title
- Tag Title
- WWE Title
He is the first "blue-blood" Grand Slam Champion in WWE history; the first to get his first reign w/ each eligible title while on the SD roster. @RealNickAldis
โSTRANGER THINGSโ has reached its finale. For me, it was actually a very special drama series. It began in 2016, during my difficult time right after I went independent, a period filled with anxiety and loneliness. It was also when I first started watching streaming services as a new kind of medium. Over the past ten years, Iโve spent time with Eleven, the others, and the people of Hawkins (including the monsters from the Upside Down), receiving courage from them and being pushed forward again and again. As I watched them grow through the story, I was also growing in the โreal world,โ the storyโs own kind of Upside Downโstruggling, tracing connections, and finding my way forward in much the same way. Itโs sad to think that I wonโt be seeing them anymore. But thereโs always a way to return to this โtown.โ This isnโt a story about saying goodbye. As symbolized by D&D (the table-talk RPG) at both the beginning and the end, the โstoryโ already lives within us. By recalling that world and those characters, and โtable-talkingโ it in our minds, we can create new stories at any time. Among the many stories born inside us, they will continue to live on forever. There, theyโll meet again and keep adventuring. As long as we donโt forget, itโs always โhere.โ Thank you, โSTRANGER THINGSโ ๐๐ซถ๐๐
The resume of The Hardy Boyz:
โข WWF/WWE World Tag Team Champions
โข RAW Tag Team Champions
โข SmackDown Tag Team Champions
โข WCW Tag Team Champions
โข TNA World Tag Team Champions
โข ROH World Tag Team Champions
โข NXT Tag Team Champions
No fast bowler in the world has taken more wickets than Mohammed Siraj in overseas Test wins this decade and almost every time, his performance has been central to Indiaโs triumphs:
5 wickets โ MCG 2020
6 wickets โ Gabba 2021
8 wickets โ Lordโs 2021
7 wickets โ Capetown 2024
5 wickets โ Perth 2024
7 wickets โ Birmingham 2025
9 wickets โ Oval 2025
Series deciders, fortress grounds, must-win games; Siraj has done it all. The face & heart of India's fight...