Cricket News: West Indies fast bowling in the 1970s and ’80s definitely came to the fore whenever cricket was discussed.
Andy Roberts
Cricket News: The West Indies fast bowling theme of the 1970s and 1980s definitely comes to the fore whenever cricket is discussed. Because then fast bowling is on a good jolt. The bowlers used it not only to get the batsmen out but also as a weapon to intimidate them. Sometimes the stumps broke. And sometimes the batsmen’s heads shattered. Fast bowling, especially in those days, was remembered by West Indies bowlers. Prominent among them was Andy Roberts. Today is his birthday. Let’s find out about this great fast bowler in the Weekend Special.
Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts means Andy Roberts. He is the fastest bowler in West Indies cricket. He was born on January 29, 1951, in a village in Antigua. Andy Roberts was born into a fishing family. He is one of 14 siblings. He was the first cricketer to join the West Indies cricket team from Antigua. His entry paved the way for the Antigone players in the Windies squad. However it took a long time for Andy Roberts himself to reach the West Indies Test team. The reason for this is that he started cricket late.
Coaching for 6 weeks only
Roberts did not play cricket until he was 16 years old. But once it started he slowly grew into it. At the age of 18 he earned a place on the Leeward Islands team. He took no coaching. Instead he got his first coaching opportunity in England. That too for only 6 weeks. Prior to joining the Windies, Roberts played for his teammate Viv Richards in 1971 in Hampshire, England. From there he made his first-class cricket debut for Hampshire County.
Pace quartet foundation
Roberts made his Windies debut in 1974. Roberts did not win much in the first Test against England in Bridgetown. He was able to take only 3 wickets. His bowling, however, impressed everyone. Andy Roberts became the foundation when Windies captain Clive Lloyd decided to prepare the pace quartet. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall, with speed, line and length and became the fastest bowler in a short day. He, along with Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Kraft, created the fastest bowling attack of the 1970s.
Gavaskar, Imran traded ..
According to Sunil Gavaskar, India’s greatest batsman, Roberts is the most problematic bowler of his career. Gavaskar said Roberts’ pace and accuracy never diminished, whether in the opening overs or in the final overs. At the same time the great Pakistani captain Imran Khan also said that it would be difficult to play the fast balls thrown by Roberts.
Hunting with two types of bouncers
The biggest feature of Roberts bowling is his bouncer. He always used two types of bouncers. One, a slow bouncer, the other a fast lethal bouncer. The special thing is that he is not so easy to spot the difference between the two bouncers. He often confuses the batsman with a slow bouncer and bothers with a fast bouncer in the same over. Either the batsman’s wicket fell or the batsman himself fell to the ground.
Only 9 years of career
Despite being the best bowler of his era, Andy Roberts’ career did not last long. He retired in 1983. In his 9-year career, Roberts played 47 Tests and 56 ODIs. He took 202 wickets in Tests at an average of 25.61. At the same time he took 87 wickets in ODIs. He was a member of the Windies team that won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. However, despite his inclusion in the team in 1983, the West Indies lost.