At 6 feet 6 inches and 145 kilograms, Rahkeem Cornwall packs a punch. Nicknamed 'Jimbo', Cornwall has fought his way through to the International side with compelling performances in first-class cricket. On his debut day at Sabina Park, Cornwall came into the attack after the 12th over and bowled 13 successive overs from one end.
After taking a fine catch at first slip to send back KL Rahul, Cornwall had Cheteshwar Pujara edging to backward point. He went on to snaffle another catch at first slip to send back Mayank Agarwal, once again off Jason Holder. The off-spinner also notably troubled Virat Kohli with his high release point and sharp dip.
Fair to say Cornwall has tied the batsmen in knots with a four step run up and orthodox offspin.
— Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) August 30, 2019
At the other end, Holder has figures of 1/2 in 7.#WIvIND #INDvsWI
While Ian Bishop in the commentary box was all praise for Cornwall's abilities and analysed his bowling, Sunil Gavaskar, in a rather condescending comment, wondered how a proper jersey was found for Cornwall's size.
Bish: Says all cricket related stuff related to Cornwall.
— Alagappan V (@IndianMourinho) August 30, 2019
Sunny G: Wonders how WICB found a shirt that size.
One of the major reasons why Indian commentators are generally awful. They have come up listening to Gavaskar.
A medium pacer at the initial stages of his career, Cornwall's transformation into a spinner came after he showcased an ability to turn the ball sharply. Given his huge frame and high release, Cornwall could extract extra bounce from most surfaces. More of a conventional off-break bowler, Cornwall relies on consistent channels and a persistent line of attack to evoke errors.
So far, his methods have been quite successful with him enjoying a fine first-class career. Cornwall has taken 260 wickets at first-class level, averaging 23.90 aside from piling up 2,224 runs from down the order in 55 matches.
Since 2014, Cornwall is one of the most consistent bowlers in the Caribbean domestic tournament. He has 197 wickets in this time frame and the performances have peaked in the last three seasons.
In 2018-19, Cornwall topped the wicket-taking chart with 54 wickets in the season at 17.68. This, though, isn't his first encounter with Pujara or Kohli. Playing for the Board President's XI in 2016 against a visiting Indian side, Cornwall top-scored with 41 in the first innings and went on to pick up a five-wicket haul including the wickets of Pujara (bowled), Kohli (lbw), Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane (all caught out).
Last year, as West Indies ‘A’ beat the England Lions side 3-0 at home, Cornwall starred with 19 wickets at an average of 18.42. In the recent India A series against West Indies A, Cornwall made two half-centuries and picked up four wickets. Idolizing Jacques Kallis, Cornwall has silenced comments like the one Gavaskar made with his on-field performances.
Read: Everything you need to know about Windies’ 140 kg beast Rahkeem Cornwall
Featured image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks
