Roach helps himself to hat-trick

Fast bowler takes three-in-three and six overall as the Netherlands crumble against West Indies.

The first ball of Kemar Roachs hat-trick over,the 32nd of the Netherlands innings,could have troubled the best of batsmen,not merely Pieter Seelaar the tailender who happened to be facing it. The full-length ball curved in viciously,past the batsmans forlorn attempt to cover the line,hitting him flush on the pads. Roach was celebrating even before umpire Simon Taufel could raise his finger. The second ball though was a closer affair. Bernard Loots had his bat and pad together,Roachs appeal was longer,his eyes large with effort,his baby face twisted in aggression. Taufel thought awhile,then decided in the favour of the bowler.

He didnt have to think for Roachs next delivery,however. Westdjik had no time to place either the pad or the bat before the 90mph missile that homed into the middle stump giving Roach his hat-trick as well as his sixth wicket of the evening. Roach burst free from the grip of his ecstatic teammates,running with his finger pointing to the pavillion,as if to say I told you so.

Even as armchair critics lamented the death of West Indies pacemen,the 22-year-old Roach went ahead and took what all those legends couldnt a World Cup hat-trick. Sure times have changed. Where once their pacers would hunt in pairs and packs,Roach had a spinner Suleiman Benn for company. And even among the two,the 6-foot-7 Benn looks more like a fast bowler than the 5-foot-8 Roach.

In tandem though both were nothing short of destructive. The duo had made the early breakthroughs against South Africa,but the remaining bowlers were ineffective. Against the Netherlands,Roach-Benn nearly settled everything themselves sharing nine,with captain Darren Sammy getting the only other one.

Roach made the breakthrough,sheer pace forcing the edge of Barresi into Gayles hands and scrambling Bas Zuiderents stumps. Benn got the wickets of Kervezee,the dangerous Ryan ten Doeschate and Tom de Grooth in the space of eleven overs. Roach later went on to say that being the only strike bowler of the West Indies did not put pressure on him,just gave him more chance to express himself.

Roach also dedicated the hat-trick only the sixth in all world cups to injured Dwayne Bravo. I take a lot of inspiration from him, Roach said. To me he is the big brother. His words inspired me this morning. He tried to give me confidence and Im glad to perform in front of him. He said go hard and enjoy,as he always does,and be confident of what you do.

Its too soon to label Roachs performance alongside those of the West Indian greats,but for the space of three balls on Monday night at Ferozeshah Kotla,with the DJ playing Rihannas Rude Boy at the fall of each wicket,one could almost believe the dancehall they were actually playing had a hint of old-fashioned Calypso.