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Rise of West Indies cricket's new hero Kyle Mayers
Mayers, born in Barbados, became only the sixth batsman to score a double century on debut and the sixth ever to hit a double century in the fourth innings of a Test.
On Sunday, Kyle Mayers hit 210 to guide West Indies to a phenomenal three-wicket win, chasing 395 against Bangladesh in Chattogram. It was the highest successful Test run chase in Asia, the second-highest for West Indies and the fifth-highest in Test cricket. Mayers, born in Barbados, became only the sixth batsman to score a double century on debut and the sixth ever to hit a double century in the fourth innings of a Test. It was also the second match-winning, fourth innings double-century in Test history after Gordon Greenidge’s unbeaten 214 against England at Lord’s in 1984.
But Mayers, whose father Shirley was also a first-class cricketer, is no prodigy. In fact, the Bajan has been around since 2008, when he made it to the U-15 West Indies squad. Later, in 2012, he was selected to the Kraigg Brathwaite-captained U-19 World Cup squad for West Indies. Only Brathwaite and John Campbell went on to make the senior cut from that squad. And it was supposed to remain that way till 10 players backed out of the Bangladesh tour earlier this year because of COVID-19 related concerns. Mayers, 28, was a natural selection because he had been picked as a reserve in the preceding New Zealand and England Test tours on the back of a great domestic 2019-20 season when he scored 654 runs in 15 innings at 50.30, with two centuries.
A product of the Carlton Cricket Club, home to former West Indies opening batsman Desmond Haynes, Mayers bowls right-arm medium as well. In fact, he was touted as an all-rounder before an injury that forced him to focus on his batting in the 2020 season. Overall, it was a good year for Mayers who finished the ninth highest scorer at the 2020 Caribbean Premier League with 222 runs for the Barbados Tridents. It also went on to fetch him a maiden T20 call-up against New Zealand. Scores of 20 and 5 in New Zealand, followed by 40, 0 and 11 in the ODIs against Bangladesh made Mayers look like any other replacement - decent but not extraordinary.
The Test team was missing seven first-choice players, including captain Jason Holder and that meant West Indies handed debuts to three players - Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner and Shayne Moseley. Bonner, 32, and Mayers put together 216 for the fourth wicket.
West Indies has a dismal record in Bangladesh. Having already lost the ODI series 0-3, they found hope in the letter sent by former captain Clive Lloyd to the team. “He just let us know that representing West Indies is a lot. He said don’t go to Bangladesh thinking you are a second-string team,” said Mayers. “Give your all, put up a fight, and make sure you represent yourself and family. It was a very strong letter.”
Mayers put up a strong show against the spinners, cutting and pulling them when given loose deliveries. Luck played its part too. Bangladesh failed to review a turned down leg-before appeal off Taijul Islam which TV replays later showed to be justified. Then he was dropped at first slip off-spinner Mehidy Miraj. There was also a time Mayers seemed like losing sight of the bigger goal but he recomposed himself hand West Indies a thrilling track with an innings of a lifetime in his very first Test.
