Genesis: the rise of Keemo Paul
Mon, Nov 19, '18
As the West Indies prepare for a full tour of Bangladesh there are three players, at most, who are likely to be involved in all three formats; one of which is Guyanese right arm seamer—Keemo Paul. Paul made his international debut in March earlier this year, when he was called up to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier squad to replace the injured Sheldon Cottrell in Zimbabwe. In the span of nine months, as regularly happens in sports, things have progressed at lightning speed for the twenty-year-old.
The incident in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh back in 2016—in a must-win group game, when Paul mankaded Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava—would be the earliest memory most have of the young Guyanese. It was an action which sparked a worldwide ‘spirit of the game’ debate. So much so that England’s limited overs captain, Eoin Morgan, accused Paul of “disgraceful behaviour” saying the West Indies should be “embarrassed”. As fate would have it though, Paul was to make his international debut in front of a Zimbabwean crowd with a long memory, but the best thing about Keemo Paul? He has no chill. Every single one of his run-ups were jeered in Harare, but the Guyanese was still to claim a wicket with his first legal delivery of international cricket.
Jason Holder’s men, of course, went on to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, despite losing the Qualifier final to Afghanistan. Paul made himself a regular in the team, playing the four games for which he was in Zimbabwe, claiming five wickets with an economy of 3.72. His rise on the international stage was to continue, as he was named in the T20I squad to Pakistan the following month where his services were again warranted throughout the series.
To complete the treble, he was set to replace his Under-19 captain during Sri Lanka’s Test tour of the Caribbean, just eleven weeks later. He made his Test debut, however, at Sabina Park in the second of two Tests versus Bangladesh. Paul finished with match figures of 3/59, but his first wicket in Test match cricket was truly a thing of beauty:
That fateful Friday afternoon, with Paul’s ability to swing the ball both ways—at 140kph, indecision bade Tamim Iqbal to play inside the line, only to see the angled ball straighten, zip past the outside edge and taking off-stump. Two deliveries later, Keemo was on a hat-trick; he pitched the ball on middle with the intention of swinging it and boy did it swing, leaving Mehidy Hasan Miraz confounded but a survivor nonetheless.
So highly rated he is in the dressing room that he has been given death over responsibilities by captains Holder, Brathwaite and Shoaib Malik (CPL18).
In the last three overs during the 2nd ODI versus Bangladesh this summer, Bangladesh needed 27 runs to claim the series. Still, at the end of the 18th over, 14 runs were required from 12 deliveries and Paul was handed the ball. He claimed a wicket and gave up just six runs leaving the captain to bring it home in the ultimate over.
And again, the sheer audacity of Keemo Paul in the final T20I versus India; with eight runs required from 12 delivers, to bowl six yorkers and get them right to claim a wicket and leave the next bowler six runs to work with… Let’s not sleep on Keemo as we did Jason. He may not be tearaway pace, but he is able to move the ball both ways and as we have yet to see the best of him with the bat at the senior level. There is still more to come. He is indeed talented and without a doubt confident, but the best thing about Keemo Paul? He has no chill.
