The forgotten man: Obed McCoy
Fri, Jul 26, '19
It has been obvious, for some time now, that the in-between format of the game has well and truly gone past a “napping” West Indies. As the Caribbean side looks ahead to this supposed new era in their 50-over history and we run to the beat of catching-up; we can remind ourselves that the puzzle we possess, though unsolved, is laid before us just shyof its allotted pieces. A piece in our possession, however, is a player who seems to be the forgotten man (certainly the most underrated, from the looks of it) in the long line of potential stars the Caribbean side currently has in its ranks—left-arm seamer, Obed McCoy.
In 2016, the West Indies completed the treble, copping all three ICC trophies they contested in that year; the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Women’s World Twenty20 and the World Twenty20 (Men’s). McCoy was among the Shimron Hetmyer-led Under-19 2016 Champions. Unfortunately, an injury sustained to his bowling hand meant the Vincentian had to be replaced by Chemar Holder ahead of the quarter-finals against Pakistan in the Bangladesh-hosted tournament.
McCoy went on to find a home at the St. Lucia Stars in the 2017 edition of the Caribbean Premier League, making his debut versus the Trinbago Knight Riders. And after leading West Indies B in wickets (taking 11) in the 2018 Global T20 Canada, he put in a strong showing that CPL season, making seven appearances for the Stars while taking 9 wickets and finishing the tournament with an economy rate of 7.80.
The leftie was not made to wait much longer for his international debut; he donned maroon at the highest level for the first time against India in India in October of that same year. This was at a time when the West Indies were exploring their fast-bowling options with an eye on the (then, on the horizon) ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. McCoy had Kohli dropped in his first spell, but his skill handed him an Indian legend soon enough, getting the better of MS Dhoni followed by Jadeja on debut.
The 22-year-old possesses pace—deceptively so. Not the ‘eh-he’s-faster-than-you-think’ kind of a pace, rather a ‘where-did-that-come-from?’ kind of a pace. Though, undoubtedly like Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, McCoy’s guile will define him. McCoy, as a fast-bowler, is not being asked to ‘add’ anything to his game, as he is a part of the breed of seamers that now dominate limited overs cricket: fast and skillful. Variations and death-bowling are no longer stereotypical of medium-pace bowlers; some of the fastest in the game are perfecting the art—Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Jofra Archer, Mitchell Starc, Mustafizur Rahman, etc.
The West Indies has indeed stumbled upon a beautiful thing; a left-arm, fast, economical, skillfully-deceptive bowler in contemporary One-Day cricket. Now, whether they choose to stop and inspect what halted their movement or carry on their merry way, is something else entirely. If the West Indies choses the former, McCoy could be tested in that elusive middle-over wicket-taking role, as was the case on his debut versus India.
It has been obvious, for some time now, that the in-between format of the game as well and truly gone past a “napping” West Indies. As the Caribbean side looks ahead to this supposed new era in their 50-over history and we run to the beat of catching-up; we can remind ourselves that the puzzle we possess, though unsolved, is laid before us just shyof its allotted pieces. Pieces in our possession, however, are; an explosive opener, No. 3 batsman ranked among the best in the world, fast bowlers, finishers and death-bowlers. Yet, pieces such as a wicket-taking spinner and a consistent middle-order eludes us. However, if that is all that is missing, we may not be as far behind as it may seem—in theory.
Unfortunately for Caribbean fans, this is not the 100-metre dash, but a relay of the quarter-mile variety; where the first runner—the territories—has produced, but the second and third—the selection of squad and teams—continue to fumble at the baton exchange, as we fail to assemble the correct mix of players to anchor in execution.
