Fidel Edwards

Fidel Edwards had the kind of start many would dream of. His debut game for Barbados was enough to convince the West Indian selectors that he can make it big at the international level. He went a long way in justifying that by picking up a five wicket haul in his very first match, which was against Sri Lanka, in 2003. His ODI debut too was nothing short of spectacular as he claimed 6/22 off 7 overs.

With an action similar to that of Jeff Thompson, Edwards has the ability to generate good pace and often relies on this attribute along with the ability to generate reverse swing to get his wickets. Despite his superb start, Edwards has struggled to put in consistent performances with injury affecting him from time to time. In 2007, after 2 unproductive series against England and South Africa he was dropped from the test squad and also from the 2007 World Cup squad. He was called back soon after, and showed what the Windies were missing with blistering 5 wicket haul against England.

In the 2008-09 tour to New Zealand Edwards burst to life with a stunning spell of 7 for 87, he also went on to cross the 100 wickets mark during the process. His performance saw him settle into the role of bowling spearhead, he had a good outing when West Indies hosted England in 2009, but his best show came with the bat as he along with Daren Powell hung on to help WI escape with a draw. He repeated his heroics with the bat again in the last test helping WI secure a series win.

But his good form was cut short by an injury during the 2009 T20 World Cup. He returned to WI but soon left the remedial program half way through to play for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL. That turned out to be a mad move in the end, as he suffered a stress fracture and was did not return to the national side till the middle of 2011.

Edwards returned to the West Indies side against India in the home test series and bowled with fire and pace. But despite his efforts, his side lost the series 0-1.

Edwards also operated with high energy in the home series against Australia until a back injury relegated him to the sidelines. He was called back as an emergency replacement for the injured Kemar Roach for the tour of Bangladesh. He did reasonably well there taking 7 wickets in the only Test he played. The recurrence of injuries coupled with re-emergence of Ravi Rampaul has pushed him to the back seat. He is very much in Barbados' scheme of things though.

By Vishaal Loganathan

As of April 2014