Roach praises Malcolm Marshall's legacy

Port of Spain (Trinidad), April 19 (IANS/CMC) Kemar Roach, a member of the emerging generation of West Indies pacers, hailed Malcolm Marshall as one of the finest exponents of the art, after producing an outstanding spell on the fourth day of the second Test here.

Roach bowled with intensity to capture three for 27 from a superb 10-over spell that limited Australia to 73 for three in their second innings and a lead of 127 runs overall here Wednesday.

Afterwards, he praised the legacy of the late Windies fast bowler Marshall on the 54th anniversary of the great West Indian's birth anniversary.

'Today would have been Malcolm Marshall's 54th birthday so it's a special day. I looked up to him as a bowler,' said Roach, earmarked as a future fast bowling star.

'As a young boy growing up in Barbados I modelled myself on Malcolm Marshall. He was a hero for many young bowlers in Barbados and he set a standard. I've watched a lot of clips of him and he was just such a great, great, great bowler, he was the best bowler in the world at the time when he was playing.'

'It's a good feeling to know that I got some wickets on his birthday today and it makes me feel warm as a West Indian to know I can go out here and perform for the West Indies like he did.'

Marshall, who died 13 years ago, snatched 376 wickets at an average of 20.94 in an illustrious 81-Test career for the West Indies.

In Marshall vintage, Roach bowled impressively to take all three Aussie wickets to fall on Wednesday, to help keep Australia in check on a rain-ravaged day.

He removed opener David Warner for 17 to a catch at first slip by Darren Bravo at 26 for one, and three balls later beat Shane Watson's probing defensive stroke to remove his off-stump without a run added.

When Australia rebuilt, Roach again found the breakthough, trapping left-handed opener Ed Cowan lbw for 20 with a full length delivery.

Roach said Watson's dismissal was particularly pleasing.

'It was a good sight. I really enjoyed that one obviously. To get him, on that wicket, is a good achievement,' he noted.

'The lower the wicket is you obviously want to challenge the stumps a bit more, keep your pace up, be as accurate as possible and challenge the batsmen's technique. That's what got my wickets today.'

--(IANS/CMC)

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