Who is Kevin Wickham? 23-year-old from West Indies stands tall on Test debut under pressure during BAN vs WI in Sylhet
Kevin Wickham impressed on his Test debut against Bangladesh on Thursday as the 23-year-old bailed West Indies out on the first day of the second game with a gritty unbeaten half-century at the Sylhet International Cricket Ground.
Replacing middle-order batter John Campbell in the playing XI, Wickham came into bat as early as in the sixth over of the day after West Indies lost Brandon King and Kavem Hodge cheaply. Joshua Da Silva added more misery to the Caribbean side, trapped by Taskin Ahmed.
Wickham grabbed the opportunity with both hand, and along with Amir Jangoo, stitched a century-plus partnership for the unbeaten fourth wicket to revive the West Indies innings. He reached his first milestone in international cricket with a single off Nayeem Hasan in the 44th over.
At the time of writing, West Indies are well-placed at 160/4 in 50.1 overs. He was finally dismissed in the 51st over, clean bowled by Hasan Mahmud. Wickham batted for 145 balls, hitting five fours during his stay.
Kevin Wickham – All you need to know
Born in 2003, Wickham came into limelight when he was named as a replacement player in the 2022 U-19 World Cup. The same year, Wickham made his List A debut for West Indies Academy against Leeward Islands in the 2022–23 Super50 Cup. The next year, Wickham played for Barbados Pride in the 2022–23 West Indies Championship.
His first-class debut for Barbados came in 2023 against Jamaica and scored his maiden century in first-class cricket, against Team Weekes, later in that year. His breakthrough came at the 2023 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), when he was picked by Barbados Royals in the players’ draft. His CPL debut came against Saint Lucia Kings.
Another 2023 highlight for Wickham was with West Indies Academy’s squad, against Emerging Ireland, during the third innings of the second first-class match. In that game, Wickham led CWI Academy to a 432-run win over over Emerging Ireland with an unbeaten 105.
Bangladesh vs West Indies 2nd Test toss report
West Indies captain Roston Chase won the toss and opted to bat first in the second and final Test. West Indies won the first test by eight wickets in Dhaka. The Caribbean side made two changes, with Wickham and Joshua Da Silva replacing John Campbell and Tagnarine Chanderpaul, who both are out with a viral fever.
Bangladesh also made two changes. Veteran Mushfiqur Rahim returned to the squad after missing the first test due to a finger injury, along with pacer Taskin Ahmed. They replaced Mominul Haque who is out with a head injury and pacer Shoriful Islam.
Bangladesh vs West Indies 2nd Test playing XIs
Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud.
West Indies: Joshua Da Silva, Brandon King, Kevin Wickham, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Roston Chase (captain), Justin Greaves, Kemar Roach, Shamar Joseph, Jomel Warrican, Jayden Seales.
