Who is Yannic Cariah?
Cariah is a 30-year-old legspin-bowling allrounder who has bolted into West Indies' squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, for which they first need to qualify by playing against Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland in the opening round in Hobart.
Cariah made his international debut only last month, in the first ODI against New Zealand at Bridgetown, in place of left-arm fingerspinner Gudakesh Motie, who was nursing a finger fracture at the time. He is yet to feature in a T20I and his last T20 was way back in 2016, when he was with Trinbago Knight Riders, though he has been a more consistent presence on the regional front since.
The 2022 T20 World Cup will be Cariah's second global tournament. He was West Indies U-19's second-highest wicket-taker, with eight strikes in six games at an economy rate of 4.21 in the 2010 Youth World Cup in New Zealand. Two members from that squad - Jason Holder and Kraigg Brathwaite - pressed onto become West Indies captains. Cariah, though, is a late bloomer, having only broken into international cricket in August 2022.
Tell me about his recent form
In his first international outing, Cariah showed fairly good control with the ball, picking up 1 for 49 in nine overs, playing a part in West Indies' only ODI victory of their recent home summer.
Then in his first outing with the bat, in the second ODI against New Zealand, Cariah led a late rally, hitting a half-century and forging a record 85-run ninth-wicket stand with Alzarri Joseph off just 64 balls. It is West Indies' highest partnership for the ninth wicket in ODI cricket. Coming in at 27 for 6 in a truncated chase of 212 from 41 overs, Cariah was particularly fluent at driving New Zealand's spinners inside-out over extra-cover, displaying the fighting qualities which have earned him success at the regional level in Trinidad.
Cariah had also captained WICB XI against a touring Bangladesh side in Coolidge in June. Earlier in May, Cariah had claimed a hat-trick for Queen's Park Cricket Club, helping them win the TTCB (Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board) T20 crown.
Anything else?
He also led the West Indies Emerging team to their maiden Super 50 title in December 2019. In the final against Leeward Islands, Cariah made 34 and followed it up with figures of 5-1-8-3, including the wickets of Amir Jangoo, Keacy Carty and Jahmar Hamilton. Cariah established his leadership qualities with that victory and with an eye towards grooming future leaders, West Indies chief selector Desmond Haynes appointed him as captain of the WICB XI against the Bangladeshis.
Okay, but how did he get the nod ahead of Hayden Walsh Jr?
Walsh Jr was integrated into the West Indies set-up in 2019 after he had emerged as the top wicket-taker in the CPL that year. His star continued to rise, even outside the Caribbean, when he was brought in by Rajasthan Royals to be a net bowler, but he appeared to hit his ceiling quickly. In the most recent home season, he struggled for control and often let the opposition batters hit with the wind. And with Sunil Narine not really happening, the selectors wanted something different and that is Cariah. Having not played a T20 in more than four years, and having never played T20Is, he is a bit of a novelty in West Indies' attack.
Oh, so he doesn't have a CPL contract this year?
You're right. He isn't contracted to a CPL franchise presently, but that hasn't stopped the selectors from taking a punt on him. They will hope, that despite the big step up, he can draw on the experience that has brought him here, including bowling in tandem with Akeal Hosein, West Indies' frontline T20I spinner, at Queen's Park Cricket Club in Trinidad.
What they said…
"I think the intensity… The speed of the game and opponents change, but the game remains the same. You still have to watch the ball and play the ball. Still have to bowl good lengths, still have to understand the conditions and opponents. I think it's just the intensity - the bowlers might hit their mark more often than not, but you still have to play the same. It's still the same process. I think it's just the intensity."
Yannic Cariah on the major differences between regional and international cricket after scoring a fifty against New Zealand.
"It's a bit unfortunate that Yannic is not playing in the CPL, but we have no control over who will select whom for the CPL competition. We were very impressed with the games that we've selected him, starting with the A team. He bowled very well and then we gave him a chance to play against New Zealand in the 50-over competition. We were very impressed by him. One thing a lot of people might not be aware of is, yes even though he's bowling well, we've got a lot of respect for his batting. We think he's a guy who can make runs for us as well."
Desmond Haynes, West Indies lead selector, likes what he has seen of Cariah