Rahkeem Cornwall - one of a kind?
Enter a Test and T20 star
Rahkeem Cornwall first entered my consciousness in 2014. The scene was a CPL game and he was playing for Antigua Hawksbills.
It would be a lie to say I wasnt taken aback by his size but that shock was immediately replaced by awe when he casually flicked a six off Kevon Cooper from the fifth ball he faced.
Fast forward four years and Cornwall’s selection or lack thereof for the West Indies had become a regular talking point. He was one of the most prolific bowlers in West Indies domestic cricket and had played more than a few notable innings with the bat in first class cricket.
West Indies 4 day championship
2020 - 30 wickets at 21 (5 matches) - 155 runs at 22
2019 - 54 wickets at 17 (top wicket taker) - 419 runs at 28
2018 - 25 wickets at 29 (6 matches) - 223 runs at 22
2017 - 41 wickets at 27 - 388 runs at 28
His stats and not his weight demanded people take notice of his ability even if West Indies international honours continually eluded him.
Cornwall was picked in a President’s XI when England toured the Caribbean in 2017. As ever despite his performance his size preceded him in the eyes of many. Rather than a genuine analysis of his ability, a photo of him batting with the slightly built Jahmar Hamilton made the rounds.
He then played in a tour match against India and despite snaring the prize wicket of Virat Kohli, again, it was “160 kg” that took the headline.
Cornwall broke into the West Indies A team and was hugely impressive against India A, Sri Lanka A and the England Lions. Yet, during the Cameron/Browne regime, he continued to be ignored for selection in the senior team.
Even today ahead of the start of the England test series, with a MOM performance and 10 wickets against Afghanistan behind him Cornwall’s weight remains the talking point.
In that series he picked up wickets from all kinds of deliveries. He had batsmen caught at slip with drifters and also broke through the gate by tossing the ball up conventionally and getting turn.
Cornwall is indeed unique but in a way that is yet to receive much analysis. He could potentially become the first “Test + T20” specialist.
ODI cricket is commonly seen as the bridge between T20 and test cricket but it is probably Cornwall’s weakest format. One could look at his Regional Super 50 numbers and cite excellent numbers, but ODI cricket requires more versatility with the ball and strike rotation with the bat, and that may be too much for Cornwall to crack at an international level.
His role in Test and T20 could, however, be completely different. He currently is and will probably continue to be West Indies leading red ball spinner. In T20 cricket, however, his value is maximized as a powerplay smasher.
Despite his weight and fitness concerns, Cornwall is a prototype of the ideal Test match offspinner. He can hit similar lines and lengths consistently, he gets a lot of extra bounce and can make things happen by mixing up overspin with drift.
His first test wicket, that of Cheteshwar Pujara, is a good example of what makes him different.
He bowls at a relatively quicker pace and extracts bounce few other spinners can, and that’s how he got Pujara, one of the best players of spin in the world, to top edge a cut shot.
In T20 cricket, Cornwall is just as valuable albeit in different ways. His bowling can still be useful to left handers but he is easier to line up for power hitters as most good test spinners are - think Lyon, Jadeja, Yasir, Dilruwan.
Tom Moody covers why it is almost impossible for a spinner to crack both formats simultaneously in this TPSE podcast. However, it is no overstatement that Cornwall can be one of the most destructive powerplay batsman in the world. This is backed up by the views of many T20 analysts who believe he is already very close to an IPL contract.
Cornwall strikes at nearly 170 in the powerplay in T20s, only Ed Pollock matches up with that. Powerplay batting requires less strike rotation and hence, Cornwall’s inability to take quick singles becomes a non issue. He is excellent at clearing the infield regularly and this is evidenced by his excellent power hitting for the St. Lucia Zouks in the CPL for the last two editions.
He is competent against both spin and pace, making it harder to plot his demise. Modern T20 cricket is less about wicket preservation and more about maximizing phases of the game. Even if Cornwall ends up with an average in the low to mid 20s, he would be a massive success.
Cornwall, by specializing in different roles in each format, can become a world beater. Almost no player in the world so far has taken this route, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran to an extent but that is more out of accident than by design.
Cornwall may not play all the test matches on this tour but if and when he does international cricket media would do well to appreciate the special talent he is.
Article edited by Machel Hewitt