Kyle Mayers……Remember the name. In what turned out to be one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Test cricket, a debutante named Mayers hit a double ton to guide West Indies to a win which seemed impossible at a certain point of time. West Indies all-rounder Kyle Mayers made an overnight name for himself after scoring an unbeaten 210 in his debut Test match against Bangladesh in Chattogram. His scintillating knock helped the visitors chase down a 395-run target, the fifth most successive in the history of Test cricket. Mayers became only the second player to score a double hundred in a successful chase, was part of the West Indies squad for the Under-19 World Cup in 2012. He played alongside the likes of current Test team captain Kraigg Brathwaite in the series. The left-hander had also made it to West Indies’ Under-15 team in a 2009 tournament involving teams like Pakistan and Malaysia.
The 28-year-old played for various teams around Caribbean island of Barbados before making his first-class debut in November 2015 for Windward Islands. Three years ago Mayers was caught up in Hurricane Maria when he had gone to Dominica with the Windward Islands franchise team for a training camp. The roof of the apartment where he was living had come off in that hurricane. Mayers spent the next morning searching for food and water, and later was helped by local police and team officials. Carlos Brathwaite (Another West Indian who became an overnight star) was in all praises for Mayers. “I am very happy for Kyle Mayers. Firstly he had some rough years, he was then caught in a hurricane in Dominica. There was a bit of panic in Barbados, no one could contact him as phone lines were down, signals gone, everyone was fearing the worst. He eventually left that contract, came back to Barbados, scored a lot of runs, had a fantastic first class season,” Carlos Brathwaite had told ESPNcricinfo. The Barbados-born cricketer caught the attention of the selectors after scoring 222 runs at an average of almost 112 from his 9 matches in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020. He played for Barbados Tridents in the tournament.
In what is largely being hailed as one of the greatest Test debuts in the history of cricket, Mayers hit seven sixes and 20 fours in his 210-run innings. He scored at a strike rate of 67.74.
“I am always a positive person. I always believe in my abilities and the team, and I always was positive. We never gave up. We always said in the dressing room that we need to keep fighting,” Mayers said after the match. “The captain and coach told the bowlers as well that you need to keep fighting on a pitch like this. Shannon [Gabriel] put in great effort. It’s a great feeling to be playing Test cricket. Then to go on and score a century, and then to make it a double, and then going on to win this Test. I would like to be thankful to my teammates, my coaches and family back home. A guy making his debut and making a double should inspire all youngsters to work hard and reach this level,” he added.
Mayers who is an all-rounder, averaged only 28.93 in first-class cricket. The 28-year-old has played 3 ODIs and 2 T20Is for West Indies. Now that the whole word has their eyes on him, it’ll be interesting to see what more he has to offer. Team Cricketkeeda wishes him best of luck for all his future endeavors