Adrian Boris Barath (born 14 April 1990) is a former
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er. A right-hand opening batsman for
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, Barath made his
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
debut in November 2009, becoming the youngest West Indian to score a century.
He played his first
One Day International (ODI) in March the following year. He is also the second youngest West Indian to have scored a century in
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...
, after
Bruce Pairaudeau
Bruce Hamilton Pairaudeau (14 April 1931 – 9 October 2022) was a West Indian cricketer who played in 13 Test matches between 1953 and 1957. Born in British Guiana, he moved to New Zealand in the late 1950s.
Early life
Pairaudeau was born i ...
. Barath played his final test match for West Indies in 2012.
Career
A protégé of
Brian Lara,
Barath became the youngest West Indian player to make his first-class debut since
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan (born 23 June 1980) is a cricketer of Indo-Guyanese origin who played as a batsman. He is a former member and former captain of the West Indies cricket team, in all formats. Sarwan went on to average over 40 in both the ...
when he first appeared for Trinidad and Tobago at 16. In his debut match, Barath scored 73 against Guyana and put on a 170 runs partnership with captain
Daren Ganga
Daren Ganga (born 14 January 1979) is a former Trinidadian cricketer. He was a right-handed top order batsman and part-time right-arm offbreak bowler. After debuting as a 19-year-old he has found himself in and out of the West Indian cricket t ...
. This gave them the record for Trinidad and Tobago highest opening partnership in first-class cricket. Barath scored his maiden century in his second match. He became the youngest player in the Caribbean to score a century in first-class cricket since Bruce Pairaudeau in 1947, and he followed that up with a second century in the next game.
Barath was part of the West Indies U-19 team for the 2008 World Cup played for the West Indies A team against the touring England side in January 2009, making 132. During the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 2009, Barath made his T20 debut for Trinidad and Tobago against Diamond Eagles where he made 63 runs off 41 deliveries.
He made his Test debut for the West Indies against Australia at
the Gabba
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...
on 26 November 2009. He fell early in the first innings with a score of 15 but led the West Indies in the second innings scoring 104 runs when following on. He became the first West Indian to score a century on debut since
Dwayne Smith
Dwayne Romel Smith (born 12 April 1983) is a former Barbadian international cricketer who has represented the West Indies in all three formats of the game. An all-rounder, he is known as an aggressive and powerful right-handed batsman, bowls m ...
. At the age of 19, he is also the youngest ever West Indian player to score a Test century, having taken over from
George Headley
George Alphonso Headley OD, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before World War II. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for the West Indies and one of the greatest cri ...
.
Though initially included in the West Indies' 15-man squad for the
2011 World Cup, Barath suffered an injury to his right hamstring and was unable to play in the tournament. As a consequence he was replaced by
Devon Smith
Devon Sheldon Smith (born 21 October 1981 in Hermitage, Grenada) is a cricketer who features as a opening or top order left-handed batsman. Smith has played for the West Indies and the Windward Islands in regional tournaments. Smith also ho ...
. Initially, he was expected to take three weeks to recover, however two months later he was still unable to play. Barath returned to the West Indies side for the last of
five ODIs against India in June. A three-Test series followed and Barath replaced
Kraigg Brathwaite
Kraigg Clairmonte Brathwaite (born 1 December 1992) is a Barbadian cricketer who captains the West Indies in Test cricket. He bats right-handed and occasionally bowls right arm off break. On 6 November 2011, he became only the second West India ...
as opener. Though he had played in the Trinidad & Tobago Twenty20 Festival, Barath struggled during the Test series, looking out of practice and edging to the slips. He scored 150 runs from six innings.
The West Indies
toured Bangladesh in October 2011 and during the opening ODI Barath incurred an injury to his hamstring and did not play again during the tour and was replaced by the in-form
Lendl Simmons
Lendl Mark Platter Simmons (born 25 January 1985) is a Trinidadian cricketer who played internationally for the West Indies. He is a right-handed batsman, an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, and a part-time wicket-keeper. His uncle is fo ...
. Barath recovered in time to be selected for the squad to tour India the following month, taking over from Simmons who was omitted. He scored 17 runs from two ODIs, but was more successful in the Test series, managing 128 runs including two half-centuries from two matches including two half-centuries. Injury forced batsman
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine "Shiv" Chanderpaul (born 16 August 1974) is a Guyanese people, Guyanese cricket coach and former captain of the West Indies cricket team. Considered one of the greatest batsmen of his era, Chanderpaul is the first Indo-Caribbean to pla ...
to miss the third and final Test, and it had been anticipated that without his influence the inexperienced West Indian batting line up might struggle. In the event, Barath opened the batting with Braithwaite and the pair put on a 137-run opening stand in the first innings, the West Indies' highest partnership for the first wicket since 2006.
Australia
toured the West Indies for five ODIs and three Tests beginning in March 2012. A finger injury forced Barath to miss the first three ODIs, but having proved his fitness by scoring 114 for Trinidad and Tobago against Guyana in the Regional Four Day Competition was called up for the final two matches, replacing fellow opener
Kieran Powell
Kieran Omar Akeem Powell (born 6 March 1990) is a Nevisian sportsman who has played international cricket for the West Indies. He is a left-handed opening batsman.
Having represented the West Indies under-19s at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, ...
who had scored twenty runs from three matches. Playing in all three Tests, Barath managed 65 runs. Barath was not alone in struggling against Australia's bowlers, and captain
Darren Sammy
Daren Julius Garvey Sammy (born 20 December 1983) is a Saint Lucian cricketer who played international cricket for the West Indies. He is a two time T20 World Cup winning captain. On making his One-Day International (ODI) debut against Bangla ...
remarked "Stats don't lie. Our top order did not click against Australia, but the selectors have shown faith in two of them
drian Barath and Kieran Powell They are quite young, they are still learning on the job. Yes, they will fail sometimes. But there is one thing we won't do and that is give in."
Barath fell out of the West Indies test team after the
series against England in the 2012 English summer. In 2014, Barath took a break from cricket to prioritise his
Jehovah's Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
faith. Despite several attempts in the following years from cricket stakeholders to lure him to return, Barath never returned to cricket. Barath was aged 24 at the time of what turned out to be his final first class game, a very early end to a once promising international career.
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barath, Adrian
1990 births
Living people
West Indies Test cricketers
Cricketers who made a century on Test debut
West Indies One Day International cricketers
West Indies Twenty20 International cricketers
Trinidad and Tobago cricketers
Punjab Kings cricketers
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Trinbago Knight Riders cricketers