WI's Alick Athanaze shines against South Africa: Decoding his profile
West Indies's rising batting sensation Alick Athanaze made a solid 92 in the fourth innings of the recently drawn opening Test against South Africa at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. The hosts, who needed to chase down 298 on the final day, lost two quick wickets. However, Athanaze made a brilliant 116-ball 92 to help his side manage a draw. Let's decode his profile.
A knock of character from Athanaze
Athanaze, who could manage only three runs in WI's first innings, arrived with the scorecard reading 18/2. He steadied the ship with a brief stand with Keacy Carty (31). Athanaze was then involved in half-century partnerships with Kavem Hodge (29) and Jason Holder (31*) as SA failed to strike regularly. However, Keshav Maharaj stopped Athanaze from getting his maiden Test ton.
Athanaze missed out on this feat
As per ESPNcricinfo, Athanaze missed out on becoming the second WI batter to slam a fourth innings Test ton against SA. He would have joined Dwayne Smith, who scored run-a-ball 105* in the 2004 Cape Town Test. Meanwhile, Brian Lara (91 in St John's, 2004) is the only other WI batter with a 90-plus score in the fourth innings against SA.
2,500 FC runs for Athanaze
Athanaze now owns 405 runs across eight Tests at 27. This was his second Test fifty and also his highest score in WI whites. 207 of his runs have come at home at 41.40. Meanwhile, Athanaze also went past 2,500 First-Class runs during his stay. Playing his 43rd match, Athanaze now owns 2,534 runs at 34.24. He has tallied 17 fifties besides two tons.
Who is Alick Athanaze?
Athanaze burst onto the scenes in the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup, where he finished as the highest run-getter. He garnered 418 runs in six outings with his average and strike rate being 104.50 and 95.87, respectively. The tally includes two tons and as many fifties. The batter had to wait over five years to earn his maiden international cap.
Joint-fastest fifty on ODI debut
In June 2023, Athanaze slammed the joint-fastest half-century on ODI debut, off just 26 balls. The West Indies batting sensation accomplished the milestone against the United Arab Emirates in June. The dasher ended up scoring 65 off 45 balls in that game. Meanwhile, Athanaze equaled Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya's record of the fastest fifty on ODI debut.
His numbers in other formats
Athanaze has played 10 ODIs so far, having scored 288 runs at 28.80 (50s: 2). He made six runs in his solitary T20I appearance. Overall, the 25-year-old has 1,228 List A runs in 48 matches at 27.90. He has hammered 388 runs across 14 T20 matches at 26.18.
