West Indies cricketer Rahkeem Cornwall accomplished an incredible feat as he slammed a double century in T20 cricket in the Atlanta Open 2022.

Playing for the Atlatnta Fire in the US-based T20 League, Rahkeem Cornwall smashed an unbeaten 205 off just 77 balls against Square Drive. 

Opting to bat first, Atlatnta Fire rode on Rahkeem Cornwall’s blitzkrieg double hundred along with contributions from Steven Taylor (53) and Sami Aslam (53 not out) to post a mammoth score of 326/1 in their allotted 20 overs. Rahkeem Cornwall’s record-breaking innings was laced with 17 fours and 22 sixes. Interestingly, the West Indies Test specialist scored his runs at a staggering strike rate of 266.23.

Later, Atlatnta Fire restricted Square Drive to 154/8 in their 20 overs to secure a massive 172-run victory in the T20 League.

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Rahkeem Cornwall put Atlanta Fire on top with a DOUBLE century going 205*(77) with 2️⃣2️⃣ MASSIVE sixes pic.twitter.com/1iRfyniiUw

�?Minor League Cricket (@MiLCricket) October 6, 2022

Despite achieving an incredible milestone, Cornwall’s scintillating double ton will not be etched into the history books since the US-based Atlanta Open is not a officially recognised T20 tournament.

Having made his Test debut against India at Sabine Park in 2019, Cornwall has represented the Caribbean outfit in nine Test matches. The 29-year-old West Indies all-rounder has scored 238 runs and picked 34 wickets so far.

Singapore batter Sagar Kulkarni was officially the first cricketer to hit a double century in T20 cricket. Representing Marina Club, Sagar Kulkarni hammered 219 off just 56 balls to power his side to a gigantic score 368/3 in 20 overs in a club match.

Among Indians, Delhi all-rounder Subodh Bharti became the first batter to smash a double century in T20 in 2021. During an inter-club T20 match, Subodh Bharti slammed an unbeaten 79-ball 205 for Delhi XI New against opponents Simba.

Bharti’s stunning double ton helped his side post 256/1 in their 20 overs before bowling out the opposition for 199 in the 18th over. 

Meanwhile, Cornwall’s compatriot Chris Gayle still holds the record for the highest individual score in T20 cricket. The swashbuckling southpaw scored an unbeaten 66-ball 175 while representing Team Bangalore against now-defunct Team Pune in the Indian T20 League at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2013. Gayle’s record-breaking T20 innings included 13 fours and 17 maximums.

In international cricket, Australia captain Aaron Finch owns the record for the highest individual score, having smashed 172 off just 76 balls against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2018. Finch’s innings was laced with 16 fours and 10 sixes.

Double century in T20 cricket

Player	Runs	Balls	For	Year
Sagar Kulkarni	219	56	Marina Club	2008
Subodh Bharti	205*	79	Delhi XI New	2021
Rahkeem Cornwall	205*	77	Atlatnta Fire	2022

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Featured photo: Barbados Royals

 

England recalled fast bowler Jofra Archer as West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss, elected to field and his side drew first blood in the deciding third Test at Old Trafford on Friday.

The visitors made a lively start as Kemar Roach had Dom Sibley plumb lbw for a duck after just five deliveries. 

Archer, left out of England's 113-run win in the second Test at the Manchester ground for breaching the bio-secure regulations after making an unauthorised trip home, returned as one of two changes.

James Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, was recalled after being rested following the West Indies' four-wicket win in the first Test at Southampton.

With doubts over the bowling fitness of star all-rounder Ben Stokes, England dropped top-order batsman Zak Crawley to play an extra seamer, with left-arm paceman Sam Curran also left out from the side that levelled this three-match series at 1-1.

'Jofra ready'

"Jofra is ready to play. Over the last couple of days, he's got his smile back, he's bowled with real pace in the nets and he knows he's got the full support of the dressing room and the guys around him," England captain Joe Root told Sky Sports at the toss.

Crawley's omission saw Root move up to number three in the order and Stokes to four.

England's changes meant the veteran new-ball ball duo of Anderson and Stuart Broad were paired together for the first time this series.

Broad was retained after marking his England recall with six wickets in the second Test. 

All-rounder Chris Woakes and off-spinner Dom Bess also kept their places.

Root had previously insisted that Stokes, who scored 176 and 78 not out, as well as taking three wickets, while climbing to the top of the Test all-rounder rankings in the second match of this series, would be fit to bat.

"We balance the side out as well we can," Root added Friday. "I'm not worried about (having one fewer batsman) at all. 

"Woakesy as an all-rounder sort of replaces Ben as a like-for-like in many ways and the way we set up is very similar."

Holder, explaining his decision to field first, said: "We're going to bowl first, with the overhead conditions and we think there is a little bit of moisture in the surface so we're just going to try and make use of it."

West Indies made one change, with giant off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall selected for the first time this series in place of paceman Alzarri Joseph.

"It is just horses for courses," said all-rounder Holder. 

"We felt in the last game, there was enough there for the spinner so we decided to go for the frontline spinner. We think Rahkeem is a match-winner."

Victory for the West Indies, the Wisden Trophy holders, would see them secure a first Test series win in England for 32 years.

This series, played without spectators, marks international cricket's return from the lockdown.

Teams

England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Root (capt), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wkt), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Jason Holder (capt), Shane Dowrich (wkt), Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Michael Steele

West Indies captain Jason Holder has backed Rahkeem Cornwall to make more of an impact than any England spinner as the tourists decide whether to select the giant Antiguan for the deciding third Test.

Cornwall was left on the sidelines for the first two matches of a three-Test series, with the West Indies content to rely on the same pace quartet, backed up by batting all-rounder Roston Chase's off-breaks.

But with the campaign all square at 1-1 heading into Friday's finale at Old Trafford, 6ft 6in off-spinner Cornwall, who weighs around 22 stone, could get his chance, having taken 10 wickets in just his second Test against Afghanistan in November.

• Everything you need to know about Windies�?140 kg beast Rahkeem Cornwall

And Holder is confident Cornwall can out-perform England off-spinner Dom Bess, the lone specialist slow bowler in the hosts' third Test squad. 

"If he (Cornwall) does come in, he is a wicket-taker and he has proven himself to be a match-winner, not only at the regional level but in his last Test match when he got 10 wickets," Holder said Thursday.

'Best on show'

"I think he is a quality off-spinner and no doubt to me he would be the best spinner on show in this series.

"He is always a wicket-taking option for us. But not only that he brings a bit more with slip-catching and batting as well -- and he brings a lot of control with his art."

Concerns have been raised over how the West Indies' quicks, particularly Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph, will pull up following England's 113-run win in the second Test at Old Trafford completed Monday. 

But batting appears to be the tourists' biggest worry as they go in search of a first Test series win in England for 32 years that would see them retain the Wisden Trophy.

It appears their top order will again be given another chance to score the individual hundred that has so far eluded them this trip, although the likes of Joshua da Silva, who compiled nearly 200 runs in two warm-up games, could be promoted from among the reserves.

Shai Hope has long struggled to recapture the form that saw him score two hundreds -- his only Test centuries - when the West Indies defeated England at Headingley three years ago.

Hope has failed to reach 30 in his last 10 Test innings, a sequence stretching back to February 2019, yet he boasts an impressive average of over 50 in one-day internationals.

"I'm 100 percent behind Shai, we all know what he can produce," said Holder of his fellow Bajan. 

"He's done it before at this level in Test cricket, he's arguably one of the best one-day batsmen in the world and we know the calibre of player he can be, so I've got full confidence in Shai to get some runs."

Meanwhile, Holder said the mood in the West Indies camp remained positive despite a heavy defeat last time out. 

"We still have a really good opportunity to win this series and everybody's upbeat for the occasion because we know what's at stake."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Rohit Umrao

At 6 feet 6 inches and 145 kilograms, Rahkeem Cornwall packs a punch. Nicknamed 'Jimbo', Cornwall has fought his way through to the International side with compelling performances in first-class cricket. On his debut day at Sabina Park, Cornwall came into the attack after the 12th over and bowled 13 successive overs from one end.

After taking a fine catch at first slip to send back KL Rahul, Cornwall had Cheteshwar Pujara edging to backward point. He went on to snaffle another catch at first slip to send back Mayank Agarwal, once again off Jason Holder. The off-spinner also notably troubled Virat Kohli with his high release point and sharp dip.

Fair to say Cornwall has tied the batsmen in knots with a four step run up and orthodox offspin.

At the other end, Holder has figures of 1/2 in 7.#WIvIND #INDvsWI

�?Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) August 30, 2019

While Ian Bishop in the commentary box was all praise for Cornwall's abilities and analysed his bowling, Sunil Gavaskar, in a rather condescending comment, wondered how a proper jersey was found for Cornwall's size.

Bish: Says all cricket related stuff related to Cornwall.

Sunny G: Wonders how WICB found a shirt that size.

One of the major reasons why Indian commentators are generally awful. They have come up listening to Gavaskar.

�?Alagappan V (@IndianMourinho) August 30, 2019

A medium pacer at the initial stages of his career, Cornwall's transformation into a spinner came after he showcased an ability to turn the ball sharply. Given his huge frame and high release, Cornwall could extract extra bounce from most surfaces. More of a conventional off-break bowler, Cornwall relies on consistent channels and a persistent line of attack to evoke errors.

So far, his methods have been quite successful with him enjoying a fine first-class career. Cornwall has taken 260 wickets at first-class level, averaging 23.90 aside from piling up 2,224 runs from down the order in 55 matches.

Since 2014, Cornwall is one of the most consistent bowlers in the Caribbean domestic tournament. He has 197 wickets in this time frame and the performances have peaked in the last three seasons.

In 2018-19, Cornwall topped the wicket-taking chart with 54 wickets in the season at 17.68. This, though, isn't his first encounter with Pujara or Kohli. Playing for the Board President's XI in 2016 against a visiting Indian side, Cornwall top-scored with 41 in the first innings and went on to pick up a five-wicket haul including the wickets of Pujara (bowled), Kohli (lbw), Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane (all caught out).

Last year, as West Indies ‘A�?beat the England Lions side 3-0 at home, Cornwall starred with 19 wickets at an average of 18.42. In the recent India A series against West Indies A, Cornwall made two half-centuries and picked up four wickets. Idolizing Jacques Kallis, Cornwall has silenced comments like the one Gavaskar made with his on-field performances.

Read: Everything you need to know about Windies�?140 kg beast Rahkeem Cornwall

Featured image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

‘Making his way to the field from Antigua and Barbuda. Standing at 6'6'' and weighing in at 308 pounds.�?A rescript like this might very well excite WWE’s Vince McMahon for his pay-per-view events, but unfortunately for him and the wrestling fans alike, this particular 6�?�?beast is all set to take on India when West Indies begin their conquest of the World Test Championship from August 22.

Windies, on Saturday, announced their Test squad for the home series against Virat Kohli’s men, and while there was disappointment over Chris Gayle’s omission, eyebrows were raised when a certain Rahkeem Cornwall was named into the team, with the sole reason being his beast-like stature.

Cornwall!!!!

�?Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) January 20, 2015

An all-rounder from the islands of Antigua, Cornwall’s first act of demolition ironically came against India in 2017 where he picked five wickets, with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane falling down as his victim.

The talent is there for sure. However, at 140 kg, questions have been raised over his fitness, leading to the suggestion that he might not be as successful in the sport as he would hope for. His consistency in the first-class cricket though has been an answer to all the criticism. Having made his first-class debut in 2014, the 26-year-old has scored 2224 runs at an average of 24.43 in 55 first-class games. In terms of bowling, he has scalped 260 wickets, which includes 17 five-wicket hauls, at an impressive average of 23.60.

Despite being so huge and 158KG fella, Rahkeem Cornwall has played some glorious knock in the past. pic.twitter.com/Te7LNldhSE

�?Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_333) August 10, 2019

"Rahkeem has been performing consistently over a long period of time and has proven to be a match-winner, so we believe his elevation to the Test squad is merited at this time," said the interim chief selector of the Windies cricket board, Robert Haynes.
"We believe he can provide an attacking option to our bowling attack with his sharp turn and extra bounce. He can also lend a bit of depth to the batting, so we are looking forward to him coming into the squad and making a valuable contribution."

Back during the 2017 edition of the Caribbean Premier League, Cornwall, then playing for St. Lucia Stars, was involved in an on-field squabble with Kieron Pollard. Having scored 78 in just 44 deliveries, the all-rounder was hit by Pollard on the stomach. Unable to carry on, the 26-year-old retired hurt and Pollard believed he is doing so because of fatigue.

Able to clear the rope with ease, Cornwall is a typical Windies hard hitter. Little technique, hardly any foot movement, but deliver a ball in his area and you will be punished. The all-rounder, of late, has been a part of West Indies A team, which locked horns with India A. Arriving in the middle order, the 26-year-old scored two half-centuries and picked four wickets.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Jewel Samad