Fidel Henderson Edwards (born 6 February 1982) is a Barbadian cricketer, who played all formats of the game. A pace bowler, his round-arm action is "not unlike" that of former fast bowler Jeff Thomson but similar to the bowling action of Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka.[1] He was spotted in the nets by Brian Lara and was called up for his Test debut against Sri Lanka after just one match for Barbados. Edwards was a member of the West Indies team that won the 2012 T20 World Cup.
Despite a promising start to his Test career, he has been injury prone and inconsistent. With an average of just under 40 in Test cricket, he has struggled to fulfil his early potential.
The experienced campaigner who also plays in the Bangladesh Premier League was bought by Rajasthan Royals in players auction for IPL 2013 for US$210,000. On 6 February 2009 the IPL franchise of Deccan Chargers bought Edwards for $150,000. His club team in Barbados is YMPC.[2]
Strong competition and injury meant Edwards struggled for selection. However, the selectors had monitored his development and in May that year Edwards impressed batsman Brian Lara while bowling in the nets. On the basis of the potential he showed, Edwards was included for the West Indies Test against Sri Lanka the following month.[12][13] Edwards made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Kingston, Jamaica, making 5 not out and returning with bowling figures of 5/36 and 1/54 in a winning West Indian effort.[14] In his second first-class match,[15] he produced the third-best bowling figures by a West Indies player on debut.[16]
In One Day Internationals, his debut was against Zimbabwe on 29 November 2003 at Harare, taking career-best figures of 6/22 off 7 overs. As of January 2015, he is the only player to have taken 6 wickets on their ODI debut and he is only the second player after Tony Dodemaide to have taken 5 wicket hauls in both his test and ODI debuts.[17]
Injuries
During the subsequent tour of South Africa he picked up an injury to his shins, which Edwards felt badly affected his bowling in South Africa. In four Tests against South Africa, he managed eight wickets while conceding 648 runs.[18]
On 21 December 2008 Edwards picked up a career best 7 for 87 against New Zealand at the McLean Park in Napier. In so doing he claimed his 100th test wicket, a caught and bowled to dismiss top order batsman Tim McIntosh.[19]
In the June 2009 ICC World Twenty20, Edwards suffered a back injury.[20] He suffered a recurrence of the injury when he played for the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League in October of that year. Consequently, his central contract was not renewed and Edwards later underwent back surgery.[21]
In the 2010–11 West Indian cricket season, Edwards made his comeback from injury, taking 22 wickets from 6 matches for Barbados at a cost of 23.77 runs. Having proved his fitness, Edwards was called into the West Indies squad for the first Test against Pakistan in May 2011, almost two years after he was sidelined with a back injury.[22] Though included in the squad, he had to wait until India toured in June before returning to the side. Though he was apprehensive ahead of the first Test, he troubled the Indian batsmen and took four wickets.[23]
In March 2012 the West Indies Cricket Board announced that while Edwards was considered whenever Test and T20I teams were selected, he was overlooked in ODIs to manage his workload;[25] he has not played an ODI since 2009.
Discussing his round-arm bowling action in 2004, Edwards remarked "I never copied anyone, its just natural. People feel it's a very difficult action but its like riding a bicycle. And the main advantage I get bowling in that fashion is I can swing the ball more, especially the old one. Yes, at times the swing is too wide and a few more extras are added, but I am coping with that."[18] His bowling speed is around the late 80s and early 90s mph. His fastest was clocked at 157.7 km/h in 2003.[27]
While his statistics attest to him being a genuine tailender, Edwards has helped save the West Indies in three Test matches during his career, forming frustrating last wicket partnerships. The first instance came against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2003, where he hung in for 33 balls to deny the African nation a rare victory.[28] In 2006, Edwards remained at the crease for 36 balls at the Antigua Recreation Ground, with India unable to claim the final wicket,[29] while in 2009 he prevented England from a win at the same ground by remaining unbeaten on five after 26 deliveries.[30]
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