International career
Roberts formed part of the "quartet" of West Indian fast bowlers from the mid-70s to the early 80s (the others being Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Colin Croft) that had such a devastating effect on opposition batsmen at both Test and One Day International level. He was also part of the West Indies team that won the first two Prudential World Cups in England in 1975 and 1979. [4] [5] [6] [7]
By his own reckoning, the best spell Roberts ever delivered was during the Headingley Test of the West Indies' 1976 tour of England: "I only got three wickets, but in my mind there was a decision given against me. It was a leg-before decision against Peter Willey, where he played right back onto his stumps to a fuller delivery. I would've bowled England out that afternoon if the umpire had given me the decision." [8] Despite an excellent record in Tests his international career was relatively short and ended in 1983. Imran Khan (former captain Pakistan national cricket team) once described a ball bowled to him by Andy Roberts as the fastest and most terrifying he had ever faced.
One of his trademarks was the use of two different bouncers. One was delivered at a slower pace and was often dealt with quite easily by the batsman. However, this was a ploy by Roberts to lull the batsman into a false sense of security. Roberts would then deliver the second bouncer, pitching in a similar spot to the first, but delivered at far greater pace. The batsman would attempt to play this delivery in the same fashion as the first slower bouncer only to be surprised by the extra pace and bounce of the ball. Many batsmen were dismissed, and many more struck painful blows, by Roberts using this ploy.
Roberts was also the part of the West Indies team which ended up as runners-up in the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup. [9] [10]
John Snow believes that Roberts saw reduced effectiveness after being overbowled during 1974 by Hampshire and West Indies. [11]
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