Vasbert Drakes

Who is Vasbert Drakes?

Vasbert Conniel Drakes is a retired West Indian cricketer. He was a right-arm fast bowler and handy right-hand lower order batsman.

Drakes made his international debut in 1994–95, when he played 5 ODI games against Australia, followed by a tour of England. He did not return to the side until the age of 33, when in September 2002 he was named in the West Indies' squad for the Champions Trophy. He took the wicket of Jacques Kallis in his first international over for seven years. For the next two years, he became a regular in the side and played 12 Tests for the West Indies, debuting against Bangladesh at Dhaka on 8 December 2002. He played in the 2003 World Cup and finished his career with 33 Test wickets and 51 ODI wickets. With the bat, he once made 67 – his only half century in international cricket. His most important Test innings, however, was arguably his unbeaten 27 which helped the West Indies to chase down a world-record target of 418, set by Australia in Antigua.

The reason for his long absence from the side was his unavailability to play international cricket due to playing first-class cricket full-time. He played county cricket in the English summer and in the winter represented Border in South Africa.