OTD | Former West Indies bowler Pedro Collins was born in 1976

Former West Indies pacer Pedro Collins was born on 12 August 1976. His career was marred by injuries, but throughout his cricketing career, he was a staple in the pace department for West Indies, Barbados, Surrey and Middlesex. His knack for curving the ball back in was a nightmare for the opposition batters. 

Collins’s remarkable spell for West Indies-A against India in November 1998 propelled the national team selectors to consider him for the senior squad. He made his international debut against Australia the following March and went on to represent the Caribbean nation in 32 Tests and 30 ODIs.

The left-arm pacer rose to fame when he dismissed the legendary Sachin Tendulkar thrice, including twice for a duck, in the 2001-02 India vs West Indies Test series. In 2004, he played a crucial role in West Indies’ two-match Test series win against Bangladesh. In the second Test at Sabina Park, Collins took six wickets conceding 53 runs. 

Coming to the ODI format, Collins focused more on wicket-to-wicket bowling. Before hanging up his boots from international cricket, the paceman accumulated 106 Test wickets at an average of 34.63, including three five-wicket hauls. He also grabbed 39 wickets at 31.08 including a fifer in ODIs.

Collins continues to serve cricket in another capacity

After his retirement, Collins decided to try his hand at coaching. He attained a level 2 coaching certificate from Cricket Australia and a level 3 coaching certificate from Cricket West Indies. He gained experience by working as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Knights of the Global T20 Canada, Barbados women’s national cricket team together with the St Lucia Zouks of the Caribbean Premier League. 

He was later appointed as the head coach of the Combined Campuses and Colleges team. He also served as a cricket coach with the Academy of Sport at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. 

Also read: Former India batter Yashpal Sharma was born in 1954