The youngster burst onto the scene with a three-wicket haul on debut to help the West Indies go 1-0 up in the five-match series against New Zealand.
Vitel Lawes, the newest addition to the West Indies' side has impressed in his very first professional outing – in other words, he had never played first-class, List A, or T20 cricket before this. The left-arm wrist-spinner picked up three wickets in the first ODI against New Zealand to help the hosts go 1-0 up in the series.
Lawes, who spun a web around New Zealand in Providence was a part of the West Indies U19 squad which played the World Cup earlier this year. He scalped 10 wickets in five matches at 22.7, giving away a mere 4.93 an over.
Before his stint with the U19 side, Lawes also made appearances for the Jamaican U17 and U19 sides. To add to that, he has featured in 14 Youth ODIs for the Windies, picking up 25 wickets.
The five-match series which will be played till July 22 is important to the West Indies, considering their chances for direct qualification into the ODI World Cup next year. West Indies are currently 10th on the ODI rankings table (the ninth-placed side will qualify directly), and a series victory against second-placed New Zealand will do them a world of good.
Lawes impresses with three wickets on international (and professional) debut
With more than just the series on the line, the West Indies needed some x-factor in their ranks, which they got in the form of the young left-arm wrist spinner.
The fifth bowler brought into the attack, Lawes didn't take time to have his impact. He sent back Henry Nicholls to draw first blood. However, the best of his three wickets came in the 25th over, when he sent back Mark Chapman to an absolute ripper. From over the wicket, the ball pitched on the leg-stump and landed in the wicketkeeper's gloves. Chapman was left surprised looking at the trajectory of the delivery.
Lawes' final wicket came in the 44th over of the innings, when he sent back Michael Bracewell for 29. However, the Windies chased down the target of 268 with seven wickets to spare to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.
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