Who is Matthew Forde? 5 interesting facts about West Indies all-rounder who won POTM on debut vs England 

The West Indies scripted a memorable ODI series win against England after claiming the third one-day international at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, in Barbados on Saturday, December 9.

The star of the show for the West Indies was none other than Matthew Forde, who had a dream debut. Forde announced himself on the international stage with his fiery spell of 3/29 in the first innings.

Taking the brand new ball, Forde danced the English batters to his tunes and utilized the overcast conditions brilliantly. He reduced the visitors to 45/3, which allowed the West Indies to restrict England to 206/9 in the 40 overs (the match was reduced to 40 overs for the first innings due to rain).

The equation was then reduced to 188 for the hosts to chase down in 34 overs in the second innings. Alick Athanaze's 45 and a fifty from Keacy Carty built the platform before a 56-run partnership between Romario Shepherd (45*) and Forde himself took the West Indies over the line.

Forde, who remained unbeaten at 13, was fittingly adjudged the Player of the Match for his heroics. Forde replaced Oshane Thomas for the third ODI and instantly impressed everyone with his performance.

Despite being only 21 years old, Forde has been a great asset to whichever team he has played for. While it was only his maiden international game, here are five interesting facts about Matthew Forde that you might not know.

---

#5 Forde is more than handy with the bat

While Matthew Forde is primarily a genuine right-arm pacer, he is more than handy with the bat. He can use the long handle with a great effect and often bats at No. 7 or 8.

As mentioned earlier, he came up with a crucial 13*, which included a four, on his ODI debut against England. Forde stitched up a match-winning partnership with Romario Shepherd and looked quite composed on the crease.

If Forde hones his batting skills even further, he can be a great success for the West Indies.

---

#4 He has played in different T20 leagues around the world

Matthew Forde in action at the Lankan Premier League [Getty Images]

Forde is no stranger to competitive cricket and joined different T20 leagues around the globe quite early in his career.

He was only 20 years old when St. Lucia Kings signed Forde ahead of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022. While he played the 2023 edition for the same franchise as well, Forde has taken a total of 15 wickets in as many CPL games so far.

In December 2022, Forde even played the Lankan Premier League (LPL) as part of the Dambulla Vikings (now known as Dambulla Aura).

Apart from this, Forde was also picked up by Surrey Jaguars for the Global T20 league 2023 in July and August. His team even reached the final of the tournament but lost the summit clash against against Montreal Tigers.

---

#3 Represented West Indies in the U-19 World Cup in 2020

Matthew Forde represented the West Indies U-19 team at the Under-19 ODI World Cup in 2020. The tournament, held in South Africa, was won by Bangladesh, who beat India in the final.

Forde played three games for the U-19 West Indies team in the tournament and picked up an impressive six wickets at an average of 20.33.

---

#2 Forde was the joint-highest wicket-taker at the GT20 Canada 2023

Matthew Forde at the GT20 Canada 2023 [Getty Images]

Forde has been racking up quite phenomenal performances this year, which eventually led to his inclusion in the West Indies' senior team for the ODIs.

Earlier this year, as the right-armer played for Surrey Jaguars in the Global T20 Canada tournament, he led the bowling unit aptly.

Playing eight games in the competition, Forde bagged 15 wickets at an immaculate average of 10.80. His 18 wickets were the joint-most by any bowler alongside Junaid Siddiqui.

---

#1 He gave one of the all-time greatest individual performances in LPL 2022

Back in 2022, Forde gave perhaps the greatest all-round performance in the Lankan Premier League (LPL) history.

While playing for the Dambulla-based franchise, Forde single-handedly got his team over the line in the last league game against Galle Gladiators on December 19.

After opting to bat first, the Galle franchise was rocked early and the major reason was Forde. The-then 20-year-old took four wickets and gave away just 11 runs in his four overs. Galle were 32/4 in 6.1 overs before getting to 129/8 in their 20 overs.

Chasing 130, Dambulla had a dodgy start. They were 11/2 as Forde came to bat at No. 4. He was promoted up the order and justified the strategic move by stitching up a match-changing partnership of 79 runs with Jordan Cox.

Forde found gaps wonderfully and got at least one boundaries in every other over. At a strike rate of 173.33, Forde made 52 runs off 30 balls and struck six boundaries and a couple of sixes.

Dambulla won the encounter by four wickets and Forde was unsurprisingly won the Player of the Match for his all-round exploits.