Andre Fletcher

Andre Fletcher was thrown into the international arena without much of 

an experience at the first-class level to which he responded well enough, showing promising signs with the bat during his initial days.

Fletcher is vastly experienced in the T20 circuit playing more than 200 domestic T20 matches around the world including the Caribbean Premier League, the GT20 Canada, Pakistan Super League, and the Bangladesh Premier League.

The ‘Spiceman’ started his career playing for the West Indian cricket team in the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Fletcher had a sensational domestic season as he scored his maiden first-class ton, and was eventually picked in the limited-overs side against Australia in 2008. However, his knack of giving away the wicket early due to lack of awareness of the field cost him dearly and saw a dip in his form. 

Fletcher made his senior T20 debut against Australia in an only fixture but failed to impress the selectors. His first series against Australia was a disappointing one and surprisingly he was added to the West Indies squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup. After a fruitful inning of 53 from 29 balls against Australia, his next 7 innings was a horrific one, including 5 ducks. A disastrous tournament came to an end he was sidelined from the squad.

For four years juggling in and out of the national squad, Fletcher was sent back to the domestic circuit and he made proper amends of it. He slammed 238 runs in 7 innings in the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League 2013. Fletcher finished the group stages as the highest run-getter and came under the selector's radar once again.

Playing in almost all domestic franchise T20 leagues, Fletcher was signed by the Melbourne Stars ahead of the 2021 Big Bash League. Fletcher averaging almost 13 in the first couple of games, he was likely to get dropped until it took a phone call from Brian Lara to finally see the best of Spiceman. Fletcher shot to fame overnight after a blistering knock of 89 from 49 balls which saw the Stars stun Strikers by 111 runs to end their losing steak of five games. 

The 33-year-old is still an underrated striker of the white ball alongside Gayle, Russell, Braithwaite who have always overshadowed the Spiceman. With most of the West Indies players involved in domestic T20 leagues around the world, Fletcher is still the first choice opener for the Men in Maroon in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. His celebration style and the aura he brings around his teammates make him one of the most loved cricketers in the world.

(As of March 2021)