# Rahkeem Cornwall
**Rahkeem Cornwall** (full name Rahkeem Rashawn Shane Cornwall, born 1993 in Antigua) is a West Indian cricketer, a right-arm off-spin bowling all-rounder who bats right-handed in the middle order[1](https://www.cricket.com.au/players/CA%3A3416/rahkeem-cornwall) • [2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/). Standing around six and a half feet tall and weighing about 308 pounds (140 kg), he became the heaviest man to play [Test cricket](https://www.edgepedia.org/test-cricket) when he debuted for the [West Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-indies) against India in Jamaica in August 2019[3](https://www.caymaniantimes.ky/documents/2019-12-04-20-43-07-CT463web.pdf). He is known domestically by the nicknames "Jimbo" and "Big Jim"[4](https://pointville.ag/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/29Jan-2025-Vol-6-Issue-20.pdf) • [5](https://www.espn.in/cricket/story/_/id/27704881/how-west-indies-offspinner-rahkeem-cornwall-made-big).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Antigua (full name Rahkeem Rashawn Shane Cornwall)[1](https://www.cricket.com.au/players/CA%3A3416/rahkeem-cornwall) |
| Role | Bowling all-rounder: middle-order right-hand bat, right-arm off-break[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/) |
| Test debut | West Indies v India, 30 August 2019, Jamaica; heaviest man to play Test cricket[6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/players/-58140) • [3](https://www.caymaniantimes.ky/documents/2019-12-04-20-43-07-CT463web.pdf) |
| Test record | 10 matches, 2019–2023: 261 runs at 18.64, 35 wickets at 37.60, best innings 7/75[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/) |
| First-class record | 98 matches, 2014–2026: 3,389 runs at 22.44, 452 wickets at 24.00, best 8/51[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/) |
| List A record | 72 matches: 1,702 runs at 29.85 with 4 centuries, 95 wickets at 23.08[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/) |
| T20 teams | St Lucia Zouks, Barbados Royals, Delhi Bulls, Sylhet Strikers, Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, among others[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/) |
## Early life and domestic rise
Cornwall was born in Liberta, Antigua's third-largest town, and followed his maternal uncle Wilden Cornwall, who played 53 first-class games, into cricket[7](https://www.cricuspl.com/player/rahkeem-cornwall/). He made his West Indies Under-19 debut at 18 and his first-class debut in 2014 as a 20-year-old off-spinner[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-tour-of-west-indies-2019-rahkeem-cornwall-the-big-easy-5921802/) • [7](https://www.cricuspl.com/player/rahkeem-cornwall/).
His domestic returns were consistent. Before his Test call-up he had taken 260 first-class wickets in 55 matches for the [Leeward Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/leeward-islands), with 17 five-wicket hauls at 24.23, alongside 2,224 runs[5](https://www.espn.in/cricket/story/_/id/27704881/how-west-indies-offspinner-rahkeem-cornwall-made-big) • [9](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/feeling-rahkeem-cornwall-maiden-test-wicket). From his debut until his elevation to the Test team, he took at least 40 wickets in every first-class season he appeared in[7](https://www.cricuspl.com/player/rahkeem-cornwall/). On an A tour of Sri Lanka in 2017 he took 23 wickets at 19, dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Roshen Silva, and Niroshan Dickwella; in a four-day match against India he took 5 for 118, with [Virat Kohli](https://www.edgepedia.org/virat-kohli), Cheteshwar Pujara, and [Ajinkya Rahane](https://www.edgepedia.org/ajinkya-rahane) among his victims[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-tour-of-west-indies-2019-rahkeem-cornwall-the-big-easy-5921802/).
Despite this record, the call-up was slow in coming. West Indies cycled through specialist spinners including Devendra Bishoo and Jomel Warrican while batting all-rounder [Roston Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/roston-chase) carried much of the spin workload[8](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-tour-of-west-indies-2019-rahkeem-cornwall-the-big-easy-5921802/). Cornwall was finally named in the Test squad for the two-match series against India in 2019, five years after his first-class debut[10](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/west-indies-test-rahkeem-cornwall).
## Test career
Cornwall received his maiden cap on a pace-friendly pitch in Jamaica rather than the dry one in Antigua, a choice that surprised many observers[9](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/feeling-rahkeem-cornwall-maiden-test-wicket). His Test career ran from 2019 to 2023, ending against India on 12 July 2023[6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/players/-58140).
His best innings figures came against Afghanistan on 27 November 2019, when he took 7 for 75; across 10 Tests he took 35 wickets at 37.60 with two five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket match (10/121), and scored 261 runs at 18.64 with a highest of 73[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/) • [6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/players/-58140). In February 2021 in Bangladesh he took a five-wicket haul in the second Test and then sealed a famous West Indies win in the Dhaka thriller, and the following month his maiden Test fifty helped the West Indies take control of a match[1](https://www.cricket.com.au/players/CA%3A3416/rahkeem-cornwall).
## Physique, fitness, and criticism
Cornwall's size has defined much of the public discussion around him. Sources give his height as 6 feet 5 inches, 6 feet 6 inches, or 6 feet 7 inches, with a weight of about 308 pounds[5](https://www.espn.in/cricket/story/_/id/27704881/how-west-indies-offspinner-rahkeem-cornwall-made-big) • [10](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/west-indies-test-rahkeem-cornwall) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-tour-of-west-indies-2019-rahkeem-cornwall-the-big-easy-5921802/). In his mid-20s he was asked to trial with the [San Francisco 49ers](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-49ers) of the NFL[11](https://www.goodareas.co/p/crickets-fit-issue).
Cricket West Indies repeatedly invested in his conditioning, appointing a nutritionist, a strength-and-conditioning trainer, and a coach, and putting him through a weight-loss program initiated at the level of CWI president Ricky Skerritt; Cornwall lost nearly 10 kg in six months under that plan[5](https://www.espn.in/cricket/story/_/id/27704881/how-west-indies-offspinner-rahkeem-cornwall-made-big) • [8](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-tour-of-west-indies-2019-rahkeem-cornwall-the-big-easy-5921802/). Knee problems prevent him from doing yo-yo tests, so his fitness is assessed with cardio on a bike[12](https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1352875/is-cricket-fat-shaming-big-players-azam-khan-rahkeem-cornwall-and-others-talk-about-their-experiences).
Former West Indies players questioned his fitness and technique. Spin legend Lance Gibbs asked how a bowler could take only two steps and find rhythm, and urged him to use the crease more; fast bowler Tony Gray asked whether the problem was genetic and argued his mechanics put pressure on his body; Franklyn Rose worried about runs conceded in the field[13](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/rahkeem-cornwall-weight-problem-former-west-indies-players-criticize-7065070/). Cornwall defended himself: "There are many ways in terms of fitness – you have cricket fitness, and physical fitness... that doesn't affect me in any way"[10](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/west-indies-test-rahkeem-cornwall), and later told an interviewer, "I can't change my body structure. Everybody is not going to be slim"[12](https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1352875/is-cricket-fat-shaming-big-players-azam-khan-rahkeem-cornwall-and-others-talk-about-their-experiences).
## White-ball and franchise cricket
Cornwall's List A record is stronger than his Test one: 1,702 runs at 29.85 with four centuries and a best of 132*, and 95 wickets at 23.08[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/). In T20 cricket he has played for the St Lucia Zouks, Barbados Royals, Delhi Bulls, Sylhet Strikers, and [Antigua & Barbuda Falcons](https://www.edgepedia.org/antigua-and-barbuda-falcons), among other teams, with 1,662 runs at a strike rate above 9 runs per over and 56 wickets in List A Twenty20 matches[2](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/). His power hitting, with little foot movement but heavy swings through his arc, has drawn comparison to [Chris Gayle](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-gayle)'s minimal-footwork style[10](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/west-indies-test-rahkeem-cornwall). In a US-based T20 league he hit 17 fours and 22 sixes in an innings of 205[6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/players/-58140).
For the 2025 [Caribbean Premier League](https://www.edgepedia.org/caribbean-premier-league) season, the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons named him vice-captain under [Imad Wasim](https://www.edgepedia.org/imad-wasim)[14](https://pointville.ag/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/15th-August-2025-Vol-7-Issue-58.pdf). In January 2025 he was named captain of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes for the regional four-day competition[4](https://pointville.ag/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/29Jan-2025-Vol-6-Issue-20.pdf).
## References
1. [Rahkeem Cornwall, cricket.com.au player profile](https://www.cricket.com.au/players/CA%3A3416/rahkeem-cornwall)
2. [Rahkeem Cornwall stats and records, West Indies players](https://www.windiescricket.com/players/rahkeem-cornwall-2598/)
3. [International Sports, Caymanian Times (4 December 2019)](https://www.caymaniantimes.ky/documents/2019-12-04-20-43-07-CT463web.pdf)
4. [LI Hurricanes, Pointville (29 January 2025)](https://pointville.ag/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/29Jan-2025-Vol-6-Issue-20.pdf)
5. [How 'Big Jim' Cornwall made it to the big time, ESPN](https://www.espn.in/cricket/story/_/id/27704881/how-west-indies-offspinner-rahkeem-cornwall-made-big)
6. [Rahkeem Cornwall Profile, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/players/-58140)
7. [Rahkeem Cornwall, United States Premier League player page](https://www.cricuspl.com/player/rahkeem-cornwall/)
8. [Rahkeem Cornwall: The Big Easy, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/india-tour-of-west-indies-2019-rahkeem-cornwall-the-big-easy-5921802/)
9. ['A new feeling' – Rahkeem Cornwall after taking maiden Test wicket, Wisden](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/feeling-rahkeem-cornwall-maiden-test-wicket)
10. [West Indies Test squad: Who is Rahkeem Cornwall?, Wisden](https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/west-indies-test-rahkeem-cornwall)
11. [Cricket's fit issue, Good Areas (Jarrod Kimber)](https://www.goodareas.co/p/crickets-fit-issue)
12. ['I can't change my body structure. Everybody is not going to be slim', ESPNcricinfo The Cricket Monthly](https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1352875/is-cricket-fat-shaming-big-players-azam-khan-rahkeem-cornwall-and-others-talk-about-their-experiences)
13. ['Is the problem genetic?': Former West Indies players criticize Rahkeem Cornwall, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/rahkeem-cornwall-weight-problem-former-west-indies-players-criticize-7065070/)
14. [Antigua and Barbuda Falcons name captain and vice-captain for CPL 2025, Pointville (15 August 2025)](https://pointville.ag/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/15th-August-2025-Vol-7-Issue-58.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Cricket › Cricket people and teams › People › Men's international cricketers › West Indian men's cricketers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license