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Only three cricketers in Test cricket’s vast history have scored more runs on their Test debut than the 32-year-old Kyle Mayers (250 runs). In 2021, the left-hander came, saw and conquered the raging turner of Chattogram with a knock for the ages.
With West Indies needing 395 in the fourth innings, a feat never before achieved in Asia, Mayers stepped up with a headline act, smashing 210, an innings laced with 27 boundaries in total, leaving everyone shell-shocked.
But three years later, the 32-year-old is nowhere to be seen in the red-ball format despite averaging 32.72 while batting and a staggering 18.29 while bowling, with a five-wicket haul against England.
“Well, of course [ambitions of Test comeback], I only played a handful of Tests. As you guys will know, my record is not bad. I still have a healthy, decent average with the bat and ball,” Mayers told Cricket.com in an exclusive conversation from the sidelines of Abu Dhabi T10.
Mayers hasn’t played a single Test over the last year for the Men in Maroon and has sparingly featured in any format apart from T20s, where he has refound his grounds. However, the common consensus still remains that the all-rounder is one of the most fearsome strikers of the cricket ball.
What’s the key to playing such impactful knocks?
“I haven't been playing all formats for a while, but when I was playing them, I just tried to stick to a positive approach. Even if we're playing Test cricket, I was taking the positive approach. Obviously, the risks will increase as the game shortens, so in Test cricket, you'll take fewer risks,” he said.
“You'll take more risks in ODIs than in Tests. Obviously, you'll take more risks in T20s and T10s. So, I just manage the risks. It's more risk management, not really mindset.”
While not entirely closing the doors on the red-ball format, Mayers was quite realistic about his chances, stating that the shorter formats are more fruitful.
“Prioritising white-ball cricket, which is more fruitful for me at the moment. So, just when I get an opportunity to, and it presents itself again, I will try my best to get back into that.”
In his limited time at the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mayers was a key architect for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He played a crucial role in LSG's almost-crushing of a mammoth target in Chennai, with four half-centuries in the season, striking at 144.11.
However, for the strangest reasons, an IPL opportunity hasn’t come by for the all-rounder since 2023. While there were hopes that the hard-hitting batter would find a new home in the IPL 2025 mega auction, it wasn’t to be, as the 32-year-old went unsold.
“Yeah, the IPL is always something you look at. Players will be looking to get into new teams, you know, trying to see if they will get some decent friends. When it comes to these things, I don't watch or really try to study as much as possible,” Mayers said ahead of the IPL auction.
Read: Kyle Mayers Interview: ‘Took me a while to understand the T10 format’
“If it does happen, it happens. I just want to go out there and try to enjoy my cricket and put some performances out there."
Whilst it isn’t the end of the IPL road for Mayers, there is a definite possibility of him making a comeback at the expense of an injured player.
“And if franchises and team owners like what they see, then, you know, the rest is up to them. But at the end of the day, it's just trying to be a better player each day and just trying to improve so people will see, and you'll get opportunities and get work all over.”
Earlier this year, Mayers made a startling switch from Barbados Royals to the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. In the 2023 season, Mayers suffered a rare failure both with the bat and the ball. Turning up in the Royals pink, the 32-year-old could only muster 159 runs in the entire season, averaging 19.88.
Apart from a couple of wickets, opportunities with the ball started drying up for the all-rounder. When asked about the switch, Mayers pointed out that it was to get more bowling opportunities.
“I went to a different franchise [SKNP], obviously, to get more bowling opportunities, and it paid off, you know. I finally got a chance to bowl four overs and show people that I can bowl at all three phases of the game: the beginning, middle and the end,” Mayers opened up.
“It has been hard work trying to sell my bowling, but it's working out nicely, and I am growing in confidence. People obviously would see me just bowling with the new ball, but then obviously not being able to see the other skills that I possess."
But even then, Mayers is primarily considered a new-ball bowler, a tag that the 32-year-old has been working hard to shed off.
“I was a guy who had a lot of different slow balls and stuff. When I first started playing T20 cricket, I was actually one of the death bowlers. I was more of a bowling all-rounder in CPL. So it never left me, you know. I still have those skills. I rehearse them as much as possible and improve them so I can execute more on the day,” he said.
“It's [bowling] still a work in progress. I still have a lot more to offer when it comes to my bowling. My speeds make it a little different from guys who bowl at 140 or 150. So, I have to be real technical and skilful in how I go about my stuff. So it takes a lot, obviously, being an all-rounder."
However, nothing stops Mayers, no matter how much he has to put in. In the last CPL edition, the Bajan picked up seven wickets, all of which ironically came in the powerplay. Rest assured, Mayers promised that the work won’t stop.
“Every opportunity I get, I work on my skills. Try to put myself under pressure next to execute, which is the hardest thing, you know. It's okay to execute at practice, but then, when the pressure's on, it matters the most.
“So it's to replicate these things as much as possible and try to put these skills in the right direction. When they say that, it's to bring these skills when the time is needed, you know. It's all right to have them, but you need to put them to use at the right time.”
While 32 is often a confusing age for cricketers, given that many of them are having a mid-career crisis, it is a completely different story for Mayers, who is slowly but steadily reinventing himself and rekindling his love for bowling.
One over at a time.
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