West Indies v England: Joshua da Silva's rapid rise from Surrey league cricket to Tests

West Indies wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva had a different definition of friendly to his Sunday league opponents.

In 2017, Da Silva was 18 and spending his summer with Old Wimbledonians Cricket Club in south-west London.

As you would expect of a future Test cricketer, he performed well, averaging 64 in Division Three of the Surrey Championship.

But it was in the more serene settings of the Sunday friendly scene that Da Silva truly wreaked havoc.

Across nine matches he scored 553 runs at an average of 184.33, including three centuries and two 50s.

Gambling on himself in his club's fantasy cricket league certainly paid off for the right-handed batter.

«I never really wanted to play those games in the beginning,» Da Silva, now 23, told BBC Sport.

«But then everyone said, 'You can pick yourself in the fantasy league'.

»It was a 100-point deduction for picking yourself, but if you score a 100 anyway it's worth it.

«In one game the guys said I could retire after getting to 50 but I said, 'Nah, I'll get a 100 and then that's enough.'»

The result was many recreational cricketers gaining the anecdote of a lifetime at the expense of a ruined Sunday afternoon.

Just three years later, Da Silva graced England's cricket pitches again, only this time in West Indies whites.

It was a rapid rise, which did not initially seem likely when Da Silva returned to the Caribbean from his time in London without a professional deal.

«From the stint in England I went into a club season in January where I scored a lot runs,» he said.

«And from that club season I got my first contract with Trinidad.

»I made my first-class debut in December 2018 and in the following season I made a lot of runs so got the call to go to England during the Covid pandemic."

Da Silva's