Quote:Athlete is not what we think whenever we see someone who is significantly overweight. Even after witnessing them accomplish top-level athletic feats we still might not believe they belong at the highest level. It's as if we have a hard time believing our own eyes because the performance is coming from someone who doesn't quite look the part.

Fat athlete is thought to be something of an oxymoron. Often it is a source of hilarity. "The earth shook," shouted David Lloyd in the Sky commentary box shortly when super-heavyweight Bermudan cricketer Dwayne Leverock thudded to the ground after sprightly leaping to his right at slip to snare a stunning catch against India during the 2007 World Cup. Sometime later, someone wrote that a certain batsman was bowled between bat and pad having left a gap through which Leverock could have easily passed. Leverock, a spinner good enough to capture the wickets of Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood during the above-mentioned tournament, was reportedly around 270 pounds at the time.

Which brings us to Rahkeem Cornwall. The Antiguan all-rounder is 6'5" and very hefty. If you saw him strolling down the street you most certainly would not have guessed that he's a professional sportsman. And yet the towering 24-year-old is easily one of the most talented up-and-coming players in the Caribbean.

Like most bulky athletes engaged in a sport where huge size is not an asset as it is in American Footballers for instance, fans and experts regularly look at him with brows furrowed with suspicion. He just doesn't look like someone who could possibly be involved in any sport that could demand high-intensity physical activity. Cricket is more forgiving of players who lack top conditioning than sports like football and basketball, but what happens when you have to run hard for three while batting or chase from slip to the third-man or fine-leg boundary while fielding? Fitness also facilitates the ability to concentrate for long periods, a vital quality to possess whatever your sporting discipline.