GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC) — Almost from nowhere, left-arm pacer Delorn Johnson has emerged as one the brightest fast bowling prospects in the region.

And if his performances for West Indies A in the current series against visiting India A are anything to go by, the 23-year-old Vincentian could be on his way to a long successful career in the proud maroon colours.

He has been the stand-out bowler in the series so far with his ability to get swing with the new ball and the old ball, as well as to bowl with sustained pace on the slow surfaces.

A tall long strong lad with the ability to bowl pacy spells, Johnson credited his stint at the Sagicor High Performance Centre between 2010 and 2011 as one of the main reasons for his vast improvement.

“I would say I got a lot of knowledge and learned a lot during my two years at the HPC. It has made all the difference in my development and in my cricket career,” Johnson said.

“When I went there I was a bit ‘raw’, but I was able to settle down and work hard on my bowling and all other aspects of my cricket. I knew I had to work hard if I wanted to progress and I got a lot of good advice from the coaches there as well.”

He continued: “All the things I got from the HPC I am now putting into my game and things are looking up for me. One of the things I really wanted to focus on was my control and consistency and I managed to get that sorted.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself … I am bowling well and I just want to keep doing well for the West Indies A team and help us to win this series.”

Standing six-feet-five-inches tall, Johnson was almost unplayable in the West Indies’ win in the second ‘Test’ on his home turf at Arnos Vale last weekend.

He earned career-best figures of six for 34 from 17 menacing overs in the second innings, rocking the Indian top order with four wickets in the final hour on Monday’s penultimate day before and picking up two more in the first hour on Tuesday morning.

Johnson ended with eight wickets in the game to follow up his five wickets in the opening fixture in Bridgetown where the Indians stole a two-wicket win.

In his brief first-class career, Johnson has so far played just nine matches with 27 wickets at an impressive average of 19.00 runs each. He is also a capable hard-hitting lower-order batsman with an average of 29.00 and a top score of 51.

He has formed a good new ball combination with Jason Holder, the six-foot-seven-inch pacer who is also a graduate of the Sagicor HPC.

The 20-year-old Holder took five for 55 off 27 overs in the second innings of the first “Test” in Barbados.

“We felt we broke the back of the Indian batting on the third day when we got those four wickets in an hour. I wouldn’t say it was reckless batting, I honestly felt I bowled quite well — I stuck to my plans and hit my areas,” said Johnson.

“When we came back in the final morning we knew we had to complete the job. In Barbados we had them eight wickets down with 80 to win and they got home, so we knew their lower half could still put up a fight. We were aggressive and we did not let them back in. It was an enjoyable win!”

He added: “I knew where I wanted to put every ball. It’s a team game, everybody had a part to play and we did a great ball job. I just did what I had to, stayed aggressive, did what I know to do and got the results. It was special to do it at home where I played a lot of my cricket.”

Earlier this year, Johnson set a Windward Islands record when he took an amazing five wickets for five runs off four overs against Barbados in the Caribbean T20 tournament.

However, he gave the nod to his performance against India A, saying it was “a bit better”.

“I would say ‘yes’, my performance against India was my best day so far. Earlier this year I got five wickets against Barbados and that was a great day for me. To come … and get six against India is a great feeling,” Johnson said.

“The higher you go in cricket the more difficult it becomes to get wickets and you have to work that much harder for your wickets. The India team is a strong one, with some guys who have made over 300 in first-class cricket, so to knock them over in quick time felt great.”