Cricket flashback: Fast bowling captains – the rockstars of Test cricket | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: It is said that fast bowlers are a rare breed that need to be taken care of and nurtured.
Arguably, there is no better sight in cricket than a fast bowler in full flow in his run-up, running into bowl, hitting the straps, with the crowd behind him, cheering in anticipation, the pace increasing as he nears the bowling crease, the final jump, the landing with the thighs, shins and ankles taking the weight of the body, the twisting of the shoulders, the forearms and the wrists coming into play before the final release of the ball at great speed.
All this takes a toll on the body of course and if the pacer is overworked, careless or unfit, it can lead to injuries and a potential exit from the team.
Perhaps this is one reason fast bowlers are not ‘burdened’ with captaincy. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown”, is a famous line from a play by William Shakespeare.
On the field, fast bowlers are usually stationed at third man or fine leg so that they can get a breather between overs and get time to think about their next over or spell. It is not very common to see a pacer placed at mid-off or mid-on. That happens sometimes when a rookie is bowling his heart out and as the leader of the pack, the senior pro is guiding him on what to bowl while the bowler is on his way back to his run-up.
But what is really rare is to see fast bowlers as captains. It is a common school of thought that a fast bowler won’t be able to guide his team or the other bowlers well if he himself is having a torrid time with the ball or is being hit for runs.
Another thing that fast bowling captains need to be wary of, especially in Test cricket, is criticism that they are either under or over bowling themselves.
But over the decades Test cricket has had fast bowling captains across teams.
With Jasprit Bumrah becoming the first pacer after Kapil Dev to lead India in a Test match, TimesofIndia.com here looks at some of the more famous fast bowling Test captains in cricket history over the last four decades or so and how they did in their overall and captaincy careers:
Kapil Dev (India – 34 Tests as captain)
” India mein fast bowlers nahin hotey” (There is no such thing as a fast bowler in India). This is a line that was said to Kapil Dev when he, as an upcoming fast bowler, demanded a better diet at a training academy. The line, said by an administrator, was not entirely false. India hardly had any genuine fast bowlers at that time and the faster bowlers were usually used to rough up the ball and make it older and make way for the tweakers to spin their magic.
So when Kapil burst onto the scene in 1978, his debut was seen as a whiff of fresh air. And it was a testament to his fitness that Kapil did not miss a single match due to injury in a 131-Test long career.

Kapil Dev. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Add to that the fact that Kapil went on to become one of the best all-rounders of the game ever, led India to the World Cup title win in 1983 and finished his Test career with 434 wickets as the leading Test wicket-taker at that time.
Kapil played 97 Tests as a player in which he took 323 wickets at an average of 30.78 with 19 five-wicket hauls and a best of 8/85.
Kapil played 34 Tests as captain in which he took 111 wickets at an average of 26.35 with four five-wicket hauls and a best of 9/83.
Till date, many members of the 1983 World Cup winning team call him Captain. In a recent interview to TimesofIndia.com, on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph, Balwinder Sandhu who was part of that India squad said that Kapil will always be his captain.
Record as Test captain: Won 4, Lost 7, Tied 1, Draw 22
Imran Khan (Pakistan – 48 Tests as captain)
A colossal figure in Pakistan cricket. A popular anecdote, that has done the rounds for decades, though it was never confirmed, is that Imran Khan used to give his list of players to the selectors to announce the team when he was at the peak of his captaincy powers.
Imran was also one of the most gifted cricketers and arguably one of the greatest all-rounders that Pakistan has produced. Imran had an eye for talent like no other. He picked up players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq from obscurity and turned them into match-winning superstars.

Imran Khan. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
It was largely due to Imran’s leadership skills, apart from some fantastic cricket played by his ‘bunch of tigers’, that Pakistan went on to win the 1992 World Cup.
Imran’s run-up, his leap and reverse swinging yorkers, of which he was one of the earliest exponents, made countless youngsters want to become fast bowlers.
Imran led Pakistan to their first ever Test series victory in England in 1987 and drew a three Test series against the West Indies when they were at the height of their powers.
Imran played 40 Tests as a player, taking 175 wickets at an average of 25.53, with 11 five-wicket hauls and a best of 8/58.
Imran played 48 Tests as captain, taking 187 wickets at an average of 20.26, with 12 five-wicket hauls and a best of 8/60.
Imran Khan averaged 52 with the bat in 48 Tests as captain.
Record as Test captain: Won 14, Lost 8, Drawn 26
Wasim Akram (Pakistan – 25 Tests as captain)
Allan Border is largely credited for making Australia a potent force in world cricket, also having led them to the 1987 World Cup title triumph. But when asked during an interview on Australian television who his dream cricketer was, Border replied – ‘Wasim Akram.’
And Wasim Akram was the kind of bowler every kid wanted to become. He was a dream fast bowler for almost everyone.

Wasim Akram. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Arguably, the best left-arm pacer in cricketing history and one of the best fast bowlers ever, Akram was menacing with the new ball and deadlier with the old ball, even later in his career when he had a shortened run-up. In-swing, out-swing, reverse swing, different types of yorkers, bouncers, slower balls, you name it and Akram had it in his armoury. And they were all bowled with hardly any change in the bowling action or stride. In fact, legend has it that Akram could even swing the ball both ways in one delivery.
Very few bowlers could make the ball talk as well as Akram, even on unresponsive surfaces.
And he was no mug with the bat. He had three Test hundreds.
Akram’s unbeaten 33 off 18 balls was instrumental in Pakistan scoring 249/6 in the 1992 World Cup final against England and his devastating dismissals of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis off successive deliveries paved the way for Pakistan’s title triumph.
Even though he has a Test highest score of an unbeaten 257, it is widely believed that with all the talent that he had, Akram underachieved with the bat.
As a captain, Akram led Pakistan in the 1996 and the 1999 World Cup editions, but missing the 1996 clash against India due to injury led to match-fixing allegations.
Akram finished his career with 414 Test wickets and was the first bowler to breach the 500-wicket mark in ODIs.
Akram played 79 Tests as a player, taking 307 wickets at an average of 23.71, with 22 five-wicket hauls and a best of 7/119.
Akram played 25 Tests as captain, taking 107 wickets at an average of 23.35, with 3 five-wicket hauls and a best of 6/48.
Record as Test captain: Won 12, Lost 8, Drawn 5
Waqar Younis (Pakistan – 17 Tests as captain)
With a long and glorious run-up, Waqar Younis formed one of the most lethal fast bowling pairs with Wasim Akram for Pakistan.
With his inswinging, toe-crushing yorkers bowled at incredible pace, Waqar made many a batsman fall on the crease in a bid to save their toes as they instead lost their stumps.

Waqar Younis. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Waqar was one of the fastest bowlers ever in his prime but due to his long run-up had back issues in a career hit by injuries. Waqar made his Test debut alongside Sachin Tendulkar in 1989, but missed the 1992 World Cup due to injury.
Waqar led Pakistan in the 2003 ODI World Cup and was the fastest to the 400-wicket mark (in 252 ODIs).
Waqar played 70 Tests as a player, taking 303 wickets at an average of 23.57, with 19 five-wicket hauls and a best of 7/76.
Waqar played 17 Tests as captain, taking 67 wickets at an average of 23.47, with 3 five-wicket hauls and a best of 7/91.
Record as Test captain: Won 10, Lost 7
Courtney Walsh (West Indies – 22 Tests as captain)
A gentle giant, Courtney Walsh led the West Indies at the time of their steady decline.
Not known for raw pace, Walsh had incredible control over his swing deliveries and used his tall height to outwit many batsmen.

Courtney Walsh. (Photo by Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Walsh formed a lethal bowling pair with Curtly Ambrose and the pair took 421 wickets between them from 49 Tests.
Walsh broke Kapil Dev’s record of 434 Test wickets, was the first bowler ever in the history of Test cricket to reach the 500-wicket mark and finished his career with 519 scalps.
Walsh played 110 Tests as a player, taking 434 wickets at an average of 24.19, with 15 five-wicket hauls and a best of 6/54.
Walsh played 22 Tests as captain, taking 85 wickets at an average of 25.71, with 7 five-wicket hauls and a best of 7/37.
Record as Test captain: Won 6, Lost 7, Drawn 9
Shaun Pollock (South Africa – 26 Tests as captain)
Born into a family of cricketers, Shaun Pollock was handed over the captaincy of the South African team when Hansie Cronje was banned due to match-fixing allegations.
Pollock had the ability to move the ball both ways at a decent pace and with Allan Donald steaming down from the other end, the Proteas had a match-winning pace bowling attack at their disposal.

Shaun Pollock. (Photo By Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Like Akram, Pollock was an all-rounder but also underachieved with the bat, though he scored 2 Test hundreds.
Pollock was the captain when South Africa suffered an ignominious exit from the 2003 World Cup, which was held in their country.
Pollock played 82 Tests as a player, taking 318 wickets at an average of 23.68, with 12 five-wicket hauls and a best of 7/87.
Pollock played 26 Tests as captain, taking 103 wickets at an average of 21.36, with 4 five-wicket hauls and a best of 6/30.
Record as Test captain: Won 14, Lost 5, Drawn 7
Pat Cummins (Australia – 9 Tests as captain)
When Pat Cummins was named Australia’s Test captain last year, it raised quite a few eyebrows, especially in non-Australian cricketing corridors. After all, apart from a one-off Test cameo from Ray Lindwall in 1956, this was the first time a fast bowler was appointed to lead the Australian men’s team in Test cricket.
But with Steve Smith and David Warner both under a cloud due to ball-tampering allegations and the Test spot of Tim Paine coming under increased scrutiny, the Aussie selectors decided to take the tough call.

Pat Cummins. (AFP Photo)
Cummins is one of the best fast bowlers in the world currently and he showed, almost immediately, that the selectors had taken the right call. The fast bowler with movie star looks led Australia to a 4-0 win against England in Ashes 2021-22. Cummins finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series with 21 scalps in 4 matches.
With left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc as his new ball bowling partner and Josh Hazlewood coming in as first change, Cummins spearheads a more than potent Aussie pace attack.
Cummins has led Australia in 8 Tests, taking 34 wickets at an average of 19.82 with 2 five-wicket hauls and a best of 5/38.
Cummins is already closing in on 200 Test wickets and is yet to lose a Test as captain.
Record as Test captain: Won 5, Lost 0, Drawn 3