You may think that this is about England losing 8 wickets for 8 runs in the third match. That has been covered enough elsewhere. Here we note some remarkable figures about players who have played the most matches and innings without scoring a single run, and others who have gone a step better and did not get to face a single ball while batting. These figures are as on 2 Feb 2017.
The unlikely hero here is India’s new-found death bowler Jasprit Bumrah, apparently a Sikh who was born and brought up in Ahmedabad. We know about his bowling. Now see the records he has set while batting.
Most matches played without scoring a run (5 or more):
Bumrah stands at the peak with 24 T20Is played without scoring a single run, twice that of his nearest competitors Santokie and Sodhi. He did bat in 4 innings, faced 2 balls and was dismissed once. As you can see, there are others who have played up to 9 matches without being called on the bat. The Australian Test player Stuart Clark played 9 matches without going in to bat.Then come Fareed Ahmed and the better known Josh Hazlewood in 7 matches. The latest hero YS Chahal has not had to bat in his 6 matches.
Now we look at
Most innings played without scoring a run (2 or more):
Bumrah leads here as well, but interestingly a prominent Test batsman MS Sinclair also appears here. The end of his career seemed to coincide with the increase in the frequency of T20Is which began in 2005.Ruchira Perera also played a few Tests as an all-rounder. Note that he played 2 innings without facing a ball.
Next, we look at those who never got to face a ball in T20Is.
Most matches played without facing a ball (5 or more):
Santokie and Sodhi head this list. Next comes A. Mishra who did get dismissed without facing a ball, with the dreaded diamond duck which usually strikes non-strikers who are run out. Then we note that Stuart Clark heads the list of those who never went out to bat.
The first four in this list have Indian connections-even Stuart Clark, whose parents were Anglo-Indians.
Finally, we look at the most innings played without facing a ball. It is a short list.
Most innings played without facing a ball (1 or more):
The aforementioned Ruchira Perera heads this list, playing two innings without facing a ball. Note that AA Noffke, like Amit Misra, also got a diamond duck.
ODIs and Test matches deserve separate posts.
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