Diamond ducks in Tests

After looking at fast scoring, we look at the lack of scores. Different kinds of ducks and pairs have been enumerated in various posts. We now concentrate on diamond ducks, where a batsman is dismissed without facing a ball. This usually happens when he is run out at the non-striker’s end. Less often, it could be when he is stumped or run out off a wide.

The number of balls faced in a batsman’s innings was not always recorded in the past. These are the undisputed cases of diamond ducks up to Oct 25, 2019:

The only one to have two of these ducks is CS Martin, sometimes considered as the worst ever batsman in Tests. Ken Rutherford, Umar Gul and Nuwan Pradeep are the only ones to score diamond ducks on debut. Rutherford got a pair including this duck, but went on to become a successful batsman. Many years later his son Hamish Rutherford made 171 on debut.

Umar Gul and Younis Khan batted the longest-7 minutes each.

There is no case of a diamond pair. The closest approach to one appears to be that of Taufeeq Umar who scored a pair with innings of 0 and 2 balls, thus scoring 0 in two innings with 2 balls which is the equivalent of a “king pair” or dismissal off the first ball of each innings.

Also note: There have been 152 diamond ducks in ODIs. The last were by AU Rashid and MA Wood, who were the last two batsmen dismissed in the World Cup final between England and New Zealand on July 14, 2019.

There have also been 50 diamond ducks in T20Is.

Hazlewood’s lost record

In the exciting finish to the Auckland ODI on January 30, commentators mentioned  Hazlewood’s durability as a batsman-as he had never been dismissed in 33 ODIs. Unfortunately, his luck ran out when Australia needed 7 runs for victory:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-v-australia-2016-17/engine/match/1020013.html

Note that he was dismissed for a diamond duck, as he did not face a single ball in a partnership of 24 balls and 54 runs, and was run out as a non-striker.

We look at the relevant records as they were on Jan 29:

Most ODIs without a dismissal:

Most ODI innings without a dismissal:

Hazlewood had played in 33 ODIs, more than twice the tally of the next in line. He shared the record for 6 innings without dismissal with the little-known Bermudan player SKW Kelly.

After today’s match (January 30):

Most ODIs without a dismissal:

The record now passes to Ahsan Malik and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Most ODI innings without a dismissal:

And so Bermuda has this record to itself. (Some say they had a record in Dwayne Leverock being the heaviest international cricketer in recent times. He was a popular figure during the 2007 World Cup, the only time Bermuda reached that level).

http://www.espncricinfo.com/bermuda/content/player/23742.html

We also look at the corresponding records for T20Is, as on Jan 30, 2017:

Most T20I matches without dismissal:

The top 3 led by Steve Finn are still likely to play in international matches, so the record may change hands.

Most T20I innings without dismissal:

AF Milne has the record for the moment.