Fielding fails in Tests

We have looked at those who failed to make a single fielding dismissal in their T20I and ODI careers. Today we conclude with Tests.

No fielding dismissals in Tests: 12 and more innings:

No fielding dismissals in Tests: 7 or more Tests:

The record for innings is shared by Fleetwood-Smith and the current Imran Khan with no dismissals in 18 innings, followed by Arshad Khan and Tony Lewis with 17. Imran had a few other statistical oddities tagged on, including not facing a ball for several Tests as well as seeing his side winning his first 5 Tests. Tony Lewis was appointed captain on his Test debut in 1972-73, the last such appointment by England.

For matches, Fleetwood-Smith again has the record of 10 Tests shared with Kuruvilla and Warnaweera. Also note the current player Steve O’Keefe creeping up the tables with 7 Tests and 12 innings without making a dismissal. Imran Khan is here too and near the top with 9 Tests.

However, until recently the record of most Tests and innings without a dismissal was held by Pakistan’s comeback kid Mohammad Amir who did not take a catch in his first 19 Tests and 37 innings. There was much celebration in his 20th Test and 38th innings when he caught Darren Bravo off Zulfiqar Babar at Sharjah in 2016-17. He also took 3-71 in that innings, though the West Indies went on to win their first Test against Pakistan on a neutral ground.

What about wicket-keepers who failed to make any dismissal? There are several who made their debut without a dismissal, but only one who had no dismissal in his career (which lasted for 1 Test):

Humayun Farhat at least did score 20+ in both innings. He is the brother of Imran Farhat.

Finally, is there anyone who never fielded in his Test career? Statsguru cannot find anyone:

You may be thinking of JCW MacBryan, who did not bat, bowl or take a catch in his one-Test career. But he did field for 66 overs. It would be interesting to know if he ever touched the ball. Anyway, he had a sufficiently distinguished first-class career including being one of the Wisden Five in 1925 besides an Olympic gold medal in hockey.

 

High scores at No 11

In the general batting mayhem of the 3rd ODI between England and Pakistan at Nottingham, it did not go unnoticed that Mohammad Amir on the losing side scored 58 at No 11 which was the first 50 by a No 11 in an ODI. The previous record was 43 by Shoaib Akhtar in the 2003 World Cup.

As we can see from the scorecard , Amir was joint top scorer in the innings with Sharjeel.

We take this occasion to look more closely at scores by No 10 and 11 batsmen in all 3 formats.

Tests:

45 and above at No 11:

Note that the top 4 scores have come after 2000.

There is even a listing of No 11s who have top scored in the innings:

The highest score of 98 here was made by AC Agar on his debut. The lowest (14) also came in recent years, when Australia moved from 21/9 to 47.

At No 10, there have been 4 centuries and a ninety:

And there are numerous centuries at No 9. The highest is 173 by IDS Smith for NZ v Ind in 1989-90, followed by 169 by SC Broad in this famous Test. The highest for India is 90 by FM Engineer vs NZ in 1964-65.

We now move to ODIs:

Highest by No 11 (30 and above):

Highest score by No 10 (50 and above):

Note that Amir also held this record for over two years before Rampaul took it.

At No 9, the highest is 92* by AD Russell for WI vs Ind in 2011. For India, it is 69 by Jai P. Yadav in the same match as IK Pathan (above).

As we will see, tailender scores are considerably lower in T20Is.

Top scores by No 11 (in double figures):

Only 4 No 11s have crossed double figures. The highest for India is 5* by Ishant Sharma v SL in 2009-10

Top scores by No 10 (20 and above):

The highest for India is 19* by S Sreesanth v NZ in the 2007 World Championship.

At No 9, the highest is 46 by Anwar Ali for Pak v SL in 2015. For India, it is 33* by IK Pathan v SL in 2008-09.