Courtney Walsh can
lay claim to being the most durable fast bowler in the history of Test
cricket. Walsh made his Test debut on the 1984 tour of Australia at the
age of 22, and for the first half of his career, Walsh was the
workhorse in a side with bowlers of the quality of Joel Garner, Curtly
Ambrose and Malcolm Marshall. But as he grew older and stronger he
graduated to the new ball around 1993, and formed one of the great
opening partnerships with Ambrose, they shared 421 wickets between them
from 49 Tests.
In 1987, Walsh was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
In 1989, he took 10 wickets in a Test match for the first time. In
1994, he was appointed captain of the West Indies Test team for the
tours of India and New Zealand after Richie Richardson was ordered to
rest because of "acute fatigue syndrome". In 1995, he took 62 Test
wickets at an average of 21.75 runs per wicket, a performance which he
bettered in 2000 when he took 66 Test wickets at an average of 18.69,
including 34 wickets in the Test series against England at an average
of 12.82 runs per wicket.
Standing six foot six inches
tall with a economical action Walsh could bowl for very long spells,
delivering the ball from approximately 10 feet in the air to extract
bounce and movement off the pitch. Even as he lost pace in the latter
stage of his career he continued to take wickets at an alarming rate.
His statistics bears testament to his endurance and
durability, 519 Test wickets and 30,019 balls.
Courtney Walsh retired from Test
cricket at the age of 39, after the West Indies versus South
Africa Test match at Kingston in, 2001, having taken 519 wickets in 132
Test at an average of 24.44. After retiring from
International cricket Walsh runs a sporting goods store in his native
Jamaica. He also been ask to assisted the current crop of West Indies
fast bowlers during training camps.
Courtney Walsh Test Cricket
Statistics
Full Name
Courtney Andrew Walsh
Number
of Test
132
Number
of ODIs
205
Test Run Aggregate
936
ODI Run Aggregate
321
Test
Batting Average
7.54
ODI
Batting Average
6.97
Total Test Wickets
519
Total ODI Wickets
227
Test Bowling Average
24.44
ODI Bowling Average
30.47
Test
Centuries
0
ODI
Centuries
0
Date of Birth
October
30, 1962, Kingston, Jamaica
Test Debut
Australia
v West Indies at Perth - Nov 9-12, 1984
Last Test Match
West
Indies v South Africa at Kingston - Apr 19-23,
2001
ODI Debut
Sri Lanka v West Indies at
Hobart (TCA) - Jan 10, 1985
Last ODI Match
New Zealand v West Indies at
Christchurch - Jan 11, 2000
Batting
Style
Right hand bat
Bowling
Style
Right-arm fast
Screenshot
Description
Cricket
Legends These players are the 50 greatest cricketers of
the century, as voted by a blue-ribbon panel of judges assembled by
ESPN. The panelists were asked to list in order, their top 50 players.
Cricketing legends from Australia, England, India, New Zealand,
Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies all made it to the final 50.
Among them are some famous West Indies fast bowlers, great Aussie
legends, and modern heros of the game. Disc 5 features the great George
Headley.
Courtney
Walsh, Heart of A Lion, Courtney Heart of a Lion. A Life
in cricket this autobiography tells the story of the most durable fats
bowler in the history of Test cricket.
