3 most successful fast-bowler captains in Test cricket
Cricket has historically not viewed fast bowlers as Test captains. If we take a closer look at the most successful leaders in the traditional format, statistically, batters dominate the list.
Former South African captain Graeme Smith (53) has won the most Tests as a leader. He is followed by Ricky Ponting (48), Steve Waugh (41), Virat Kohli (40), and Clive Lloyd (36). The list continues with more batter-leaders.
Only a handful of pacers, most of them all-rounders, have captained their country in Test matches over the years. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis have done it for Pakistan, and Kapil Dev for India.
While South Africa had Shaun Pollock, England had Bob Willis as skippers. For West Indies, Courtney Walsh and Jason Holder have led the team in different phases, while Heath Streak has also captained Zimbabwe.
Pacers and Test captains - A rare breed
The elevation of Pat Cummins (Australia) and Ben Stokes (England) to Test leadership has raised hopes for young fast bowlers who harbor hopes of being red-ball captains of their nation in the future.
Stokes and Cummins’ early success in the role will also serve as a source of encouragement.
In view of the same, we go back in history and try to pick out the three most successful fast-bowler captains in Test cricket, looking beyond just stats.
#1 Imran Khan
Imran Khan is undoubtedly the best fast-bowler captain in Test history. He led Pakistan in 40 Tests from 1982-1992, of which the team won 14 and lost only eight - an exceptional record in an era when draws were the order of the day in the format.
While Pakistan won nine Tests under Imran as captain at home, they also registered two wins in England and one each in West Indies, India, and Sri Lanka. Of Imran’s 362 Test scalps, 187 came as captain of the team. He averaged an exceptional 20.26 with 12 five-wicket hauls, better than his career bowling average of 22.81.
Even though we are discussing fast-bowling captains, it is still pertinent to mention here that Imran also excelled with the willow as a leader. He scored 2408 runs at an average of 52.34. His overall Test batting average was a much lower 37.69.
Imran's biggest contribution as a leader, though, was grooming the likes of Akram and Waqar, who would also go on to become legends of the sport. In a nutshell, Imran was a leader in the truest sense.
#2 Wasim Akram
A legendary former left-arm seamer and lower-order batter, Wasim Akram is currently grabbing the headlines for his memoir “Sultan”, in which he has made some explosive revelations. A few of the incidents ought to have occurred during his tenure as captain.
Akram led Pakistan in 25 Tests, of which they won 12 and lost eight. Impressively, seven of his Test wins as captain came away from home - two in England and India and one each in Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh.
Looking at his bowling record as captain, he claimed 107 wickets at an average of 23.35 with three five-fors, pretty much on par with his overall Test bowling average of 23.62.
Akram also scored 894 runs at an average of 24.16 with one hundred - the famous 257* against Zimbabwe in Sheikhupura in 1996. There were shades of Imran’s leadership in Akram’s captaincy, although his flamboyance was comparatively reserved.
He did try to groom Shoaib Akhtar and the "Rawalpindi Express" briefly flourished under his leadership before things went awry.
#3 Shaun Pollock
When the term captaincy is used alongside Shaun Pollock’s name, the DRS blunder in the 2003 World Cup instantly comes to mind. Unfortunately, that is likely to stay that way given the enormity of the error. However, it would be equally unfair not to give Pollock his due credit as Test captain.
Taking over from Hansie Cronje in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal, Pollock led South Africa in 26 Tests, out of which the Proteas won 14 and lost only five. Ten of his wins as a leader came at home against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Out of his away wins, two were registered in the West Indies and one each in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Pollock had an impressive record with the ball while leading the team. He claimed 103 wickets at an average of 21.36 with four five-fers, slightly better than his overall average of 23.11.
The former all-rounder also scored 998 runs with the bat at an average of 41.58. Both his Test tons were registered as captain of South Africa.
Also Read: 5 players who scored a hundred on Test debut against India before Bangladesh's Zakir Hasan