3 times a retired player came on as a substitute fielder in an international match ft. Neil Wagner
Amidst the usual ebbs and flows in a game, we have some unique occurrences occasionally that provide fans a cause to pause and take note. One such instance in international cricket is when a retired player comes on as a substitute fielder.
The circumstances facilitating such a requirement vary from needing several substitutes at once or the unavailability of potential fielding options at that instance, leading to extensions beyond the players in the squad.
Even support staff members like fielding coaches and physios, among others, have occasionally been called on as substitute fielders in an international game. The less outlandish would be a player who has announced retirement after an ongoing series coming in as a substitute fielder while not part of the actual playing XI.
On that note, let us look at three instances of a retired player coming in as a substitute fielder in an international match.
# 1 Neil Wagner
Days after announcing his retirement from international cricket, New Zealand left-arm pacer Neil Wagner came in as a substitute fielder on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test against Australia at Wellington.
The 37-year-old received a rousing reception from the packed crowd when he came in as the substitute in the 69th over. Wagner is part of the squad for the first Test and will be released for the second and final game.
Despite announcing his retirement, the lion-hearted cricketer bowled to the Kiwi batters in the nets to help them prepare for the Australia series.
In his illustrious career, Wagner played 64 Tests for New Zealand and finished as their fifth-leading Test wicket-taker with 260 scalps, including nine 5-wicket hauls.
# 2 Albie Morkel
Former South African all-rounder Albie Morkel had to come on as a substitute fielder for Namibia in the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two 2019-23 clash against Nepal at Kirtipur on February 18, 2023.
With several players already out featuring in T20 Leagues, the side also suffered four injuries that left the squad size thin. Under these adverse circumstances, Morkel had to come out and field for the Namibian side despite being an assistant coach.
The outing unfortunately ended with the side losing to Nepal in the 48th over despite scoring 274 in their 50 overs. Morkel was among the most feared power-hitters at the nascent stages of T20 cricket in the mid to late 2000s.
He played 58 ODIs, 50 T20Is, and a lone Test for South Africa in his playing career spanning from 2004 to 2015. The all-rounder scored over 1,400 runs and picked up 77 wickets for the Proteas.
# 3 Paul Collingwood
Former England batter Paul Collingwood was their assistant coach during the incredible 2019 ODI World Cup title run. While the ending was surreal, the tournament did not start on the most memorable note for the hosts with several injuries.
In their first warm-up match against Australia, pacers Mark Wood and Jofra Archer suffered injury scares, leading to Collingwood donning the latter's shirt as the substitute fielder. It did not help that leg-spinner Adil Rashid was also missing due to a shoulder injury.
Among the best fielders of his generation, Collingwood last played for England in 2011 and retired from competitive cricket in 2018. The now-47-year-old played 68 Tests, 197 ODIs, and 36 T20Is for England, scoring almost 10,000 runs.
Unfortunately, Collingwood's presence could not prevent the Aussies from scoring a massive 297 in 50 overs, a total that proved to be 12 runs too many for England.
Honorable Mentions
Two lesser-known names that came in as substitute fielders after their playing days include Australia's Grant Baldwin and West Indian Omar Phillips.
The former had played only a handful of games for the Victoria 2nd XI in the Cricket Australia Cup and other local competitions between 2006 and 2008. However, Baldwin had to take the field as a substitute when he was the masseur of the Australian cricket team in the Day-Night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide in 2015.
Ace pacer Mitchell Starc went off the field with an injury, and the hosts decided to send Baldwin in as a substitute fielder. Unfortunately, his most notable contribution was a misfield that cost his side three runs despite them eventually winning the game by three wickets.
Meanwhile, the Adelaide Oval continued with its trend of former players coming in as substitutes when Barbados-born Omar Phillips rushed to the venue during the second Test between Australia and the West Indies in 2022.
Before the game, the visitors were dealt injuries to Kyle Mayers, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, and Nkrumah Bonner, all ruled out due to injuries, leaving them with only ten fit players from their original squad.
They called up Jamaican pacer Marquino Mindley at the 11th hour, but he subsequently left the field after bowling two overs with a hamstring injury. It led to Mayer re-entering the field with a shoulder injury before Phillips arrived in the afternoon.
Surprisingly, Phillips played only two Tests for the West Indies against Bangladesh in 2009 despite averaging 40 with a half-century. His final domestic outing came in 2018, four years before the Adelaide debacle, where the West Indies lost by 419 runs.