5 sons of great cricketers who didn't live up to expectations
Several father-son pairs have played international cricket in the past. However, not all second-generation players have been as successful as many would have thought they would be.
Here's a list of 5 cricketer sons who failed to live up to expectations:
5. Pranab Roy, son of Pankaj Roy
Pankaj Roy is best remembered for his world record opening stand of 413 runs with Vinoo Mankad vs New Zealand in Chennai in 1956. That record stood for 52 years before Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie surpassed it in 2008.
His son Pranab was picked for the Indian team in 1981 and batted 82 minutes for his six runs in his first Test innings. He scored his first Test fifty in the second innings of the same game.
He was then picked for the tour to England in 1982 where he could amass only 174 runs in 12 first-class innings. That tour proved to be his final series for India and he was never picked again, despite being a prolific scorer for Bengal.
4. Chris Cowdrey, son of Colin Cowdrey
Chris was picked in the England squad in 1984 following some good performances for his county side Kent. He made his Test debut in Bombay and picked up his first wicket in his very first over, dismissing Kapil Dev.
However, that was one of the few memorable moments in his career as he would not play a game for his country for four more years – before being selected again in 1988. He played 6 Tests and 3 ODIs for England in all, failing to contribute significantly in any of the games.
3. Richard Hutton, son of Sir Len Hutton
Sir Len Hutton was one of the greatest players to have ever played for England. His 364 against Australia in 1938 was a record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, until Sir Garfield Sobers went past it 20 years later. His son Richard made his England debut in 1971 vs Pakistan at Lord’s.
Unlike his father, Junior Hutton’s stronger discipline was his bowling and he picked up a couple of wickets in a rain-affected debut. However, his international career was a short-lived one and played only four more Tests for his country, the last of which came against India the very same year.
2. Rohan Gavaskar, son of Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket and is widely regarded as one of the finest openers to have ever played the game. Much was expected out of his son Rohan, who was selected as part of the Indian squad in 2004.
The younger Gavaskar showed early promise, pulling off a stunning catch off his own bowling to dismiss Andrew Symonds on his debut for India at the Gabba in Brisbane. He also scored a fifty against Zimbabwe in Adelaide.
However, the southpaw failed to perform consistently and could play only 11 ODIs in national colours. His last tournament for India was the 2004 Champions Trophy. He later played in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and also for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL in 2010. He has now followed his father’s footsteps and become a cricket commentator.
1. Mali Richards, son of Sir Vivian Richards
Vivian Richards may have been one of the greatest cricketers to emerge out of the Caribbean islands, but his son Mali couldn’t exactly set the stage on fire like his father did.
Born in Taunton in Somerset in 1983, Mali played the game at the university level in England and also represented Middlesex in the English county circuit, but could never represent the West Indies in international cricket.
The left-hander played 11 games for various sides, failing to notch up a single 50. However, he did score 319 for Antigua and Barbuda in a non-first class game against US Virgin Islands in 2003. He also played a single season for the Leeward islands in 2009.