Players who've overcome physical disadvantages

[BoyBrumby]

This thread was inspired by cbuts post in the Mark Greatbatch thread (now closed):

gotta remeber as well hadlee had a severe heart condition that plagued him throughout his career

I genuinely hadn't heard that about the great man. Thanks to the magic of the interweb-thingy I now know that Sir Rich suffered from Wolf-Parkinson-White Syndrome which (apparently) causes an abnormal rhythm of the heart.

I think it throws his achievements into sharper focus; carrying NZ for nearly two decades & a bum ticker to boot! My respect for the fella has gone up even more.

It got me thinking about other players who've overcome similar physical adversity. I suppose the obvious example is Murali. He is famously unable to straighten his elbows, but has certainly turned (get it? ) those imperfect joints to his advantage; perhaps it's time to recognise his triumph over a genetic abnormality rather than upbraid him for his unique action.

Others I can think of are the Nawab of Pataudi (junior) who played 46 tests for India (with a decent average of nearly 35) despite virtual blindness in his right eye following a car crash at only 21 & Colin Milburn who also returned to FC cricket after the loss of sight in one eye.

Anyone know of any more?

 

[twctopcat]

Chandrasekhar's right arm was withered due to a polio attack when he was young which made him run up with one limp arm to the crease, seemed to do ok though!!

 

[twctopcat]

On a side not do Rob Key and Mike Gatting count, and what about acid smeared Rikki Clarke??

 

[Richard]

Chandrasekhar's right arm was withered due to a polio attack when he was young which made him run up with one limp arm to the crease, seemed to do ok though!!

Not to mention his six fingers... more of an advantage, that, of course.

 

[Richard]

It got me thinking about other players who've overcome similar physical adversity. I suppose the obvious example is Murali. He is famously unable to straighten his elbows, but has certainly turned (get it? ) those imperfect joints to his advantage; perhaps it's time to recognise his triumph over a genetic abnormality rather than upbraid him for his unique action.

Murali CATEGORICALLY HAS NOT benefited from his elbow defect. It has caused him no end of of problems and has resulted in the unwary continually branding him a chucker.
He does, ironically, have another physical defect which does help him do something just about no-one else can do - turn the ball miles with his wrists in a direction those with a normal joint can't.

Colin Milburn who also returned to FC cricket after the loss of sight in one eye.

He was never half the player after and should never have attempted to return. He always said, afterwards, that he wished he hadn't.
David Fulton, in case you don't know (and I'm sure you do) lost half his sight in an eye 2 years ago... his right eye, mercifully. Which means he can still bat as well as he could before.

 

[age_master]

Chandrasekhar's right arm was withered due to a polio attack when he was young which made him run up with one limp arm to the crease, seemed to do ok though!!

yeah he was my first thought, more wickets than runs as a result. amazing record as a bowler though

 

[age_master]

Murali CATEGORICALLY HAS NOT benefited from his elbow defect. It has caused him no end of of problems and has resulted in the unwary continually branding him a chucker.
He does, ironically, have another physical defect which does help him do something just about no-one else can do - turn the ball miles with his wrists in a direction those with a normal joint can't.

murali has overcome nothing, it gives him a bog advantage over his comeptition.

 

[Richard]

On a side not do Rob Key and Mike Gatting count

Self-inflicted wounds such as fags (Key) do NOT count.
And I never realised Mike Gatting's love of the grub never seemed to cause him too many problems - did it?

 

[Richard]

murali has overcome nothing, it gives him a bog advantage over his comeptition.

Not his elbow doesn't, it makes precisely no difference.
As for his wrist - yes, it does. Same way Lee has an advantage over his competition in that he has a faster arm than almost anyone. Too bad he's not accurate enough to take advantage of that.

 

[twctopcat]

Self-inflicted wounds such as fags (Key) do NOT count.
And I never realised Mike Gatting's love of the grub never seemed to cause him too many problems - did it?

Bellies are big disadvantages

 

[Richard]

Yet Mike Gatting is not horrendously overweight (even now), he's just one of those guys who likes his food.
There's a difference between that and Craig Evans!

 

[twctopcat]

And then there's a joke.

 

[Richard]

Hmm... you didn't sound like you were joking about Mike Gatting's belly to me, and nor do the 50,000,000 other people who go on about how he likes his grub.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Just to head off the obvious joke on Marc's part - Pollock's not disadvantaged through being ginger...

 

[Richard]

To head off on the part of our long-suffering Liam... no, everyone who's ever played for West Indies isn't disadvantaged because they smoke pot...

 

[Neil Pickup]

To head off on the part of our long-suffering Liam... no, everyone who's ever played for West Indies isn't disadvantaged because they smoke pot...

That's just Tuffers.

 

[social]

Azeem Hafeez has 2 fingers on his right hand - he was a left arm bowler

Fred Titmus lost 4 toes in a boating accident

Mike Brearley had no talent

 

[kof98]

Alan Dawson's one leg is shorter than the other.

 

[Langeveldt]

Hasn't Graham Smith come through some heart trouble?

 

[ReallyCrazy]

Murali CATEGORICALLY HAS NOT benefited from his elbow defect. It has caused him no end of of problems and has resulted in the unwary continually branding him a chucker.
He does, ironically, have another physical defect which does help him do something just about no-one else can do - turn the ball miles with his wrists in a direction those with a normal joint can't.

He was never half the player after and should never have attempted to return. He always said, afterwards, that he wished he hadn't.
David Fulton, in case you don't know (and I'm sure you do) lost half his sight in an eye 2 years ago... his right eye, mercifully. Which means he can still bat as well as he could before.

uhhh this got me thinking. If its a legspinner, they can be either a finger spinner (giles) or a wrist spinner (warne). But off-spinners are usually always finger spinners. Is Murali the only wrist spinning off-spinner?