One Man Army
Captains who scored the runs, got the wickets, drove the bus and made the dinners.
Qualification: Min 100runs & 5 wickets in Match as Captain
Sobers v England 28 Mar 1968
247 runs out of 678, 36.4%
6/125 vs.team 19/577, 31.6%/21.7%
Atkinson v Australia 14 May 1955
239 out of 744, 32.1%
7/164 vs. 20/917 35%/17.9%
Dexter v Pakistan 2 Feb 1962 (2 catches)
205 out of 507, 40.4%
5/134 vs. 18/657, 27.8%/20.4%
Mohammad v West Indies 1 Apr 1977
177 out of 642, 27.6%
8/97 vs. 20/376 40%/25.8%
Sobers v England 4 Aug 1966
174 out of 500, 34.8%
8/80 vs. 20/445 40%/17.9%
Vettori v Bangladesh 17 Oct 2008 (2 catches)
131 out of 488, 26.8%
9/133 vs. 20/487 45%/27.3%
Sobers v Australia 14 Feb 1969 (1 catch)
126 out of 631, 20%
5/211 vs. 18/1013, 27.8%/20.8%
Khan v India 3 Jan 1983
117 out of 662, 17.7%
11/180 vs. 20/658 55%/27.3%
Khan v England 26 Aug 1982
113 out of 474, 23.8%
8/115 vs. 17/475, 47.1%/24.2%
Giffen v England 1 Mar 1895 (2 catches)
108 out of 681, 15.9%
5/236 vs. 14/683, 35.7%/34.6%
Allen v Australia 4 Dec 1936
103 out of 614, 16.8%
8/107 vs. 20/292, 40%/36.6%
Sobers v India 13 Dec 1966 (3 catches)
103 out of 613, 16.8%
5/125 vs. 20/612, 25%/20.4%
These twelve occurrences show the rare occasion where a captain takes at least 5 wickets in a match as well as scoring at least a hundred runs. Effectively being a one man army. Leading from the front can be one of the most admirable qualities in a captain, and these are men who did so in each aspect of the game. Captains who lead from the front holding both bat and ball.
Top 5 All Round Batting Performances
5. Mushtaq Mohammad (Pak) vs. West Indies, 1 Apr 1977
121, 56
Contributing in both innings Mushtaq scored his final hundred in the first innings of this 4th match against West Indies in 1977. Coming in at 3-51, Mushtaq and Majid Khan put on a 108 run partnership to get Pakistan back on track. Vital runs in a victory against one of the worlds finest teams. This win put the series at 1-1 until Pakistan finally lost the last match of the series.
4. Denis Atkinson (WI) vs. Australia, 14 May 1955
219, 20*
In the 4th match of series which WI had no hope of winning, Denis Atkinson coming in at 146 for 6 trailing a mammoth 668, he added 347 for the seventh wicket with Clairmonte Depeiaza to get his team back into the match. His score of 219 was his only Test hundred and is the second highest score for the 7th wicket, Bradman with 270 against England in 1937 is number one.
3. Garry Sobers (WI) vs. England, 4 Aug 1966
174,DNB
Sobers 174 came off a blistering 260 balls and only took 4 hours. This assault decimated an already deflated English team and took the series for a dominant 3-0 Windies team. Sobers averaged 103.14 on the tour and racked up 722 runs in 8 innings.
2. Garry Sobers (WI) vs. England, 28 Mar 1968
152, 95*
Deciding that he had let England off easy last time round, Sobers goes and decides to go one better in Guyana. Barring Sobers only one of his teammates crossed 50 over the course of this match. Again he leads a massive individual vendetta against the boys from mother England and ended the series with an average of 90.83.
1. Ted Dexter (End) vs. Pakistan, 2 Feb 1962
205, DNB
In the third match of a 1-0 all series a lot was resting on Ted Dexter's shoulders to hold onto a victory in Pakistan. After dismissing Pakistan for 253 he went on to almost overtake their score by himself. Taking up most of two days to build his 205 he doubled his oppositions total and ground out well over a third of his teams runs. England were put into a position where they couldn't lose and their series victory away was secured.
Top 5 All Round Bowling Performances
5. Daniel Vettori (NZ) vs. Bangladesh, 17 Oct 2008
5/59, 4/74
With his team on the crux of defeat to Bangladesh, Daniel Vettori took the attack to his opponents. Getting the wicket of his opposing captain in both innings for the cost of only 2 runs was an important moral victory in giving his team momentum to come back from the brink of defeat. An invigorated Bangladesh eventually buckled under Vettori's spells.
4. Mushtaq Mohammad (Pak) vs. West Indies, 1 Apr 1977
5/28, 3/69
Through crumbling West Indies to 154 all out in the first innings, Mushtaq Mohammad left his team well in control when it came time for his boys to bet again. His first innings bowling left West Indies trailing by a massive deficit which they could never recover from.
3. Imran Khan (Pak) vs. England, 26 Aug 1982
5/49, 3/66
Imran toiled well in a losing effort, taking 8 of his teams 17 wickets. The match went down to the wire with England winning by only 3 wickets. His first innings spell left his team slightly ahead yet his own teams weak batting performance in the second innings let down their chances of victory. If his boys had gather together only 30 more runs they may well have won the match. Imran top scored for his team and took the most wickets, yet unfortunately all in a losing effort.
2. Garry Sobers (WI) vs. England, 4 Aug 1966
5/41, 3/39
England were rolled over twice here through Sobers efforts. The English batsman struggled against his efforts in both innings, 9 maidens and 8 wickets were his returns for a match that the West Indies dominated from the word go. With 500 runs in the bank, Sobers forced England to follow on and they crumbled with a day to spare.
1. Imran Khan (Pak) v India, 3 Jan 1983
6/98, 5/82
Taking a 5-fer in both innings is a great achievement in any case, taking one against long time rivals India is something which have must been all the sweeter to Imran. A fast bowler leading his team is somewhat an unusual sight in Test cricket, yet Imran was a fast bowler who led by example his through his own high quality performances. The master of reverse swing bowled India out twice and left his team a paltry 7 runs to chase in their second innings, assuring a safe and resounding victory.
Top 5 There's a Me in Team Performances
5. Daniel Vettori (NZ) vs. Bangladesh, 17 Oct 2008
5/59, 4/74
55*, 76
After Bangladesh made it to an average score of 245 Vettori's team collapsed to 6/99, as he came in. Quickly losing Jacob Oram's wicket in the next over for a single run the captain was left trailing by 145 runs with only the tail remaining. Vettori crafted 55 runs out of the 71 to come after that moment. While still trailing the deficit could have been far greater if not for his efforts. In the second innings Vettori once again helped roll over Bangladesh for a mediocre score of 242. He then promoted himself to number 4 and guided his team to victory, when he fell his team needed only 19 runs and their victory was assured.
Tied with
Mushtaq Mohammad (Pak) vs. West Indies, 1 Apr 1977
5/28, 3/69
121,56
A gutsy effort from this underrated Pakistani captain led his team to their sole victory of a series against a fantastic West Indies team. This match also signaled the last great batting performance by Mushtaq Mohammad which led to the defeat of one of the finest teams cricket has ever seen. An unsung hero and performance of Pakistani cricket.
4. Ted Dexter (End) vs. Pakistan, 2 Feb 1962
2/48, 3/86
205, DNB
There are 52 instances of a captain scoring a double hundred and only for of a captain scoring a double hundred and taking a wicket. Dexter however took 5 wickets a feat only bettered by one other man as captain. Lord Ted was a player who invoked an image of power at the crease and in this performance he did so in both forms of the game, yet his batting feat in particular was highly impressive.
3. Denis Atkinson (WI) vs. Australia, 14 May 1955
219, 20*
2/108,5/56
In 35 innings and 22 matches Denis Atkinson contributed 26% of his runs in a single match. His only century in Test match cricket was a large one, a double large one and holds the seventh wicket high score to this day in Tests. While he only captained a handful of matches in this game he did so by example. After letting Australia away to score 668 his efforts kept West Indies in the match with a fighting 510 led by his 219. In the second innings he shined with the ball and rolled Australia out for 249, giving the West Indies a target of 408. The Test ended with in a draw with the two men who caused Australia so much trouble in the first innings assuring that this match would not end in an Australian victory.
2. Imran Khan (Pak) v India, 3 Jan 1983
6/98, 5/82
117, DNB
His bowling prowess speaks for itself yet his blistering knock in this match is one of his finest cricketing feats. 117 runs coming off 121 balls led to Pakistan piling on the runs with plenty of time to bowl India out. 66 of his runs came in boundaries as he decimated the Indian attack including the great Kapil Dev (who finished with figures of 7/220 from 38.4 overs). The feat of taking 10 wickets in a match and scoring a hundred has only been achieved one other time in cricket and that was by Sir Ian Botham 3 years earlier, and that was without the captaincy to burden him. The caliber of such an achievement is truly one of the markers of one of the greatest captain all-rounders the game has ever known.
1. Garry Sobers (WI) vs. England, 4 Aug 1966
5/41, 3/39
174, DNB
Sobers finished with his finest Test match bowling performance in this match with 8/80 overall. In the match he also took the most wickets, scored the most runs, and hit the most boundaries. In the finest all round performance of all time by a captain Sobers won the game with both bat and ball. Sir Garry Sobers was a player who always led by example and in a career which saw him take 235 Test wickets and score 8032 Test runs the great man left his mark on the game. Never in history had a captain done so much to secure victory for his team as Sobers did on the 4th of August 1966.
