Wicketkeepers who bowl

[Barney Rubble]

Tatenda Taibu's exploits in Zim's ODI and Test series against SL, where he gave his pads to Alester Maregwede and came on to bowl, taking wickets on each occasion (his maiden Test wicket was Sanath Jayasuriya!!!), got me thinking - can anyone remember other occasions where wicketkeepers have taken off their pads and turned their arm over, and what the circumstances were? It turned out Taibu did it simply because he is a decent bowler (from what I hear he can bowl both medium-pace inswingers and offspin, can anyone confirm this?), but there must have been times before when keepers have done it just for fun when the result of a match has already been decided?

I remember Karl Krikken taking a wicket for Derbyshire a few years back, but can't remember why he was bowling. Also on England's tour of the Windies in 1994, although he wasn't keeping in that match (Jack Russell was), didn't Alec Stewart take the new ball when WI only needed 15 to win or something?

 

[Simon]

Prime Ministers XI match a few seasons ago, dan marsh turned his ankle on the ball while trying to field it off his own bowling, it was the middle of the over, so adam gilchrist brought himself on to bowl. Finished with 0/20 odd from 3.4 overs. I think it was Ganga who got a ton that day hit his 3rd ball for 6 straight over midwicket.

 

[Langeveldt]

When our opening bowlers were injured I opened the bowling for my club and after my spell stuck the pads on.. Ive never seen it happen at a higher level though...

 

[Barney Rubble]

What did Gilchrist bowl? I'm guessing some 55mph long hops? Can't see him having done much work in the nets!

I'd love it if a keeper got called for throwing, that would be funny - with some bowlers it's just not worth the controversy. Was at an OD game between Somerset and Middlesex last night, the crowd were accusing Paul Weekes of chucking - he's an opening batsman and part-time offspinner, there's just no point!

 

[Simon]

What did Gilchrist bowl? I'm guessing some 55mph long hops? Can't see him having done much work in the nets!

I'd love it if a keeper got called for throwing, that would be funny - with some bowlers it's just not worth the controversy. Was at an OD game between Somerset and Middlesex last night, the crowd were accusing Paul Weekes of chucking - he's an opening batsman and part-time offspinner, there's just no point!

he bowled offies, some werent bad, some were pretty poor!

 

[Langeveldt]

Was at an OD game between Somerset and Middlesex last night, the crowd were accusing Paul Weekes of chucking - he's an opening batsman and part-time offspinner, there's just no point!

Thats cool, was hoping to go to that game (I live 2 miles from the ground).. Loads of people I know went so I was pretty jealous at having to work

How old are u? U arent at Sherborne School by any chance?

 

[Simon]

PM's XI vs WI 2000/01

well i was close, Ganga got 97 and gilchrist bowled 2.1 overs 0/14. ACT players Anthony McQuire and Mark Higgs carved up as usual comets players make a habit of performing well in this game...

 

[Barney Rubble]

Thats cool, was hoping to go to that game (I live 2 miles from the ground).. Loads of people I know went so I was pretty jealous at having to work

How old are u? U arent at Sherborne School by any chance?

#

I'm 17, and I live in Sherborne but don't go to school there, I go to a boarding school in Sussex, which is where I play all my cricket. You don't happen to know a club I could join in Sherborne do you? I nearly joined one a couple of years back but I was always off at school, now I think they might have gone under after their playing fields got redeveloped or something.

 

[marc71178]

I'd love it if a keeper got called for throwing, that would be funny

Alec Stewart did didn't he?

 

[Barney Rubble]

Stewart did? I guess I kind of have to find that funny now....

From what I've seen on video (I was 6 at the time) Stewie bowled medium-slow, so to get called for throwing bowling medium-slow is probably harder than to get called bowling spin - Stewie must have developed an unorthodox action over the years!

Speaking of unusual bowlers, anyone remember at the end of a Test in 1996 when Mike Atherton and Graeme Thorpe bowled in tandem? Athers got out Wasim Akram lbw, and although Thorpie didn't get one then, he took a wicket for Surrey last year.

 

[PY]

Chris Read bowled at a testimonial for Wayne Noon for Notts CCC.

Though he wasn't keeping then. I think Paul Franks was but Neil can confirm.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I have to admit that I'm not sure who were keeping off the top of my head! I think that Pete's almost definitely right, however.

I'm pretty sure that Read bowled 3-0-20-0 of medium pace tripe (very reminiscent of PY's line and length, when I think about it).

 

[marc71178]

Stewart did? I guess I kind of have to find that funny now....

From what I've seen on video (I was 6 at the time) Stewie bowled medium-slow, so to get called for throwing bowling medium-slow is probably harder than to get called bowling spin - Stewie must have developed an unorthodox action over the years!

From reports at the time, he'd had a laugh with a mate and bet him he'd get called for throwing.

Think it was the end of the 375 game.

Speaking of unusual bowlers, anyone remember at the end of a Test in 1996 when Mike Atherton and Graeme Thorpe bowled in tandem? Athers got out Wasim Akram lbw, and although Thorpie didn't get one then, he took a wicket for Surrey last year.

I remember the time Thorpe was used as a genuine ODI bowler for a couple of games (think it may have been 95) - think it was a game at Lords and Athers got a ton.

 

[Prince EWS]

Nathan Pilon bowled an over for NSW last year.

 

[Dar]

Ajay Ratra bowled for India against West Indies. Sangakkara bowled against SA but wasn't keeper at the time

 

[lord_of_darkness]

When our opening bowlers were injured I opened the bowling for my club and after my spell stuck the pads on.. Ive never seen it happen at a higher level though...

ive seen it happen a lot these days at club level.. but apart from taibus bowling i dont actually recall anything else..

 

[Neil Pickup]

Alfred Lyttleton... 4-19.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Wasn't Alfred Lyttleton in like the 1880s or something?

Going back to Graeme Thorpe being used as a genuine ODI bowler, it seems as if it's becoming less and less common to play out an entire Test or ODI career without bowling at some point - even players like Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, and, I believe, Herschelle Gibbs, have bowled in Tests, although I mgith be wrong about Gibbs.

Did Thorpe ever take an ODI/Test wicket?

 

[Andre]

Tim 'Ziggy' Zoherer kept for Western Australia and for a short period Australia in the late 1980's and early 1990's. He bowled good standard leg spinners - they used to take him out of keeping to bowl. When Gilchrist moved to WA and Ziggy was dumped, he was told by selectors he would now been seen as a batting all-rounder. Although he never made it back from memory, he must have been decent. Infact, just on looking at his stats, he took 38 first class wickets including a five-fer.

I remember reading how he bowled in a tour match on the '93 Ashes tour - Damien Martyn took the gloves and snared a stumping.

As for Thorpe, he was a competent bowler, but has rarely been used - Stephen Fleming and Marvan Atapattu have decent bowling records also but wouldn't have bowled for years. As for Dravid, Lara and Hayden, they certainly aren't the worst around.

 

[Barney Rubble]

From my very hazy memory, BCL bowled a few overs of leggies on WI's tour to England in '95, Hayden bowled some trundlers v India in '01, Dravid possibly in India's tour of England a few years ago ('97?), offbreaks I think.

Speaking of those who rarely bowl, I am actually of the belief that England have a few players who should bowl more often - Trescothick's medium-pacers have impressed me when I've seen them, I remember when Lara got the 400* he bowled about 16 overs, one very tight spell of about 7-3-17-0 I think. Could certainly do with bowling more often, especially in ODIs. As for Michael Vaughan, anyone capable of bowling what is constantly referred to by the Channel 4 commentators as "the Tendulkar ball", where he dismissed SRT with one which pitched two feet outside off and hit middle, one of the best deliveries I've seen from a finger-spinner, should be bowling more than the 5-10 overs per series he currently does.