20 Facts about Courtney Walsh – The Jamaican legend

20 Facts about Courtney Walsh – The Jamaican legend: When the discussion arises about who amongst the best is the best, it is quite probable that Courtney Walsh is one name which crops up the least. And quite akin to his career, he has been probably one of the unsung heroes of the West Indian pace attack which went on to make it’s mark from late 1970s to 2000s. A bowler with a simple action, it was his stingy bowling technique which garnered him so many wickets over such a long career, and quite outstripped his fellow West Indian bowlers as far as longevity is concerned.

Probably one of the last of the legendary bowling lineup to retire internationally, Courtney Walsh was also the most successful amongst them. His wickets tally in Test cricket was a record figure till Muralitharan broke it. Walsh’s game made him immortal in cricketing fraternity and even today he continues to be one of the most respected fast bowlers in world cricket.

1. Birth:

Courtney Andrew Walsh was born on 30^th October 1962, in Jamaica.

2. Early years: 

Courtney Walsh, during his initial years, played for The Melbourne Club. Coincidently, future team-mate Michael Holding also played at the same club.

3. First class debut:

Walsh made his first-class debut for Jamaica in 1981 season. He continued to play for Jamaica till 2000.

4. Test debut:

In a team packed with an incredible pace battery, Walsh managed to break in during the 1984 season, aged just 22. He made his debut against Australia at the WACA, and managed to take 2 wickets in the only inning he bowled.

5. ODI debut and a fruitful year:

Walsh also made his ODI debut in the same year, against Sri Lanka at Hobart in World Series Cup. He managed to take just a single wicket in his quota. 1984 continued to be a fruitful year for the pacer, as he ended up picking up 16 wickets in the 6 Test matches that he played.

6. Consistent performances:

After 1984, he was used as a backup bowler of sorts for the 2 upcoming seasons. Since there was rich competition for each spot in the team he found it tough to regularly find a place for himself and was generally the second fiddle. But he continued to justify his talent, taking 29 wickets in 7 Tests he played during this duration.

7. International recognition:

Walsh’s stingy but effective bowling, without much of flamboyance, might not have won him many fans, but it did win him many accolades. The first of them being named as one of the “Wisden Cricketer of the Year” in 1986, for his performances in 1986 season.

8. Dream tour of India:

Despite playing a second fiddle to Holding and Marshall for most of the 80s, Walsh began to make his mark as a bowler of his own right in late 80s. On West Indies’ tour of India, he took an incredible tally of 26 wickets in 4 matches.

9. Spirit of Cricket:

Walsh has always been known for being a gentleman in the gentleman’s game, and this incident was a spirit of cricket moment which people still remember. With Pakistan needing 2 runs to qualify for the semi’s in the 1987 World Cup, Walsh ran out Saleem Yousuf while in his bowling the run-up (mankading), but withdrew his appeal. West Indies eventually went on to lose the match, but Walsh did win many hearts for his actions that day.

10. An interesting hat-trick:

Walsh continued his consistent performances, following a dip in form during the 1987 WC, into the late 80s and early 90s. During West Indies’ tour of Australia, he took a “complicated hat-trick”, dismissing Tony Dodemaide with the last ball of the first innings and Mike Veletta and Graeme Wood with his first two deliveries in the second.

11. Opening the bowling, and captaincy:

Following nearly 9 years after his debut, Courtney Walsh was promoted as an opening bowler in 1993. And in the following year, he was appointed as the captain of the West Indies team for the tours of India and New Zealand. While he was at his usual best against India, he was brutal against New Zealand and picked up his BBI and BBM figures with a 7-wicket haul and another 6-wicket haul in the second Test of the series at Wellington.

12. Dream combination with Curtly Ambrose:

Though not known for his elegance nor pace, Walsh went on to make one of the most deadly pairs in Test cricket history with Curtly Ambrose in the 90s. With Ambrose’s pace and Walsh’s accuracy, they made things extremely difficult for the batsmen.  Between them, they had 421 wickets in 49 Tests.

Also Read: Top 10 Most successful fast bowling pairs in Tests:

13. Dream year:

Despite being 32, Walsh 1994 turned out to be one of the best years in his career in Test cricket, as he picked up 62 wickets with an average of 21. He was West Indies’ top bowler in both the tours of England and Australia.

14. Ripe with age:

Courtney Walsh, despite being in mid 30s wherein fast bowlers fade into retirement, was still at his prime, thanks to uncomplicated bowling technique and reliable body. Though he did not manage to maintain his pace, his accuracy increased, and it became increasingly difficult to score against him during the late 90s.

15. Dream year – part 2:

Like a fire that burns bright before it extinguishes, Walsh had the best year in his career in 2000, being aged 38. He took an incredible tally of 66 wickets that year, at an average of just above 18. His spotlight performance came against England, as he picked up 34 wicket in a 5-match series. Also, on March 27 2000, Walsh became the highest wicket taker in Test cricket history, overtaking Kapil Dev’s tally of 434.

16. Retirement:

Possibly one of the most consistent bowlers ever to grace the game, retired in April 2001 as he played his last international game against South Africa. Even in his last Test, he took 6 wickets and retired at a ripe age of 39.

17. Test stats:

As a fast bowler, Walsh had a very respectable statistics of 519 Test wickets at an average of 24, being 4^th on the list of bowlers with most Test wickets. He picked 22 five wicket hauls, with a best of 7-37.

18. ODI career:

Despite playing over 200 ODIs, Walsh’s career as a One day player was not as impressive as his Test career. But his performance of 5 wickets for 1 run in 2 overs against Sri Lanka in 1986 is a stuff of legends. In 205 ODIs, he picked of 227 wickets, and had an average of 30.

19. Legend with the bat:

Walsh’s stint with the bat was that of a legend, for all the wrong reasons. Possibly one of the worst international batsmen ever, he holds the record for most number of ducks in Test cricket- 43. Interestingly, he also has the record for most number of not-outs in Test cricket- 61. Courtney Walsh had a batting average of 7, and a high score of 30, in both the formats.

20. Trivia:

Walsh has a Restaurant in Jamaica, named Cuddyz.