5 longest duck streaks in the history of cricket

Getting out for a duck is one of the biggest nightmares for a batsman, be it an opener or a number 11. It may be difficult for a player to cast sight on a scoreboard which shows a big ‘0’ against his name as it shows that he had no contribution to the team total.However, scoring a duck in a solitary innings is far better than getting consecutive ducks in two or more innings. While lower order batsmen are more prone to registering ducks in back-to-back innings, some of the batsmen, too, have achieved this dubious distinction from time to time.Here are 5 of the longest duck streaks in the history of Test cricket:

#5 Nuwan Pradeep (Sri Lanka)

No. of consecutive ducks – 4

Sri Lankan bowler Nuwan Pradeep cannot be termed as a useful batsman by any stretch of imagination. He proved this fact by becoming the latest entrant in the list of cricketers with more than 3 consecutive ducks.

Pradeep achieved this dubious feat last year when he was dismissed in the 2nd innings of the 3rd Test against India and went on to get 3 more of them in a series against West Indies. The standout bit for Nuwan Pradeep was that his streak included a couple of golden ducks.

The Sri Lankan bowler averages even less than 4 with the bat in the 17 Tests he has played so far.

#4 Mark Waugh (Australia)

No. of consecutive ducks – 4

Former Australian batsman Mark Waugh is remembered best for his lazy elegance with the bat and magical fielding skills. However, he is also looked at as one of the greatest examples of supreme talent that could not fulfill its true potential.

Junior Waugh is also one of the prominent names among batsmen who had a slightly longish streak of ducks. His disastrous run with the bat came during a series against Sri Lanka in the year 1992 when he scored 2 consecutive pairs in as many Tests.

Mark Waugh’s feat came across as a surprise as the Sri Lankan team he played against was nowhere near what they went on to become in later years.

#3 Bob Holland (Australia)

No. of consecutive ducks – 5

A leg spinner by trade, Bob Holland made a late debut for Australia at the age of 38. As expected, he had a very short career which lasted just 11 games and Holland could pick up just 34 wickets during that time.

However, the Aussie did manage to get his name etched in cricket history by becoming the first cricketer ever to score 5 ducks in consecutive innings. It all started for Holland with a pair in the 5th Test of the 1985 Ashes and was followed by another 3 ducks in the subsequent series against New Zealand.

This record should hardly come as a surprise, though, considering Bob Holland’s career batting average of slightly over 3.

#2 Mohammad Asif (Pakistan)

No. of consecutive ducks – 5

Tainted Pakistani cricketer, Mohammad Asif had a 23-Test long career before he was banned for 7 years following the match-fixing saga in 2010, only for the ban to be lifted recently. Although Asif was a more than decent bowler, his batting credentials were quite doubtful as an average of 5.64 would suggest.

Therefore, it is hardly a surprise that the medium pacer is a front-runner in terms of the record for most consecutive ducks. Asif achieved his none-too-impressive record of 5 back-to-back noughts in 3 separate Tests against India, Sri Lanka and England respectively in the year 2006.

While Mohammad Asif got a pair against the Indians as well as the Sri Lankans, he got his fifth duck against the English team.

#1 Ajit Agarkar (India)

No. of consecutive ducks – 5

There were a lot of achievements in Ajit Agarkar’s career which Indian fans can be proud of. He was the fastest bowler to 50 ODI wickets at one point, scored a Test century at Lord’s and still holds the record for the fastest fifty by an Indian batsman.

However, one dubious distinction for Agarkar which tends to overshadow most of the good things he did was his streak of 5 consecutive ducks in a 3-match Test series against Australia. The Mumbaikar scored one duck in the 1st Test at Adelaide and followed it up with a couple of pairs in Melbourne and Sydney.

Fortunately for Ajit Agarkar, though, he does have company at the top of this dubious list.