10 best beards of all time in cricket

Facial hair has always had a great significance in the history of cricket; be it moustaches or beards. For cricketers who have possessed a striking one for a considerable amount of time in their careers, the focus has been as much on the beard or moustache as it has been on their cricket.While the sport has had moustaches galore in the form of players like David Boon, Dennis Lillee, Graham Gooch, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee among others, there have also been a number of beards which attained iconic status.Let’s catch a glimpse of the 10 best beards of all-time in cricketing history.

#1 W.G. Grace (England)

W.G. Grace was one of the early legends of cricket

Perhaps the owner of the most iconic beard in cricket history is Englishman William Gilbert Grace. Not only was Grace one of the first legends of the game, he is also remembered equally for the thick mane that occupied the lower part of his face.

Even till this date, crowds that flock to stadiums in England and Australia sport fake beards in memory of the great man.

#2 Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Amla owns one of the greatest beards ever in cricket

If there is one man who can challenge W.G. Grace in the race for the top beard in cricket, it has to be Hashim Amla. The Mighty Hash, as Amla is fondly called, certainly has the best beard among the current crop of cricketers at least.

What makes it more striking is the fact that the South African batsman does not have too much hair to show on the top half of his face.

#3 Moeen Ali (England)

Moeen Ali is already very popular beacause of his beard

England all-rounder Moeen Ali may be the latest entrant in cricket’s beard brigade, but he is already up there with the best because of his generous spreading of facial hair. And the fact that it seems to be getting longer by the day makes the Englishman a serious threat to the likes of Amla and Grace.

#4 Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan)

Mohammad Yousuf sported a beard during the latter half of his career

The Pakistan batting maestro started his career as Yousuf Youhana, but after converting his religion to Islam from Christianity he changed his name to Mohammad Yousuf. It also led to a alteration in his look as he grew a beard and it became more prominent as time passed by. Yousuf’s is one of the most luxurious beards in cricket in recent years.

#5 Saeed Anwar (Pakistan)

Saeed Anwar grew a beard in his final few years as a cricketer

Although the reason for Saeed Anwar growing a beard was the tragic loss of his daughter, it went on to become a notable feature of his look towards the fag end of his career.

On a lighter note though, the Pakistani southpaw’s beard resembled that of the great American president Abraham Lincoln to some extent.

#6 Mike Brearley (England)

Brearley’s beard is one of the most popular ones in cricket history

Known to be clean shaven for most part of his career, England’s Mike Brearley happened to grow a beard for the 1979-80 Ashes Series for a change of image.

His mane quickly gained popularity and earned him the nickname ‘Ayatollah’ as it resembled that of the great Iraninan leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

#7 Viv Richards (West Indies)

Richards’ beard was highly popular during his playing days

The iconic West Indies batsman Viv Richards sported a beard which further orchestrated his commanding presence on a cricket field. His beard was one of the popular fashion statements in the history of cricket and gave Richards that hipster look which went so well with his persona.

#8 Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)

Daniel Vettori carried the heavily bearded look with a lot of grace

Among the many New Zealand cricketers that appeared to have a bearded look during the 2015 ICC World Cup, left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori pulled it off in the best possible manner.

Vettori gained admiration and respect of cricket fans for his heavy beard which gelled well with his down-to-earth attitude.

#9 Bishan Singh Bedi (India)

Bishan Singh Bedi had the most popular beard in Indian cricket for sure

The original Turbanator of Indian cricket, Bishan Singh Bedi, held the best beard in the history of Indian cricket. Although it is common for Sikhs to sport a beard, not too many of them who represented the Indian team had too much of a beard to show in comparison to the wily left-arm spinner.

#10 Kane Richardson (Australia)

Kane Richardson’s beard is very popular in Australia’s domestic circuit

The wild card entrant to the list of best beards in cricket is Australia’s new ODI and T20I paceman Kane Richardson. His beard always hogs the limelight whenever he plays domestic cricket in Australia and if he has a longish career for his national team, he could soon be challenging the top bracket in terms of cricket beards at least.