10 great cricketers who were not great at running between the wickets

#5 Garry Sobers

Garry Sobers (sitting in the centre)

Sir Garfield Sobers is among the greatest cricketers to have ever played, and except for wicketkeeping, he has done everything that one can expect from a cricketer. Sobers was one of the best batsmen in the world, a handy bowler who could bowl both spin and seam, and an excellent fielder too.

However, despite being a great athlete, he seemed to struggle a bit with running between the wickets, and this was at a time (1954-1974) when run-outs were quite rare in Test cricket. Sobers, however, managed to get run out ten times in his Test career and in addition to that, he ran out his partner ten times.

Despite all his brilliance, running between the wickets was not one of his strong points.

#4 Arjuna Ranatunga

Arjuna Ranatunga

Former Sri Lankan batsman Arjuna Ranatunga might not be counted among the greatest batsmen to have played the game, but as far as influence as a captain is concerned, he is up there with the best. His exploits as a batsman held the national team together for 18 years.

However, the rotund batsman was well and truly a terrible runner and a poor judge of a run as well. In Test cricket, he had been run out 30 times but what is even more startling is the fact that he had run his partners out 40 times and that is an alarming statistic.

In one day internationals, his record was equally chequered with a total of 30 run-outs in a career spanning 255 innings.

#3 Allan Border

Allan Border

Legendary Australian batsman Allan Border is credited for bringing the national team back on track in the mid-1980s by building a team that went on to dismantle numerous opponents in the future. His greatness has never been in question, but that said, Border was a bit of a mess when it came to running between the wickets.

In a career spanning around 15 years, he was run out as many as 28 times in one-day internationals and 12 times in Test cricket, which remained a record for many years. More significantly, however, Border had also run his partner out 17 times in Test cricket.

#2 Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-ul-Haq

There is no other player who can personify the great player-terrible runner between the wickets conundrum as perfectly as former Pakistani great Inzamam-ul-Haq. Inzamam had problems with his weight throughout his career and what made his running between the wickets a source of comedy was that he seemed to find newer ways to get himself or his partner run out. Often, he was too eager to go for a run and misjudged it, which led to even more run-outs.

In one day internationals, he was often a complete disaster and had been run out as many as 40 times, while he ran his partner out 34 times. In Test cricket, he was run out only six times. However, beyond the numbers, Inzamam's presence at the crease almost always led to mix-ups and run out chances seemed to be lurking around the corner at all times.

#1 Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh

When it comes to listing great players who were terrible runners, then former Australian great Steve Waugh's name does not come to one's mind straightaway. However, when one looks at the numbers, then there is no doubt that his record as far as run-outs go, will take some beating.

Waugh wasn't a slow mover but what differentiates him is that he was hardly ever the victim of his indecisive running. His partners were the ones who suffered. He was himself dismissed for falling short only four times, but he had run his partner out a whopping 23 times in his Test career. The same pattern holds in one-day internationals as well. Waugh was himself run out 23 times, but he had run his partner out a record 50 times.