5 players with most golden ducks in Test cricket

No, not even the number 11 batsman, liked to be dismissed for a duck and as commentators are at pains to explain, plenty of tailenders take their batting very seriously. Hence, being dismissed for a duck is something that no one likes and it is perhaps far more embarrassing when it happens off the first ball that the batsman faces.

Over the course of the history of Test cricket, plenty of batsmen have been dismissed for zero off the first ball he faces and departs for a Golden Duck. So here is a look at 5 players who were dismissed for Golden Ducks most times in Test cricket and have entered a dubious hall of fame of sorts.

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#5 Steve Harmison: 9

Steve Harmison

The former England fast bowler was the team’s pace spearhead at a time when the team became a far more dominant force during the mid-noughties and Steve Harmison’s bowling was a major factor in that transformation. However, as far as his batting went, he was a specialist number 11 and that is not altered by the fact that he had top-scored for England in an innings once.

Harmison usually believed in going after the bowlers from the outset and get some runs quickly. However, that sort of strategy can’t work in international cricket and he duly got as many as 21 ducks in his Test career. Out of those, 9 were golden ducks, which is actually 10.47 percent of the 86 occasions on which he batted. It is the highest percentage among all the players on this list.

#4 Chris Martin: 9

Chris Martin

The former New Zealand seam bowler had been an integral part of the Test team during the noughties and while his bowling was decent, it was Chris Martin’s comical incompetence as a batsman that has turned him into a cult figure of sorts.

A batting average of 2.37 is a testament to his abilities as a batsman and a tally of as many as 36 ducks in only 71 Test matches definitely gives him a strong claim to the crown of the worst number 11 in Test cricket history.

He holds the record for having the highest number of pairs in Test history as well but in addition to that Martin has also made as many as 9 golden ducks in his career.

#3 Courtney Walsh: 10

Courtney Walsh

The West Indies have had their fair share of tailenders who can’t bat but none have been quite in the same league as their former legend Courtney Walsh. He was the typical number 11 and seemed to be clueless at most times, which was a sharp contrast to his demeanour when he had the ball in his hand.

The ducks came quite often as well and in his illustrious career stretching across 132 Test matches, he got as many as 43 ducks, which is a record. Out of those 43 ducks, 10 were golden ducks but due to the sheer length of his career, the percentage of such ducks is only 5.41.

#2 Rangana Herath: 11

Rangana Herath

He may have been under the giant shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan for the major part of his career but over the past decade or so, Rangana Herath has firmly established himself as Sri Lanka’s number 1 bowler. On the other hand, his status as a pretty ordinary number 11 has also been cemented over the course of his career, that first began in 1999.

Now, it is important to note that Herath had in fact scored an 80 not out once in his career but that does not quite paper over his record of scoring 2 ducks in 89 Test matches so far.

Out of those ducks, 11 have been golden ducks that makes him the cricketer with the 2nd highest number of such ducks in Test history. The percentage of golden ducks in his career stands at 8.03 and his career isn’t finished yet.

#1 Muttiah Muralitharan: 14

Muttiah Muralitharan

He is the highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket with a staggering haul of 800 wickets and that is also perhaps the reason why it did not quite matter what Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan did with the bat. Murali’s batting style was what could be called ‘pure village’ and he usually started swinging his bat right from the start in his inimitable style.

When he connected, he could get a few runs but more often than not his innings ended quickly. His average of 11.68 is a dead giveaway that his style hardly ever worked and naturally, Murali has 33 ducks to his name in Test cricket.

From among those, 14 were golden ducks and that makes him the cricketer with the highest number of first ball ducks in cricket history. His golden duck percentage stands at 8.54.