10 youngest captains in Test cricket history

When Cricket Australia appointed Steven Smith to take over the Australian team’s Test captaincy in Michael Clarke’s absence last December, it surprised many, including the player himself, as the Aussie Test side included many players who had a lot more experience than the 25-year-old Smith.There are many contemporary players, apart from Smith, who have captained their national Test sides in their mid-twenties – the likes of Virat Kohli, Angelo Matthews, Mushfiqur Rahim and Alastair Cook. But cricket history has seen younger players taking on the mantle of Test captaincy.We look at the ten youngest captains in Test cricket in this piece.

#10 Monty Bowden (23 years 144 days)

Captaincy debut: England vs South Africa at Cape Town on 25 March 1889 (won by an innings and 202 runs)

Captaincy record: P1 W1 L0 D0

Bowden was appointed England captain Charles Aubrey Smith’s deputy for the country’s first ever tour to South Africa for a two-match Test series. He took over the captaincy in the second Test, with Smith missing out due to illness.

Johnny Briggs’ match haul of 15-28 ensured a thrashing for the hosts and Bowden’s Test captaincy career started off in the best possible manner. However, Bowden never captained England again. After the Test series, Bowden stayed on in South Africa and represented Transvaal in domestic cricket. His cricket career was cut short tragically when he died in Rhodesia due to an illness in 1892.

Bowden still holds the record of being the youngest England Test captain.

#9 Mohammad Ashraful (22 years 353 days)

Captaincy debut: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka at Colombo on 25 June 2007 (lost by an innings and 234 runs)

Captaincy record: P13 W0 L12 D1

After announcing his arrival to Test cricket in grand fashion with a century on debut (for which he also holds the record of being the youngest batsman to score a Test century – 17 years 61 days), Mohammad Ashraful quickly established himself as the batting mainstay and a firm favourite of the Bangladeshis with some brilliant performances.

After Habibul Bashar stepped down from the national side captaincy, Ashraful was handed the team’s reigns.

But his Test captaincy record proved to be dismal as Bangladesh lost all but one matches under his leadership (the one draw was against New Zealand in a match where the first 3 days saw no play due to rain).

Along with the side’s poor run, Ashraful’s own batting form saw a dip too, and he was relieved of his captaincy duties in 2009 and replaced by Mashrafe Mortaza.

#8 Murray Bisset (22 years 306 days)

Captaincy debut: South Africa vs England at Johannesburg on 14 February 1899 (lost by 32 runs)

Captaincy record: P2 W0 L2 D0

The wicket-keeper batsman was appointed the South Africa captain on his Test debut against England and he led the side in both Tests in the series. Subsequently, he captained the South African side which toured England in 1901, but the team didn’t play any Tests on that tour.

After returning from England, Bisset focussed on a legal and political career and played domestic cricket alongside. He was called up for a Test 11 years after his debut, following which he announced his retirement to focus on his legal career. Bisset was soon elected to the House of Assembly in South Africa and later went on to serve as the Governor of South Rhodesia.

Bisset held the record of being the youngest Test captain for more than half a century before it was broken in 1957.

#7 Javed Miandad (22 years 260 days)

Captaincy debut: Pakistan vs Australia at Karachi on 27 February 1980 (won by 7 wickets)

Captaincy record: P34 W14 L6 D14

Following Asif Iqbal’s retirement, Pakistan selectors appointed a young Javed Miandad as the team’s captain, ahead of more experienced players in the side. The move wasn’t a popular one in the beginning, but a win on his captaincy debut against the Aussies followed by a credible show against the mighty West Indies side meant his tenure as a captain started well.

Having won 14 and lost only 6 out of the 34 Tests in which he led his side, Miandad’s captaincy record is quite impressive, but he didn’t get the chance to captain Pakistan in a larger number of matches largely because of his career coinciding with the great Imran Khan.

Ironically, while Miandad had some of his most memorable moments in ODI cricket against arch-rivals India, he never captained Pakistan in a Test match against the Indians.

Miandad signed off as Pakistan captain on a winning note with a 33-run victory over New Zealand, after which Wasim Akram took over the side’s captaincy.

#6 Ian Craig (22 years 194 days)

Captaincy debut: Australia vs South Africa at Johannesburg on 23 December 1957 (match drawn)

Captaincy record: P5 W3 L0 D2

Ian Craig broke Murray Bisset’s record to become the youngest Test captain when he led the Australian side on the 1957 tour to South Africa after the retirement of former captain Ian Johnson and his deputy Keith Miller.

Australia visited South Africa again in 1958 and Craig continued as the team’s captain. The team did well, but Craig’s batting form was less impressive. This was followed by a bout of hepatitis, and post recovery from the illness, his performances were below par. Craig resigned from the Test captaincy and it was given to Richie Benaud.

Craig unsuccessfully attempted to make a comeback to the national side, and the 1958 South Africa Test series proved to be his final match for the country.

The prodigious player still holds the record of being the youngest Australian Test captain, the youngest player to represent the Aussie Test side (at the age of 17) and also the youngest Aussie batsman to score a first-class double century (at the age of 16).

#5 Shakib Al Hasan (22 years 115 days)

Captaincy debut: Bangladesh vs West Indies at St George’s, Grenada on 17 June 2009 (won by 4 wickets)

Captaincy record: P9 W1 L8 D0

Shakib Al Hasan became Bangladesh’s youngest Test captain when he led the side against a significantly weakened West Indies team in the absence of skipper Mashrafe Mortaza.

Bangladesh defeated the West Indies, who had their main players missing out due to a pay dispute, to give Shakib a winning start to his captaincy stint. The player put in an impressive all-round show in the match with 8 wickets and an unbeaten knock of 96 in the second innings while chasing.

However, Bangladesh lost all the following Tests under Shakib’s leadership and he was sacked as the team’s captain in 2011 because of the team’s poor show.

#4 Graeme Smith (22 years 82 days)

Captaincy debut: South Africa vs Bangladesh at Chittagong on 24 April 2003 (won by an innings and 40 runs)

Captaincy record: P109 W53 L29 D27

Fast-tracked to the South African captaincy after an abysmal 2003 World Cup at home and the subsequent resignation by Shaun Pollock, young Graeme Smith repaid the confidence placed on him with a sterling captaincy record. Having played just 8 Tests and 22 ODIs prior to being appointed captain, Smith went to on captain the Proteas in a world record 109 Tests and is the only captain in Test history to lead his side to a win in more than 50 matches.

Smith made his captaincy bow in the Test series in Bangladesh soon after the 2003 World Cup and remained the Proteas skipper until his final Test in 2014 against Australia at Cape Town.

#3 Waqar Younis (22 years 15 days)

Captaincy debut: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe at Karachi on 1 December 1993 (won by 131 runs)

Captaincy record: P17 W10 L7 D0

Waqar Younis made his captaincy bow in 1993 when he took on the role in the absence of the injured skipper Wasim Akram. The debut was memorable for Waqar as he took 13 wickets in the match to lead his side to a comprehensive victory.

Waqar next captained his side in a Test after more than 7 years when he was appointed the Pakistan captain in 2001 and led the side till 2003. His final Test in charge (which also proved to be his final Test match) was an innings and 242 runs defeat to South Africa at Cape Town. Waqar led the Pakistan side in the 2003 World Cup and resigned from captaincy (and subsequently retired from international cricket) after a disappointing World Cup for Pakistan.

#2 Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (21 years 77 days)

Captaincy debut: India vs West Indies at Bridgetown, Barbados on 23 March 1962 (lost by an innings and 30 runs)

Captaincy record: P40 W9 L19 D12

The Nawab of Pataudi made his Test debut in 1961, just 6 months after an accident impaired sight in his right eye. He was appointed the vice-captain for his second series – the 1962 tour of the West Indies and was promoted to the captaincy after an injury to skipper Nari Contractor and first led the side in the Test at Barbados. He held the record of being the youngest Test captain for over 40 years.

Pataudi is considered among the best Indian captains ever, and the team won their first overseas Test (against New Zealand in 1967) under his captaincy. He led the side for the majority of his career after that, with the exception being a series in 1973 where he played under Ajit Wadekar’s leadership. Pataudi’s final Test was also against the West Indies – this time at home (in 1975) and he concluded his career with a defeat.

#1 Tatenda Taibu (20 years 358 days)

Captaincy debut: Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka at Harare on 6 May 2004 (lost by an innings and 240 runs)

Captaincy record: P10 W0 L9 D1

After Heath Streak’s resignation as Zimbabwe captain in 2004, a young Tatenda Taibu was appointed the side’s skipper – and broke Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s record to become the youngest Test captain in cricket history.

Throughout his captaincy tenure, Taibu led a very inexperienced side and faced many heavy defeats – including a series defeat against Bangladesh. He last captained the side against India in 2005, after which he took a break from international cricket and played domestic cricket in South Africa.

Taibu returned to Test cricket in 2011 and played three matches under Brendan Taylor’s captaincy and retired from the sport in 2012 at the age of 29 to focus on his work in the church.