Family In Cricket. Chapter:1
Here are some lesser knows & some better known Cricket players which happens to be Family as well ;).
1. Cheteshwar & Arvind Pujara
We all know the Great puji. 6000 Test runs, avg. of 47; 77 test caps in 10 years. Man thrives on exhausting down the bowlers with his patience game, negotiating the new Red-cherry. Making life easier for other betters. The modern day Wall. A proven pillar of Indian test team. Enroute “One of the greatest ever”.
His father Arvind- Right-hand Opener & wicketkeeper batsman. Played 6 First-class games for Saurashtra in 1976-1980s. Low returns cost him place to more consistent WK-Batsman Dinesh Nanavati. As admitted by Che’, mr.Arvind played huge role in mentoring & preparing Cheteshwar into a cricketer that he is Today.
2.JOE & Billy Root
Joe(joseph) Root, 30. Fab 4. Test captain. 14,000+ Runs in Int’ll cricket. 61 Wickets with his off-tweakers. Dismissed west Indies openers Gayle & Charles in 2016 T20 WC Final. 2 xAshes winner. A world cup medallion.
Has come miles from his debut in 2012 at Nagpur test. 9 years on, he will be back as Captain of three lions, when England arrives in India for 4 Tests series (Feb 2021).
Brother Billy (28) is a Middle to Lower middle-order Left hand batsman. Played county cricket for Glamorgan and Nottinghamshire so far in his 6-years of First-class cricket. Average of 33.03, hasn’t helped him to limelight. Occasional good scores here & there, but Consistent piling of runs is lacking him.
3. DJ Bravo - Darren M Bravo
They are half brothers. (Same mother, but different father)Both are Trinis. Dwayne JOHN bravo is elder brother to Darren MICHAEL bravo.
Dyane “Champion” Bravo. 2 Times WT20, CSK veteran, a Household name. Dhoni’s go-to bowler for 10 seasons. The Deeping-in slower ball Veteran. Only man to 500 T20 wickets. Made his Test debut under Lara’s captaincy in England in 2004; 16 Wickets in that series.
55-6 (Manchester), 84-6 (Adelaide), 40-4(v Ind), 107 (v Sa), 89 (Multan,Pak) are some highlights of Bravo’s Test career. Had he not given up everything for Franchise cricket, he would have retired a Kallis/Flintoff/Stokes. A global franchise superstar he chose to be & came.
DM(above), stylish Elegant Left hand batter. Often compared to Lara coz of stance, technique, temperament (same sponsors ;). Scapegoat failure of crisis inside West Indies Cricket board never steadied the ship of his career. Started as proper Test cult, distracted to T20 mojo, now back focusing on Tests & 32 years Old as well. At his prime 195,166,136,127,116 Read his test scores in Asia, to go with 218 vs NZ in NZ in Test match. A potential unfulfilled, a veteran Test cricketer missed.
4. Tom-Sam-Ban-Kevin Curran
The least-known is Dad of the 3, Kevin Curran. International cricketer mind you. Born in Zimbabwe, 11 games as Fast bowling all rounder for Zim in ‘83 & ‘87 World cups. Played alongside Duncan Fletcher, Andy Pycroft. Also Head coach of Zimbabwe from 2005-07 & Head of Zim Cricket Academy.
Kevin’s best came against India, in that famous “Kapil Dev’s 175*” at Turnbridge Wells in ‘83 WC. Kevin scored 73 & a spell of 12-0-65-3. Played vital role in thrashing Aussies in group stage match of '83 WC. Later on, played County cricket for Gloucestershire & rthamptonshire till 1999. Also plied in South Africa’s First class cricket for Boland & KwaZulu-Natal in '90s.
Sam(Samuel) Curran, 22, Left-arm medium fast swing bowler. Handy batter. The CSK prodigy, Man of the series vs IND 2018. Tom(Thomas) Curran, 25, played for KKR & RR in IPL. Known for his death-over specialty with Yorkers, Back of the hand slower ones etc. & like Sam, handy batter down the order. Tom was also part of England’s 2019 WC winning squad, didn’t get into XI on any occasion though.
Lesser known, 24 year old Ben(jamin) Curran. Tom is elder most of 3, Ben #2, Sam youngest. Ben plays in England domestic cricket for Northamptonshire since 2018. Unlike, Tom & Sam who are primarily bowlers, Ben is a top-order Left hand batsman. Averaging 31.74 with 6 Fifties in FC cricket. Yet to get an International call-up. Hailing from a family of high-quality cricketers, Ben at some point in future might surely set the stage on fire.
Darren & Jake Lehmann {Father-son duo}
Jake Lehmann, Son of Australian great Darren lehmann. Southpaw batter like his father. 6 Years ago Made debut for South Australia in Shield cricket. String of low scores resulted in omission from domestic team. Accumulation of only 267 Runs in 25 innings in Big bash, resulted in being axed by Adelaide Strikers as well, left with no BBL contract at all.
After too many shots at big stage, Jake has failed to make a mark for himself in Oz cricket. 28 of age & No first class games since long, lies a daunting task ahead to live upto Lehmanns’ tag.
Darren, BUFF, the fondly name he is called with. Veteran Aussie cricketer. Lower middle order batter who averaged 44.80 in 2003 World cup. Six 100’s in away matches. Smoked 153 against SL at SSC Colombo in 2004 tour. Part of 1999 and 2003 World champion squad.
Head coach of Australia’s 2015 WC win. Only Aussie to win world cup as Both player & coach. Revolutionized Australian team as Head coach post Micky arthur’s toxicity filled tenure. Ashes & World cup double as Coach. Out & Out Legend. A great coaching career abysmally ended by ‘Sandpaper gate’ incident on Africa tour in 2018.
**Do tell us if you learnt something new from this piece. Preparing More cricket stuff for your reading pleasure**