Wicket-keepers are one of the most important aspects in a cricket squad. They are the ones who possess dual nature and are required to bat and keep the wickets at the same time. It’s a really tedious task as they are the ones squatting behind the wickets after every delivery and need to be on their toes everytime. But there have been instances of wicket keepers adding a third skill in their bag, which is bowling. In this article lets discuss 7 instances when a wicket keeper bowled in the same match.
The first name in the list is of Devon Thomas. The West Indies Keeper Batsman didn’t get a chance to bat in the match and didn’t register a single catch behind the stumps but he delivered with the ball. On the second ball of his first over, he picked the crucial wicket of Mahmadullah before he could set on the crease. Then, he dismissed the set batsman Mushfiqur Rahim who was batting on 31and turned the game on its head in what was one of the best debut performances by a wicketkeeper.
The second name in the list is of Mark Boucher. In 2005, South Africa was playing a test match against West Indies in Antigua where both registered massive scores of 588 and 747 respectively on the board. The match was headed for a definite draw when wicket keeper Mark Boucher was handed the ball just for a chance. A particular delivery that Boucher bowled at an accurate length and slow pace, rewarded him with an important wicket of Dwayne Bravo who was batting on 107 and was well-set on the crease. His bowling figures were amazing and this was the first and the last wicket the veteran got in his test cricket career.
The third name in the list is of Tatenda Taibu. The talented wicket-keeper batsman, who was also the ex captain of Zimbabwe team, made instant headlines when he decided to remove the wicket-keeping gloves to bowl against Sri Lanka at Bulawayo in the first ODI match of the series. He bowled a good spell of 4-0-19-0 but couldn’t pick a wicket. In the fifth ODI match, he bowled again and this time, scalped two wickets for his side where SHT Kadamby and Upul Chandana were his victims.
The fourth name in the list is of Mr 360, AB De Villiers. De Villiers is the holder of the records for fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket. However very few will know that he is one among those very wicket-keeper batsmen who bagged an ODI and Test wicket as a bowler during their career. Mr 360 bagged the wicket of Tino Best and Darren Powell on April 9, 2005, in a Test match where he came off his keeping gloves to bowl a quick over. De Villiers has also bagged 7 wickets in his ODI career where his best figures include a 2/15 against Ireland in the 2015 World Cup.
The fifth name in the list is of Rahul Dravid. He wasn’t a first choice wicket-keeper but did keep wickets for a majority of his career. However very few would know that Dravid has the rare feat of bagging a Test and an ODI wicket as a bowler. It was back in 1999 that Dravid bagged his maiden ODI wicket in the form of Saeed Anwar. He also bagged the wickets of Lance Klusner, Gary Kirsten and Shaun Pollock in ODI’s and the moment he was handed the ball, he used to do away with the keeping gloves and also bowled tight lines.
The sixth name in the list is the Indian veteran and one of the most successful captains MS Dhoni. On a pitch favouring pacers, West Indies team was struggling at 49/4 in 16 overs with DE Barnard and TM Dowlin at the crease. Dhoni decided to bowl the 17th over and asked Dinesh Karthik to keep wickets, much to the amazement of fans and commentators. His first two deliveries were sent to the boundary line by Dowlin but the fourth delivery got him the prized scalp.
The seventh name in the list is a repeat and it’s Tatenda Taibu again. Taibu made this list twice, this time for dismissing the explosive Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya in the first test match of the series against Sri Lanka at Harare in 2004. Taibu decided to take the matter into his own hands as the wicket-keeper was handed ball and provided his side with a vital break-through after 53 overs of bowling when Jayasuriya was caught by DT Hondo.
