On this day: The legend of Courtney Walsh bids adieu
When Courtney Walsh made his international debut in 1984, West Indies boasted the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, and Curtly Ambrose. As Garner and Marshall left the scene, Walsh paired himself with Ambrose in the era of the 90s and formed the most deadly duo of all time. His rhythmic run-up and bowling action led him to swing the ball both ways, and he formed one of the great opening bowling partnerships with Ambrose: 421 wickets between them from 49 Tests.
Walsh captained West Indies from 1994 to 1997. Initially, as a stand-in for Richie Richardson. His full-time stint in charge came when the West Indies were starting to lose their formidability as several veterans left the game.
A thrashing defeat by 3-0 against Pakistan during the 1997 season brought his reign to an end. His final match as captain was the final of the Akai-Singer Champions Trophy against England at Sharjah in late 1997. In 22 Tests as a captain, he won 6, lost 7, drew 9 and took 85 wickets at 25.71. Whereas, in the 43 ODIs as skipper, he won 22, lost 20 and bagged 43 wickets at 29.66.
The peak
The mid-90s was the time when Walsh was at his peak and was picking wickets at will. In 1995, he bagged 62 wickets at a magnificent average of 21 and claimed his career-best match figures of 13 for 55 against New Zealand at Wellington. His pace dipped towards the end of his career but that was never a disadvantage. As highlighted by the 66 Test wickets he bagged in the year 2000 averaging around 18, which included 34 wickets in a series against England at an average of around 12.
In his 114th Test against Zimbabwe at Sabina Park in March 2000, Walsh breached Kapil Dev’s record of 434 wickets to become the-then highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He held the record with his 519 scalps until Muthiah Muralitharan broke it in 2004. In his 132nd and last game in the whites against South Africa, he had the match-figures of 6/93 as West Indies won the game by 130 runs. He finished with 519 wickets at an average of 24.44 and a strike rate of 57.8. With the bat though, he held the dubious record of finishing with 43 ducks in his Test career.
A glorious career
Walsh was not as successful in the limited-overs game as he was in Tests. However, he was economical and had his moments like the 5/1 spell against Sri Lanka in 1986. In 205 ODIs, he bagged 227 wickets at an average of 30.84. Walsh is renowned for his gesture of not ‘Mankading’ Saleem Jaffar, the last man of Pakistan, in a World Cup match in 1987. That ultimately cost the West Indies the match and a spot in the semi-finals. In a career spanning 17 years, he bowled over 6800 overs, claimed 746 wickets at an average of 26.28, and a strike rate of 54.70 in 337 international matches. He is one of the most admired cricketers and will long be remembered as one of the game’s most revered players.
