Five captains who bagged a pair in Test cricket
Playing Test cricket is an ultimate dream for many budding cricketers and playing as captain will obviously take their dreams to the next level. While leading the team, no player wants to be dismissed for a low score or say a duck. However, a certain set of players went on to bag a duck in both innings of a Test match. Most of them were by bowling captains but some of the famous batsmen also suffered this fate.
Here are five famous instances of captains bagging a duck in Test cricket:
5. AB de Villiers vs ENG, 2016:
AB de Villiers took up Test captaincy during the 2015-16 home Test series against England when they were 0-1 down. In the match hosted by Johannesburg, De Villiers became the Proteas Test skipper for the first time. He scored 36 runs in the first match and bagged a duck in the second essay as England went on to win the series. Things got even worse for ABD in the final Test of the series in Centurion where he became the first SA skipper in 104 years to bag a pair in Test cricket.
4. Allan Border vs WI, 1993:
The 5-match Test series between Australia and West Indies series in 1992-93 was set towards a thrilling end as both the teams won one game apiece before the last match. The decider was hosted by Perth where the Australian skipper Allan Border elected to bat first. In the first innings, Border was caught behind in the bowling of Curtly Ambrose and followed it with a 3-ball duck against Ian Bishop. West Indies went on to win the match by an innings and 25 runs to seal the series.
3. Nasser Hussain vs WI, 2000:
England were leading the 5-match Test series against West Indies by 2-1 before the final game at The Oval. During the first innings, the England captain Nasser Hussain was caught behind on the second ball off Mahendra Nagamootoo. Nasser spent 25 minutes facing 15 balls in the second essay before getting trapped in front by Nixon McLean. However, England won the match and took away the series by 2-1 margin. Nasser, thus became the first captain to win a Test match in 98 years even after bagging a pair.
2. Stephen Fleming vs AUS, 1997:
Stephen Fleming’s first tour of Australia as the captain didn’t go well as the home team were 2-0 up after two games of the 3-match series. The final Test in Hobart gave Fleming a chance to beat the Aussies thanks to some aggressive declarations by both teams as the rain made its appearances continuously. NZ finished at 233/9 chasing 288 to win in only 61 overs. Fleming, in this game, was caught behind off Steve Waugh in the first innings and was stumped off Shane Warne in the second essay.
1. Faf du Plessis vs PAK, 2018:
South Africa’s 2018-19 home season began in Centurion where the hosts faced Pakistan in the first game of the 3-match series. In the very Test, the SA captain Faf du Plessis was dismissed for a duck in both innings. During the same game, his opposite number Sarfaraz Ahmed also was dismissed without scoring both times. It became the first-ever Test match and also only till date to witness both skippers bagging a pair. Centurion, thus witnessed three consecutive instances of pairs by Test captains as De Villiers was the last skipper to bag a pair before Faf and Sarfaraz.
