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Cricket is an 11-man team game and it is imperative that all players perform at their best to win. As if there is a lot of benefit if you get together, more than 4-5 players can get success for their country if they work well together in batting and bowling. Only in rare matches can we see a single player take the win. However, in the field of batting, as per the basic rules, only 2 players can bat and score runs.
Because of that situation, players who have been playing for a team for a long time will have to bat together at some point. Because wickets do not fall in the same way in all matches. This means that the batsmen who play in the top order will definitely have to play with batsmen who play in some middle order or lower middle order.
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Especially in Test cricket, we have seen many matches where the opening batsman stands on one side as the anchor but if the opposition batsmen get out, they bat with all of them and bat with the 11th batsman. But let’s take a look at the top 5 couples in the history of Test cricket who have never batted together despite having played a lot of matches:
#OnThisDay in 1999, Michael Slater smashed a terrific ???? against Pakistan in Brisbane.
He registered a 269-run opening partnership with Greg Blewett – the highest first-wicket stand for Australia against Pakistan.
He ended the day on 134* but went on to score a 271-ball 169 ???? pic.twitter.com/LHniyfKrjE
— ICC (@ICC) November 6, 2019
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5. Michael Slater – Glenn McGrath 57: Glenn McGrath, a fast bowler from Australia, usually comes to bat at places like 10 and 11.
Meanwhile, Glenn McGrath has played 57 matches alongside Michael Slater, who can bat in the top and middle order. But these two never batted together for Australia even once.
▪️86 Int’l matches
▪️6391 Int’l runs
Happy birthday to former WI Bastman Rohan Kanhai!???? #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/HLYwtzdLAP– Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) December 26, 2020
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4. Rohan Kankai – Lance Gibbs 58: Rogan Adhai, who emerged as a quality batsman in the West Indies team that threatened the world in the 1970s, has accumulated 6227 runs for the team.
Similarly, Lance Gibbs, the legend who took 309 wickets, will often be fielded to bat at places like 9, 10, 11. In that way, they played together in 58 matches for the West Indies team and never batted together.
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3. Alastair Cook v Graeme Swann 60: By 2010, Alastair Cook, who had achieved a lot of success as a captain, became the first England batsman to score 10,000 runs.
Under his leadership, long-time spin bowler Graeme Swann scored a lot of hits with his excellent spin. However, after playing 60 Tests together, they did not get a chance to bat together even once.
2. Herzel Gibbs – Mahaya Nittini 64: South Africa’s Herzel Gibbs, who emerged as an action batsman in the late 90s, often played in the top order as an opener.
Like him, Mahayana Nidani, who was popular with South Africa’s fast bowlers at that time and was popular with the fans, would often take the field at the last minute. In that way, they played together in 64 matches and did not form a partnership even once.
1. Sanath Jayasuriya – Muttiah Muralitharan 90: From the late 90s to 2010, Jayasuriya was one of Sri Lanka’s two greatest champions, often appearing as the opener and beating the opposition.
Similarly, Muttiah Muralitharan, who suffocated all the world-class batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar with his magical environment, took 800 wickets and set a mega world record that stands the test of time. Having played together for Sri Lanka in a total of 90 matches, it is surprising that they retired till the end without even getting a chance to form a partnership.
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