Three Test captains who have been successful with fast bowlers Cricket has traditionally not considered fast bowlers to be Test captains. When we examine the traditional leaders who have had the most success, batters come out on top statistically.
Graeme Smith, a former captain of South Africa who is now 53, has won the most Tests as a leader. He is followed by Steve Waugh (41), Virat Kohli (40), Clive Lloyd (36), and Ricky Ponting (48). There are additional batter-leaders on the list.
Only a few pacers, most of them all-rounders, have ever captained their nation in a Test match. Kapil Dev has done it for India, while Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis have done it for Pakistan.
Bob Willis was the skipper in England, while Shaun Pollock was the skipper in South Africa. Heath Streak has also captained Zimbabwe, and Courtney Walsh and Jason Holder have led the West Indies team in various phases.
Pacers and Test captains are a rare breed. The rise of Australia’s Pat Cummins and England’s Ben Stokes to Test captaincy has raised hopes for young fast bowlers who hope to one day lead their nation on the field.
The early success of Stokes and Cummins in the role will also be motivating.
In light of this, we look beyond stats to find the three-Test captains who have had the most success as fast-bowler captains throughout history.
#1 Imran Khan
Imran Khan is without a doubt the greatest captain of a fast bowler in Test history. From 1982 to 1992, when he was in charge of Pakistan, the team won 14 of 40 Tests and lost only eight of them. This is a remarkable record in a time when draws were common in the format.
Under Imran’s leadership, Pakistan won nine Test matches at home, two in England, and one each in West Indies, India, and Sri Lanka. Among Imran’s 362 Test victories, 187 were as team captain. He beat his career average of 22.81 with a remarkable 20.26 average and 12 five-wicket hauls.
Even though we are talking about captains of fast bowls, it is still important to mention that Imran also did well as a leader with the willow. He scored 2408 runs, averaging 52.34 runs per game. His overall batting average during the Tests was much lower at 37.69.
However, Imran’s greatest contribution as a leader was developing athletes like Akram and Waqar, who would also go on to become sports legends. In a nutshell, Imran was an authentic leader.
#2 Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a legendary former lower-order batter and left-arm seamer who is now best known for his memoir “Sultan,” in which he makes some shocking revelations. Some of the incidents ought to have taken place while he was captain.
Akram led Pakistan in 25 Tests, winning 12 and losing 8 of them. As captain, he won seven Tests—two in England and India, one each in Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh—away from home, which is impressive.
When he was captain, he took 107 wickets at an average of 23.35 and had three five-fors, which was about the same as his overall Test bowling average of 23.62.
In addition, Akram scored 894 runs at an average of 24.16, including the well-known 257* in a 1996 match against Zimbabwe in Sheikhupura. Even though Akram’s flamboyance was more reserved, his captaincy had hints of Imran’s leadership.
He tried to get Shoaib Akhtar ready for the role, and the “Rawalpindi Express” did well for a while under his direction before things went wrong.
#3 Shaun Pollock
The DRS error at the 2003 World Cup immediately comes to mind whenever the term “captaincy” is used alongside the name Shaun Pollock. Sadly, due to the magnitude of the error, that is likely to remain the case. However, it would be just as unfair to disregard Pollock’s contribution as Test captain.
In the wake of the match-fixing scandal, Pollock took over for Hansie Cronje and led South Africa in 26 Tests, winning 14 and losing only 5.
As a leader, he won ten games against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan at home. His two away victories came in the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe, respectively.
While leading the team, Pollock had an impressive record with the ball. He asserted 103 wickets at a normal of 21.36 with four five-fers, somewhat better than his general normal of 23.11.
The previous all-rounder additionally scored 998 runs with the bat at a normal of 41.58. He was listed as South Africa’s captain for both of his Test matches.