New Delhi. Cricket is largely considered a game of batsmen. Batsmen are given more importance than bowlers. Perhaps this is the reason that batsmen who score a century in their debut Test get as much praise as bowlers who take 10 or more wickets in their debut Test. The reality is that taking 10+ wickets in a Test is probably a more difficult task than scoring a century. In cricket’s oldest format, Test, so far 5 batsmen have achieved the feat of scoring a century in their debut and last Test. This includes India’s Mohammad Azharuddin, Australia’s Greg Chappell, Reginald Duff and Will Pansford and England’s Alastair Cook. On the other hand, the number of bowlers who have taken 10+ wickets in their debut and last Test is even less than this.
So far in Test cricket, only two bowlers have been able to achieve the feat of taking 10 or more wickets (standard minimum two Tests) in their debut and last Tests. These bowlers are Tom Richardson and Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett. England’s fast bowler Richardson took 88 wickets in a career of 14 Tests from 1893 to 1898. He took 10 wickets each in his first and last Tests against Australia.
On the other hand, Grimmett played 37 Tests between 1925 and 1936 as a legbreak googly bowler and took 216 wickets at an average of 24.21. Grimmett’s success inspired many Australian bowlers to become wrist spinners, including Shane Warne and Stuart McGill. Let us tell you, Grimmett was the first to take 200 wickets in Test cricket. Unfortunately, during the era when Grimmett played cricket, the number of countries playing Tests was very less. Due to this, he could play only 37 Tests in his 11-year career. If he had got more Tests to play, he could have taken his wickets to new heights. Apart from Grimmett, England’s Charles Marriott took 11 wickets for 96 runs against West Indies in his debut Test in 1933. Unfortunately, he could not play any Test after this and this Test proved to be his last Test.
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Born in New Zealand but played for Australia
Clarence Victor Grimmett, also known as Clary Grimmett, was born on 25 December 1891 in Carvesham, New Zealand. At an early age, on the advice of his coach, he tried his hand at spin and started achieving success. At the age of 17, he made his debut in first-class cricket for Wellington. Till this time, New Zealand did not have the status of Test cricket. In such a situation, to advance his cricket career, Grimmett moved to Australia in 1914, which proved to be a ‘master stroke’. While playing for Australia, the pair of Grimmett and Bill O’Reilly continued to be a problem for the batsmen. O’Reilly, who took 144 wickets in 27 Tests, was so impressed with the playing skills of his fellow bowler that he described Grimmett as the ‘best Christmas gift’ given by New Zealand to Australia. Let us tell you, Grimmett was born on Christmas.
Made his debut against England, took 11 wickets
After playing for Sydney and Victoria in Australia, Grimmett finally got a chance to debut in the Sydney Test against England at the age of 34. In February 1925, he grabbed this opportunity against England with both hands and took 11 wickets for 82 runs in the match, which included 5 wickets for 45 runs in the first innings and 6 wickets for 37 runs in the second innings. On the strength of Grimmett’s deadly bowling, Australia won this Test by a huge margin of 307 runs. After this performance in the first Test, Grimmett’s graph kept on rising.
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Took 10 or more wickets seven times in 37 Tests
In his 37 Test career, he took 5 or more wickets in an innings 21 times and 10 or more wickets 7 times. He also took 44 wickets in a 5 Test series against South Africa. Not only this, he is the second oldest bowler to take 10 or more wickets in Tests. In July 1936, at the age of 44 years and 65 days, he took 13 wickets for 173 runs in the Durban Test against South Africa. In this case, only Australia’s Bert Ironmonger’s record is better than Grimmett, who took 11 wickets for 24 runs against South Africa in the low-scoring Melbourne Test in February 1932.
Took 10 or more wickets in the last three Tests
The Durban Test against South Africa in February 1936 proved to be the last Test of Grimmett’s career. In this Test, he took 13 wickets for 173 runs and became the hero of Australia’s innings victory. In the first innings, he took 7 wickets for 100 runs and in the second innings, he took 6 wickets for 73 runs. What could be a bigger proof of Grimmett being a great bowler than the fact that he took 10 or more wickets in his last three Tests. Just before the Melbourne Test, he also took 10 wickets each in the Johannesburg (10/110) and Cape Town Tests (10/88) against South Africa. He was chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year along with Bradman in 1931. After his death in 1980, Grimmett was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
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Bradman accused of ruining Grimmett’s career
It is surprising that the Melbourne Test in which Grimmett took 13 wickets proved to be his last Test. This match-winning bowler did not get a place in the team for the Ashes to be held in Australia in 1936-37 and then for the Ashes to be held in England in 1938. Spinner Bill O’Reilly even holds the then Australian captain Don Bradman responsible for ‘ruining’ Grimmett’s Test career. O’Reilly was not only Grimmett’s bowling partner but also a good friend. He was considered a bitter critic of Bradman. According to media reports, apart from O’Reilly, Jack Fingleton, who played 18 Tests for Australia, also did not like Don. Both of them believed that Don was a great batsman but a selfish person. This bitterness increased with time. After their cricketing careers ended, O’Reilly and Jack Fingleton joined sports journalism. It is also said that when Bradman was out for 0 in his last Test innings in 1948, both of them (O’Reilly and Fingleton) were laughing.
Tags: Australian Cricket Team, Australian cricketer, Don bradman, Test cricket
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 14, 2024, 07:53 IST