When players lose their wicket on a golden duck it means that they got out on the very first ball that they faced. Golden ducks are not something new in cricket and having many does not indicate inability on a batter’s part. Cricket is a game of nerves and chances. Some days the bowlers get lucky when they claim a wicket on the batter’s first ball and other days it’s the pressure of the game that gets the best of the batsmen.
Even the most popular and polished names in cricket history have bagged them. Discussed here are some of the names that have compiled the most golden ducks in their batting and bowling cricketing career.
10. Muthiah Muralidaran
Sri Lanka’s cricket giant Muthiah Muralidaran tops the list of players who have amassed the most golden ducks and the number he holds is 59.
Considered as one of the most dangerous bowlers Sri Lanks has ever produced, the right-arm off-break bowler was every batsman’s nightmare. He had the ability to turn the ball on every surface regardless of the area/country he was bowling in. He was feared even by the most exceptional batters of his time and his retirement was a breath of fresh air for many with the bat.
But his might was restricted only to the ball because with the bat, Muralidaran was just an ordinary cricketer and it was the only time when the opposition could take their aggression out on him. As a batter, the now 49 years old has played 328 innings and in 59 on those innings, he was sent back to the pavilion after the very first ball.
9. Courtney Andrew Walsh
From 1984 to 2011, Courtney Andrew Walsh dominated in the West Indian side with the ball in Test and ODIs. He might not have a very elegant or an orthodox action, but what came out of it were highly economical spells in history. Probably the only player who got better with age and he managed 746 wickets in his career.
But like Muralidaran, he too has a record of getting out on the first ball many times. With 54 golden ducks, he sits at the second position on the record table. He has played 264 innings with the bat gathering 1257 runs but he was unfortunate 54 times. He has also hit 100+ boundaries and 28+ maximums in ODI’s and Tests combined.
8. Sanath Jayasuriya
Another Sri Lankan occupies a spot in the list of players who lost their wicket on the first ball. Jayasuriya has bagged 53 golden ducks, just one short of Andrew Walsh.
In the first half of his career, Jayasuriya was only considered a bowler who could occasionally bat. With 440 scalps across all three formats, he was deemed as one of the dangerous men in the bowling category. But when he began to take the bat more often, runs started pouring in for the all-rounder.
13430 runs have come out through his batting skills in ODIs only in 433 innings for the cricketer, 6973 runs in Tests and 629 in T20Is. These spectacular all-round stats are enough to put aside the times when Sanath could not stay on the crease for more than a minute.
7. Glenn McGrath
Considered as one of the best fast bowlers of Australia of all time, Glenn McGrath’s career lasted 14 years. In 2005 he became one of the top fast bowlers to claim the most number of wickets in test matches. His career ended on a high when he was declared the adjudged Man of the Tournament at the end of Australia’s successful World Cup campaign in 2007. He has also played league cricket around the world and was also featured in the ICC World XI.
In his career of brilliant records is another one that he might not be very proud of. He is placed in the fourth position and is the first Australian to register most ducks in cricket with 49 golden ducks. His other batting stats include 761 runs in 207 innings he played in all three formats.
6. Stuart Broad
England’s finest Test and ODI bowler Stuart Broad has also made the cut of being in the list of players with the most golden ducks. Stuart Broad’s time as a cricketer has been blessed with some remarkable performances. He played his best inning against Australia in the Ashes in his own home ground in 2015 where he made the figures of 8 for 15 and Australia was bowled out at 60 runs before lunchtime.
Broad has a shiny cricketing career with 537 wickets in Tests and 178 in ODIs, but one thing that is not very impressive among his figures is the number 49 which is the number of golden ducks he has suffered in his 16 years of playing professional cricket.
5. Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene is one of the top Sri Lankan batsmen, the country is proud to have produced. He was known for his classy, elegant and pleasing to the eyes shots and remarkable hand and eye coordination that enabled him to hit shots all over the ground.
His hunger and efforts for scoring runs have landed him with brilliant figures both in Test matches and One Day Internationals. But not every cricket match might favour the batsman. To what he would deem as an utter disappointment, Jayawardene lost his wicket on a golden duck 47 times. For a stellar batsman like himself, this is an achievement he must not be very proud of.
4. Daniel Vettori
Left-hand batter and slow left-arm orthodox Daniel Vettori is one of the finest all-rounders to have come out of New Zealand. He began his cricket career at a very young age and joined the country’s Test side at the age of just 18-year-old. In the 2000 Test match against Australia, he became a nightmare for them when he took 12 wickets for 149 and administered his first ten wickets in a single match.
The all-rounder has aggregated 6989 runs across all three cricket formats and across all three formats he has suffered 46 golden ducks. These are the highest by any New Zealand player. In fact, he is the only player from the country to be on the list of top ten players with the most golden ducks.
3. Wasim Akram
The Sultan of swing and the pride of Pakistan, Wasim Akram is a name the cricket fraternity will always talk about. Deathly swings and seams, dangerous bouncers and deceptive slow balls all are characteristics of his masterful deliveries. These are the reasons he has 916 scalps under his name in Test and ODI cricket.
Although he has brilliant batting stats especially in the Test matches yet he is known for his sharp bowling skills. Apart from these he also is the first player from Pakistan to have the most losses of wickets on the first ball, 45 golden ducks. He achieved this feat in 427 batting innings.
2. Zaheer Khan
India’s Zaheer Khan is one of the fast bowlers who was often compared with Wasim Akram. Even though he might not have had the same skills as Akram but he knew just when to take a wicket. He had strong intuitive skills and would know just when to take a wicket and when was a batsman displaying weakness.
His bowling stats might not be the same as Wasim Akram, but the one thing common between the two is that they are the first from their respective countries to feature in the list of top ten players with the most ducks. Just one short of Wasim, Zaheer was trapped by bowlers on the first ball 44 times.
1. Shane Warne
Shane Warne is one of the Australian greats who have a very decorated career, especially a Test career. From Man of the Match in the World Cup final, Test-hattrick to aggregating 96 scalps in Tests in 2005 the Aussie had a glittering cricket profession. He was also the first player to bag 700 Test wickets, a record second to Muralidaran’s 800 wickets. Apart from cricket, he also made the headlines most times for all the notorious reasons.
He might have victimized many players during his playing years but it is true that he also fell victim to many balls that sent him home on the very first ball that he played. Shane Warne has 44 golden ducks in his cricket occupation.
The list of cricketers with the most number of golden ducks is a big one and mentioned here are the top ten. Despite these ducks, these players played some excellent cricket during their days and have created phenomenal records for themselves and their teams. It is often the bowlers who lose their wickets on a duck since they don’t possess very high batting standards. often, they come to the crease at the most crucial times and thence they are bowled out due to pressure or while hitting a long shot to save the match.
