Any player loves to score runs when his or her chance to bat comes. A contribution to a team’s win gives satisfaction to a cricketer. Every batter dreams of scoring a century, if not at least a fifty for his country, whenever he steps on the field. Nobody likes to be dismissed without scoring or for a duck.
Players prefer forgetting such moments and this happens with the best of cricketers as at some point in their careers, they are dismissed for a duck. In international cricket, the players come across such moments often with the level of cricket being the highest. For the same reason, here we will bring you the top five players with the most ducks in international cricket.
5 Players With the Most Ducks in International Cricket
1. Muttiah Muralitharan – 59 ducks
Sri Lanka’s legendary spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, is at the top of the list of cricketers with the most ducks. He played for Sri Lanka from 1992 to 2011 and made the opposition batters dance to the tune of his spin bowling. However, with the bat, Muralitharan was always a walking wicket and on 59 occasions, he couldn’t get off the mark.
The man batted in 328 innings in his illustrious international career and could only muster 1936 runs at an average of 9.26, with his best score being 67. Interestingly, throughout his career, Muralitharan also smacked 196 fours and 41 sixes, entertaining the crowd with his batting down the order.
However, the world knew him for his magical tricks with the ball. The man picked up a massive 800 wickets in 133 Test matches, picking up a staggering 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 10-wicket match hauls. In 350 ODIs, Murali accounted for 534 wickets with ten five-wicket hauls to his name. Unfortunately, the legendary player played only 12 T20Is in his career and scalped 13 wickets, with his economy reading an excellent 6.31.
2. Courtney Walsh – 54 ducks
West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh, who used to send shivers down the spine of the opposition batters, has bagged the second-highest number of ducks in cricket history. The tall bowler kept the batters on tenterhooks with his pace and accuracy during his career, which spanned from 1984 to 2001.
However, when it came to batting, he didn’t do great. Walsh bagged a staggering 54 ducks in 264 innings, and he batted at the international level. He mustered 1257 runs at an average of 7.39 while smacking around 100 fours and 28 sixes. Interestingly, he could never notch up a fifty or a century, with his highest score being 30*. He also has the record for most ducks in Tests, notching up 43 of them in his career.
But when it came to bowling, Walsh was no less than a beast. Picking up 519 wickets in 132 Test matches with 22 five-wicket hauls to his name. In 205 One-Day International matches that he played, the fast bowler from the Caribbean accounted for 227 scalps with only a solitary five-fer.
3. Sanath Jayasuriya – 53 ducks
Sri Lanka’s arguably the best opener ever to play international cricket, Sanath Jayasuriya, is among the top players with zero scores. Even though the southpaw smashed more than 21000 runs at the highest level, Jayasuriya wasn’t a stranger to getting out for a score of zero as he bagged 53 of them during his illustrious career.
He played a staggering 586 matches for his country while scoring runs at an average of 34.14 with 42 centuries and 103 fifties to his name. Jayasuriya also made sure to smash a massive 2486 fours and 352 maximums.
Much to the delight of Sri Lankan cricket and its fans, Jayasuriya was a brilliant left-arm spinner as well. He picked up 98 wickets in Tests, 323 in ODIs and 19 in the shortest format of the sport, leaving the opposition batters stunned with his variations.
Despite doing all the big things for Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya couldn’t avert getting out for zero in his career and also ended up being on top of the list of players with the most ducks in ODIs.
4. Glenn McGrath – 49 ducks
Australia pacer Glenn McGrath always tested the batsmen with his accuracy, especially in Test cricket. But when it came to his own batting, he never showed patience and let the bowlers breach his defence easily. McGrath is fourth among the players with the record for most ducks in Tests.
In a career that spanned from 1993 to 2007, McGrath played 376 matches and batted in 207 of them to score 761 runs at a lowly average of 6.44. He could notch up only a solitary half-century in his entire career, with the best score reading 61. McGrath could only hit a single six in his 14-year international career to go with 58 fours.
But he was arguably the best bowler for Australia during the era when they dominated the most. The man finished his career with a staggering 949 wickets – 563 in Tests, 381 in ODIs and 5 in T20Is. The number is a huge one and certainly leaves modern-day cricket fans stunned.
5. Stuart Broad – 49 ducks
Stuart Broad is one of the modern-day cricketers to feature in the list of cricketers with the most ducks at the fifth position. In a career that lasted for a staggering 17 years, Broad was not exactly a walking wicket, but at one point in his career, the world knew he had gotten out for a bouncer. In 344 matches he played at the highest level, the England left-hander batted 338 times and ended up getting out for zero on 49 occasions.
However, Broad also smashed a century with the career-best score of 169 runs to go with 13 fifties as well. He amassed 4309 runs at an average of 16.44, smashing 480 fours and 68 sixes.
Much like other players on this list, Broad used to leave the batsmen, especially left-handed, shocked by his exceptional bowling. He picked up a total of 842 wickets in his entire career to finish among the elite list of players. When it came to Test cricket, Broad was superb, accounting for 604 wickets in just 309 innings with 20 five-wicket hauls in his name.
Top 5 Active Players With Most Ducks in International Cricket
From the above list, all the players are retired. Modern-day cricket demands supreme consistency across formats, and it is tough for any player to maintain a good scoring streak. Hence, here we have a look at a special list of active players with the most scores of zero at the highest level.
1. Chris Gayle – 44 ducks
The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle of the West Indies, might have played his last international match back in 2021. But he is yet to announce his retirement officially and hence is considered an active player. Despite bossing the opposition bowlers for more than two decades, Gayle hasn’t been able to avert getting out on 0.
Among active players, he is on the top of the list of cricketers with the most ducks. He failed to get off the mark on 44 occasions in 483 matches he played for the West Indies across formats. At the same time, the marauding left-hander also smashed 19593 runs in 551 innings at an average of almost 38 with 42 tons and 105 fifties to his name.
His best score of 333 runs came in the longest format as he entertained the fans with 2332 fours and 553 sixes. Notably, Gayle is also one of the leading boundary scorers in international cricket.
2. Ishant Sharma – 40 ducks
Like Gayle, even Ishant Sharma of India hasn’t played for his country since 2021. But then, he is yet to officially retire and is among the top players with zero scores when it comes to active cricketers. Ishant played 199 matches across formats for the men in blue, and in 173 innings, he batted. The man got out for zero 40 times.
Overall, he scored 865 runs with the bat at an average of 7.79 with a half-century to his name and the best score of 57. He also could smash only one six in his entire career to go with 95 fours. With the ball, Ishant was among the best for India for so many years, picking up 311 wickets in Tests, 115 in ODIs and 8 in T20Is.
3. Tim Southee – 39 ducks
New Zealand’s former skipper Tim Southee is nearing the end of his career but is still an active player. He has bagged 39 zero scores in his career, the third-highest ducks in cricket history among active players. Like Broad, even he has enjoyed playing good knocks with the bat. Southee scored 3228 runs in 296 innings at the international level with as many as eight half-centuries to his name.
He smashed 290 fours and 137 sixes in his career so far and is bound to hit a few more before hanging his boots. However, with the ball, he is even more dangerous picking up wickets with the new ball. Southee accounted for 385 wickets in Tests, 221 in ODIs and 164 in T20Is, always keeping the batters of the opposition teams on their toes.
4. Virat Kohli – 38 ducks
Virat Kohli is arguably one of the best batsmen to play the sport. But even he hasn’t been able to stay away from not troubling the scorers in his illustrious career. He has so far bagged 38 of them, and as frustrating as it looks, the man can do nothing about it. He is certain to bag a few zero scores by the time he retires, but then such is the aura of Kohli, the batsman, that all his heroics prove his worth.
The former India skipper has scored a staggering 27239 runs in his career so far across formats after featuring in 539 matches. His overall average of 52.89 is among the best in international cricket, and he has so far smashed 81 centuries, 50 of which came in ODIs and 141 fifty-plus scores. Kohli has smashed the ball to the boundary 2691 times, and on 305 occasions, he has hit a six. Notably, Kohli is also one of the highest run-scorer in IPL.
5. Tamim Iqbal – 36 ducks
Bangladesh’s left-handed opener, Tamim Iqbal is among the active players to be in the list of highest ducks in cricket history. Tamim played 391 matches at the highest level for his country while scoring more than 15000 runs at an average of 35.21 with 25 centuries and 94 fifties.
However, at the same time, the southpaw couldn’t avoid bagging scores of zero and failed to get off the mark on a stunning 36 occasions. As far as hitting fours and sixes is concerned, Tamim hit 1768 and 189 of them, respectively. Tamim Iqbal had announced his retirement in controversial circumstances, but after intervention from now-former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, he made a U-turn. But since then, he has yet to play for his country.
FAQs
Zaheer Khan, the left-arm fast bowler, has registered the most ducks for India at the highest level. He bagged 44 ducks in his entire career after playing 309 matches for his country.
West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh was a walking wicket in Tests, and accordingly, he bagged 43 ducks, the most in the longest format of the game.
Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya got out for zero a staggering 34 times in the 50-over format after batting in 433 innings.
Sachin Tendulkar, after playing 463 ODIs for India, bagged the most ducks for India in the format. He got out without troubling the scorers 20 times in the format.
Four players – Kabare Irakoze of Rwanda, Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh, Dasun Shanaka of Sri Lanka and Paul Stirling of Ireland – have been dismissed for a duck 13 times, the most in T20Is.
Rohit Sharma has been dismissed for a score of zero 12 times, the most for India, in the shortest format.
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