Meet the Sloths of One Day International Cricket
In this fast-paced era of Twenty20 Cricket, most of us remember the fastest player to reach the 50/100 run mark. Today when the T20 effect has made the One Day International cricket and Test matches also faster, only a few might have an idea of how cricket used to be in the 80s and 90s. Cricket, back in the 70s and 80s, was more dominated by test matches and the players that were consistent and played long innings used to be loved by the fans.
It was thought to be the best practice for a batsman to spend his first 5-10 overs on the pitch to just settle down and read the pitch and the bowlers.
Some of the players though, couldn’t leave this habit even as One-day matches became the most favorite format. Some of the players scored so slow in ODIs that it would put even sloths to the shame. Being slow isn’t a feat worth mentioning, so most of us won’t know who were the slowest batsmen in the ODI cricket.
So let us introduce you to these extraordinary gentlemen, starting from the bottom of the list. We are just glad to know that the ‘slowest ever batman’ isn’t an Indian player.
6. Mohsin Khan (Pakistan)
Mohsin Hasan Khan, a former Pakistani player has played 48 Tests and 75 ODIs for his country from 1977 to 1986. He was an opening batsman. In the year 1983, in a match against West Indies at The Oval, he scored 70 runs in 176 balls with a strike rate of 39.86. Pakistan lost that match to West Indies by 8 wickets.
5. Sidath Wettimuny (Sri Lanka)
Sidath Wettimuny a former Sri Lankan opening batsman played from 1982 to 1987 and has played 23 Tests and 35 ODIs for his county. His playing style was quite defensive and thus in a match against Pakistan in the year 1983 at Leeds, he played a knock of 50 runs in 127 balls with a strike rate of 39.37 while chasing. Sri Lanka lost that match by 11 runs.
4. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar also known as Sunny Gavaskar, often regarded as one of the greatest Test batsmen and Opener, played from 1971 to 1987 in a total of 125 Tests and 108 ODIs. Sunil Gavaskar has set a lot of world records during his career but was also a part of a record that he never would have wanted to be in.
In a match against New Zealand at Leeds in the year 1979, he scored 55 runs facing a massive 144 balls with a strike rate of just 38.19. India scored a mere 182 runs and thus lost the match with 8 wickets.
3. Dipak Chudasama (Kenya)
Dipak Nanalal Chudasama is a former Kenyan cricketer of Indian Gujarati origin. He played Cricket from 1996 to 1999. He was a right-handed batsman who was a part of 20 ODIs for his country. Also known as “The Doc” as he is a fully qualified orthodontist which is quite visible in the photo above.
In a match against Pakistan in the year 1996 at Nairobi he played a knock of 51 runs consuming 135 deliveries at a strike rate of 37.77. Kenya lost the match by 4 wickets.
2. Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
Mohammad Javed Miandad is a former Pakistani cricket coach and captain who had a very unconventional style of batting. Some describe him as the greatest batsman Pakistan has ever produced. He was a part of 124 Tests and 233 ODIs between 1975 to 1996.
In the year 1989 when Pakistan was playing against West Indies at Perth, he played a knock of unbeaten 63 runs facing huge 167 deliveries at a strike rate of 37.72 and scoring just one boundary. This is to date the 2nd slowest innings by a cricketer scoring 50+ runs. West Indies won the match quite easily by 7 wickets.
1. Ishwar Maraj
Ishwar Maraj is a Canadian cricketer who was born in West Indies’. He is a left-handed batsman who has played just 6 ODIs for his team and all in the year 2003. In February 2020, he was named in the West Indies’ squad for the Over-50s Cricket World Cup in South Africa. However, the tournament was canceled during the third round of matches due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chasing a total against a strong South Africa’s side at East London, Ishwar Maraj played an innings which he will not be very proud of. He made an unbeaten 53 runs facing a whopping 155 balls with a strike rate of 34.19. As a result, Canada lost the match by a massive margin of 118 runs.
That’s the end of the list. If you would like to leave us feedback or want us to add anything, please feel free to drop a comment.
