Courtney Walsh

He has taken 519 Test wickets, has bowled more than 5000 overs in Test cricket, has taken 5 wickets in an innings more than 100 times in first class cricket, but Courtney Walsh was a bowler who will be remembered for the spirit with which he played as much as the feats he achieved.

He made his debut in 1984, and for the rest of the 1980s remained a stock bowler alongside Marshall, Joel Garner and Ambrose. Come the 90s, post retirement of Garner and Marshall, Walsh took the new ball and formed one of the most dreaded pairs along with Curtly Ambrose. Walsh's easy run up and natural bowling action allowed him to swing the ball both ways, and when coupled with the aggressive fast bowling by his partner Ambrose, formed one of the best new ball attacks in the 90s.

Walsh was appointed West Indies captain in 1994, taking over from Richie Richardson. The second half of the 90s saw Walsh picking wickets at will; in 1995, he picked up 62 wickets at a stunning average of around 21. He lost pace towards the end of his career but that was never a detriment, as highlighted by the 66 Test wickets he bagged in the year 2000 (at an average of around 18). It also included a 34 wicket series against England, at an average of around 12. In March 2000, in his 114th Test against Zimbabwe at Sabina Park, Walsh went past Kapil Dev's record of 434 wickets to become the highest wicket taker in Test cricket. He retired with 519 wickets, and held the record until 2004 when Muthiah Muralitharan broke it.

In ODIs, Walsh was not as successful as he was in Tests. However, he maintained good economy, and had his moments like the 5 wickets for 1 run spell against Sri Lanka in 1986. Walsh did not know how to bat, and scored a record 43 ducks in his Test career.

Interesting facts: Walsh is also famous for his sportsmanlike gesture of not mankading last man Saleem Jaffar of Pakistan in a World Cup match in 1987, which cost the West Indies the match and a spot in the semi-finals [Source: Wikipedia]

Courtney Walsh Also owns a restaurant in Jamaica called Cuddyz [Source: Wikipedia]

By Karthik Lakshmanan