Courtney Walsh

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Courtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh in 2005
Personal information
Full name
Courtney Andrew Walsh
Born (1962-10-30) 30 October 1962 (age 61)
Kingston, Jamaica
Height198[1] cm (6 ft 6 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 183)9 November 1984 v Australia
Last Test19 April 2001 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 45)10 January 1985 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI11 January 2000 v New Zealand
ODI shirt no.12, 33
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1981/82–2000/01Jamaica
1984–1998Gloucestershire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 132 205 429 440
Runs scored 936 321 4,530 1,304
Batting average 7.54 6.97 11.32 8.75
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/8 0/0
Top score 30* 30 66 38
Balls bowled 30,019 10,822 85,443 21,881
Wickets 519 227 1,807 551
Bowling average 24.44 30.47 21.71 25.14
5 wickets in innings 22 1 104 5
10 wickets in match 3 0 20 0
Best bowling 7/37 5/1 9/72 6/21
Catches/stumpings 29/– 27/– 117/– 68/–
Source: CricketArchive, 21 August 2008

Courtney Andrew Walsh

Bangladesh Cricket Team in August 2016.[5]

Early life and first-class career

Courtney Andrew Walsh was born on 30 October 1962 in Kingston, Jamaica. He played his early cricket there with the same cricket club for which Michael Holding also played cricket—the Melbourne club. Walsh first claim to fame came in 1979 when he took 10 wickets in an innings in school cricket and three years later made his first-class cricket debut.[6] He played 427 matches of this format between 1981 and 2001, and took 1,807 wickets at the average of 21.71, including 104 five-wicket hauls and 20 ten-wicket hauls.[4] Walsh played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (Gloucestershire CCC) from 1985 to 1998.[3]

Walsh played cricket for the

Jamaica cricket team from 1981–82 to 1999–00, Rest of the World XI in 1987 and West Indies A in 1991–92. He first played for Gloucestershire CCC in 1984 and was a mainstay of the side until 1998.[7]

International career

Walsh made his Test debut against

Cricketers of the Year for his performance the previous year.[6]

In the 1987–88 season, Walsh toured India and played four Test matches against them, taking 26 wickets at an average of 16.80.

India
in Kingston.

In 1994, he was appointed captain of the West Indies for the tours of India and

England at an average of 12.82 runs per wicket. Coming close to the record for a West Indian bowler of 35 wickets in a Test series (set by Malcolm Marshall in 1988). In the 1990s, his partnership with Curtly Ambrose
was one of the most feared bowling attacks in world cricket.

During the first part of his career, Walsh served as the "stock" bowler in an attack featuring Marshall, Joel Garner and later Ambrose, but after the retirement of Marshall and Garner took the role as opening bowler. His action lacked the elegance of those bowlers, but its economy and his natural athleticism ensured he was accurate and durable, even over very long spells and he used his height (about 198 cm, or six-foot-six) to extract vicious bounce. Even as he lost pace in the later stage of his career he continued to take wickets at an undiminished rate; teams tended to defend against him and Ambrose and attack the weaker third and fourth bowlers.

Walsh played his last ODI against

South Africa
in his homeland, Jamaica, in 2001.

A graph showing Walsh's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

Walsh is one of only seven bowlers to have bowled over 5000

10 wickets in a match
20 times.

His highest score, coincidentally, was 30 in both forms of the game. By the end of his career, he had such a reputation for poor batting that the crowd would cheer every ball he faced.[2] Whether this was in appreciation of his batting or an attempt to wind up the bowling side is open to interpretation. His most significant (if scoreless) innings came when he kept Brian Lara company during a last-wicket stand to ensure victory in the match (and thus a draw in the series) against Australia in the Third Test in 1999 (Walsh also took seven wickets in the match).[16] A trademark of his batting was an elaborate windmilling leave-alone. Walsh is a much loved and respected cricketer and the West Indies have yet to find a fast bowler with anything approaching his talents.

Walsh is also famous for his sportsmanlike gesture of not

Pakistan in a World Cup
match in 1987, which cost the West Indies the match and a place in the semi-finals.

He is currently a regular feature of the Lashings World XI alongside other cricket legends including Sachin Tendulkar and fellow West Indian Richie Richardson. In May 2004, Walsh was chosen one of the Jamaica's five greatest cricketers of all time.[17]

He has a dubious distinction of being one of the two players to play more than 100 test matches and not make a half-century, the other being Nathan Lyon.

Records

Walsh took 5 wickets in an ODI match conceding only one run against Sri Lanka in December 1986, a match which the West Indies won at the

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.[20] Throughout his Test career, Walsh produced one of the greatest opening partnership with Curtly Ambrose as a bowler, and shared 421 wickets from 49 matches with the latter.[2] Walsh's 519 wickets in Test cricket was a record at that time, which was surpassed by Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan in 2004.[21]

Walsh's feats with the bat are rather less flattering, as indicated by an average of seven in both Test cricket and ODIs. He also holds the record for the most Test ducks (43), and also held the record for the most "not outs" – 61 times – until passed by James Anderson in 2017.[2]

Walsh played 132 Tests and 205 ODI matches, and took 519 and 227 wickets respectively.[2] He took 22 five wicket hauls in Tests—of which five fifers came in the first 63 appearances and 17 in the later 69 appearances—and one in ODIs.[3][22]

Walsh holds the record for the best bowling figures (13 for 55) for a captain in a Test match.[23]

Retirement

During his Test career, spanned over seventeen years, Walsh bowled 5004.1 overs, captured 519 wickets at an average of 24.45 runs and at a strike rate of 57.55 in 132 Test matches. Cricket critics considered him that he was "one of the most admired cricketers of recent times and will long be remembered as one of the game's most revered players."[24] He played last time in Test cricket against South Africa in April 2001, a match West Indies won by 130 runs at

Jade Stadium, Christchurch in which he took one wicket for 70 runs.[26]

Former West Indian captain

Garry Sobers said about him that the "young crop of fast bowlers can take from him his dedication to West Indies and his ability to be always there, trying and giving 100 per cent in difficult conditions."[27]

Post-retirement

After his career as a selector for the West Indies national cricket team, Walsh signed as bowling coach of Bangladesh in August, 2016. His contract expired after the 2019 Cricket World Cup and he left his position as Bangladesh bowling coach along with then Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes.[28]

Courtney Walsh is the son of Joan Wollaston and also owns a restaurant in Jamaica called Cuddyz.[29] In November 2019, he was appointed as the assistant coach to the head coach Gus Logie for the West Indies women's cricket team.[30]

Coaching career

He was appointed as talent scout and fast bowling coach for

Kings XI Punjab.[when?][citation needed
]

Walsh was appointed bowling coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team in September 2016 on a three-year contract. He was appointed interim head coach in February 2018 following the resignation of Chandika Hathurusingha, with his first tournament in charge being the 2018 Nidahas Trophy.[31]

In October 2020, he was appointed as head coach of

West Indies women's national cricket team.[32] After the 2023 T20 World Cup, Cricket West Indies decided not to renew his contract.[33]

Awards and honours

Walsh was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1987, and the cricket almanack Wisden noted his "three distinct speeds, all delivered with the same action", and his "sparing use of the bouncer, his shorter deliveries generally threatening the batsman's rib-cage, a tactic which, allied to change of pace, produced many catches in the short-leg area off splice or glove."[6] Walsh was selected as one of the West Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1988.[34] He was named one Jamaica's greatest cricketers of all time in 2004.[35]

In October 2010, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame along with Joel Garner, joining the other fifteen West Indian players.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ Green, David (27 July 1998). "D Green: Walsh still scaling heights (27 Jul 1998)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Courtney Walsh". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Cricinfo staff, Wisden (30 October 2003). "All Today's Yesterdays – Happy birthday, Courtney". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Courtney Walsh". ESPNcricinfo. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Cricket: Courtney Walsh becomes Bangladesh bowling coach". The Daily Star. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Wisden:Cricketer of the year 1987 – Courtney Walsh". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Teams Courtney Walsh played for". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  8. ^ "West Indies in Australia 1984/85 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "Test Matches played by Courtney Walsh (132)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Test Bowling in Each Season by Courtney Walsh". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d "Benson and Hedges World Series Cup 1984/85". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  12. ^ "West Indies in India 1987/88 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  13. ^ "West Indies in India 1987/88 (2nd Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  14. ^ "West Indies in Australia 1988/89 (1st Test)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  15. ^ "Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Full Scorecard of Australia vs West Indies, Third test, 1998-9". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  17. ^ Cricinfo staff, Wisden (13 May 2004). "Jamaica's top five cricketers of all time – Walsh and Holding named among Jamaica's best". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Champions Trophy, 1986/87 – 5th Match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  19. ^ Nasim, Col (retd) Rafi (2 April 2000). "News and Views". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  20. ^ CricInfo (19 March 2001). "Walsh becomes the first man to 500 Test wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Muralitharan breaks Test record". BBC Sport. London. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  22. ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records – Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  23. ^ "Best figures in a match by a captain". cricinfo.
  24. ^ Arshad, Chughtai (25 April 2001). "Thank you Courtney Walsh". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  25. ^ "South Africa tour of West Indies, 2000/01: Sir Vivian Richards Trophy – 5th Test (19 April 2001)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  26. ^ "West Indies tour of New Zealand, 1999/00: West Indies in New Zealand ODI Series – 5th ODI (11 January 2000)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  27. ^ a b "Let's Not Lose Walsh". ESPNcricinfo. 25 April 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  28. ^ "Walsh signs on as Bangladesh bowling coach". ESPNcricinfo. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  29. ^ "Cuddyz restaurant". Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Walsh the new assistant coach for West Indies women". ESPNcricinfo. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  31. ^ Isam, Mohammad (26 February 2018). "Walsh named Bangladesh's interim head coach". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  32. ^ "Courtney Walsh named West Indies women's coach". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  33. ^ "CWI not to renew Courtney Walsh's contract as head coach of West Indies women's team". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Indian Cricket Cricketers of the Year: 1988". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  35. ^ Wisden Cricinfo staff (13 May 2004). "Jamaica's top five cricketers of all time – Walsh and Holding named among Jamaica's best". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  36. ^ "ICC Cricket Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  37. ^ "Rachael Heyhoe-Flint first woman inducted into cricket's Hall of Fame". The Guardian. Press Association. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Courtney Walsh.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
West Indies Test cricket captains

1993/4–1997/1998 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by World Record – Most Career Wickets in Test cricket
519 wickets (24.44) in 132 Tests
Held record from 27 March 2000 to 8 May 2004 		Succeeded by
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