Families in Test cricket, Part Three
By Kersi Meher-Homji, 31 Dec 2009 Kersi Meher-Homji is a Roar Expert
In Part One, I covered families with three generations of cricketers. In Part Two, we looked at fathers and sons in cricket. Now, in part three, the brothers who played Tests together in the same Test team.
Australia’s Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, have played the most number of Tests together, 108; followed by brothers Andy and Grant Flower of Zimbabwe, 61; Ian and Greg Chappell of Australia, 43; Jeff and Martin Crowe of New Zealand, 36; Pakistanis Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad, 28; and South Africa’s Peter and Graeme Pollock, 23.
The thrilling Dunedin Test of November 2009 against New Zealand is remembered for Pakistan’s teenager Umar Akmal scoring 129 and 75 in his Test debut. In the first innings he added 176 runs for the sixth wicket, with elder brother Kamran Akmal playing his 44th Test.
Here is the complete list of brothers playing together.
Australia
- EJ and DW Gregory (1 Test, 1876).
- C and AC Bannerman (1 Test, 1878).
- G and WF Giffen (2 Tests, 1891).
- GHS and AE Trott (3 Tests, 1894).
- IM and GS Chappell (43 Tests, 1970-79). TM Chappell also played Test cricket, but not with brother IM or with GS.
- SR and ME Waugh, (108 Tests, 1990-2003). Twins.
England
- EM, WG and GF Grace (1 Test, 1880).
- CT and GB Studd (4 Tests, 1882).
- A and GG Hearne (1 Test, 1891). Their third brother, F Hearne ,played in this Test for South Africa.
- DW and PE Richardson (1 Test, 1957).
- AJ and BC Hollioke (1 Test, 1997).
South Africa
- SJ and SD Snooke (1 Test, 1907).
- D and HW Taylor (2 Tests, 1913).
- RHM and PAM Hands (1 Test, 1913).
- EAB and AMB Rowan (9 Tests, 1948-51).
- PM and RG Pollock (23 Tests, 1963-69).
- AJ and DB Pithey (5 Tests, 1963).
- PN and G Kirsten (7 Tests, 1993-94). Half brothers.
West Indies
- GC and RC Grant (4 Tests, 1934).
- JB and VH Stollmeyer (1 Test, 1939).
- D St E and E St E Atkinson (1 Test, 1957).
- PT Collins and FH Edwards (6 Tests, 2003-04). Half brothers.
New Zealand
- DR and RJ Hadlee (10 Tests, 1973-77).
- HJ and GP Howarth (4 Tests, 1974-76).
- JM and NM Parker (3 Tests, 1976).
- BP and JG Bracewell (1 Test, 1980).
- JJ and MD Crowe (36 Tests, 1983-89).
- JAH and HJH Marshall (5 Tests, 2005-06). Twins.
India
- S Wazir Ali and S Nazir Ali (2 Tests, 1932-33).
- L Ramji and Amar Singh (1 Test, 1933).
- CK and CS Nayudu (4 Tests, 1933-36).
- AG Kripal Singh and AG Milkha Singh (1 Test, 1961).
- S and M Amarnath (8 Tests, 1975-78).
Pakistan
- Wazir and Hanif Mohammad (18 tests, 1952-59).
- Wazir and Mushtaq Mohammad (1 Test, 1958).
- Hanif and Mushtaq Mohammad (19 Tests, 1960-69).
- Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad (1 Test, 1969).
- Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad (28 Tests, 1969-78) (Wazir, Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad are brothers).
- Wasim and Ramiz Raja (2 Tests, 1983).
- Moin and Nadeem Khan (8 Tests, 1998).
- Humayun Farhat and Imran Farhat (1 Test, 2000).
- Kamran and Umar Akmal (1 Test, as at 2 December 2009). Third brother Adnan has also played first-class matches in Pakistan. All three have kept wickets when needed but Kamran is the regular Test wicket-keeper. (Umar scored a century and a fifty in his Test debut this November).
Sri Lanka
- S and MD Wettimuny (2 Tests, 1982).
- A and D Ranatunga (2 Tests, 1989).
- A and S Ranatunga (8 Tests, 1994-96). A, D and S Ranatunga are brothers.
Zimbabwe
- A and GW Flower (61 Tests, 1992-2002).
- JA and GJ Rennie (1 Test, 1997).
- PA and BC Strang (12 Tests, 1994-97). Three pairs, Flowers, Rennies and Strangs, played together v. New Zealand, Harare, in 1997.
Sources: Famous Cricketing Families by KM-H, Simon & Schuster, Aust., 2000; Almanac, Perivale, Aust., 2006; several Wisden publications UK.
Look out for Part Four, the finale of the cricketing family series.
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Brett McKay said | December 31st 2009 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Great stuff Kersi, this has been a fascinating series so far..
You mentioned Zimbabwe’s Flower, Strang, and Rennie brothers all playing together in the one Test in ’97 – obviously that would have been a first in cricket, but I wonder if, or in how many other sports around the world have three sets of brothers all played in the one side at the top level??
And would the Waughs have ever played a ODI with Brett and Shane Lee at any point?? Maybe the late 90s, just before Brett made his Test debut?
vinay verma said | December 31st 2009 @ 9:46am | Report comment
Kersi,thought provoking as usual. Makes me think of WAR and Peace. Pakistan with its House of the Khans and House of Mohammed. Australia with its Chappells and Waughs.Flowers and Songs(Singhs)
Look forward to your finale. Best for 2010
Kersi Meher-Homji said | December 31st 2009 @ 10:51am | Report comment
Thank you, Vinay; thank you, Brett. May there be more chapels and flowers than wars in 2010 ! And less Lee-thal acts of terrorism.
The Lee brothers, Shane and Brett, joined the Waugh twins in January – February 2000 against India and Pakistan at Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney in the Carlton and United series. This included both the finals against Pakistan on the MCG and the SCG.