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Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the tallest cricketer of them all? It is Pakistan’s 28 year-old new left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who stands at 6’9” (6 feet, 9 inches)! Like ages, dimensions are not Pakistanis’ strong points.
Some measure him at 6’8”, others at 6’10’, while some stretch our credibility limit and proclaim he is 7’1”.
But he is tall, very tall.
Selected for Pakistan’s team in Asia Cup in Sri Lanka next month, he has requested the authorities in Sri Lanka to arrange for a special large-sized bed for him.
“I am being told that all arrangements would be in place. I also need special sized bats and pads to play”, Irfan told Indian journalist Bipin Dani from Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, where he is attending the team camp.
“My father, Mohammad Aslam, a farmer, is 6’10” and my mother is 6’6″, but I am tallest among my five brothers and two sisters”, he added.
“He is a potential bowler and with passage of time he will be a utility bowler”, Intikhab Alam, the former coach said from Islamabad, where he was busy for his son’s wedding.
Before he was given a lucrative break in first-class cricket, Irfan contemplated giving up the game and was working for a plastic pipe company for a salary of Rs 8000 ($180) a month.
The previous tallest international cricketers have been West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner and Australian beanpole quickie Bruce Reid, both standing at 6’8” in their socks.
Garner took full advantage of his height while taking 259 wickets at 20.97 in 58 Tests, while Reid captured 113 wickets at 24.63 in 27.
Who were other tall cricketers?
A former Kent opening bowler, Norman Graham, stood at 6’8”. In his first-class debut in 1964, he took a wicket off his third delivery. Perhaps the batsman was looking up in awe rather than down the line!
Norm played for Kent for 14 seasons. He was at his best in 1967 and 1968, taking 104 wickets at 13.90. He was effective in one-day cricket and his real value can be gauged from his economy rate as much as his wickets.
His fourth one-day match was the 1967 Gillette final where he took 1 for 26 from 12 overs in Kent’s victory. He was a genuine No. 11 and is one of the rare breed who finished with more first-class wickets than runs.
His ground fielding was often entertainingly poor, but at 6’8″ that was understandable.
In the company of Garner, Reid, Graham and now Irfan, Tony Greig at 6’7”, Glenn McGrath over 6’5” and another Australian fast bowler Tony Dale at 6’5” would appear almost short!
If Irfan plays in the Asia Cup, the organisers may have to increase the height of the sightscreen. Garner and Reid had troubled the batsmen at the point of delivery with the ball coming from above the sight screen at many venues.
Roarers are requested to add to my list of tall (6’6” and above) first-class cricketers.