Great Australian runners between wickets

Jos Buttler’s recent run out has highlighted just how important running between the wickets is in our great game.

This got me thinking about some of Australia’s ‘best’ runners I’ve seen or heard of in Test cricket.

Two of the ‘best’ who graced the field had to be Rick Darling and Graeme Wood, who opened for Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Wikipedia sums them nicely:

… the pair [were] christened the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ due to their often disastrous running between the wickets, which saw one of the pair dismissed run out in one innings of each of their four Tests together.

What this comment doesn’t highlight is the excitement they brought to running because of the number near misses and yes-no-wait-sorry-type incidents that happened in these innings before one of them was run out.

Outstanding running has not been limited to recent times. Warwick ‘Big Ship’ Armstrong, Australia’s cricket captain in the 1920s, often caused fellow players grief due to his weight, estimated to be 140kgs. He was said to be able to turn an easy two into a difficult one thanks to his lack of speed between wickets.

Another pair who tried to outdo the other, or so it was said, was Sid Barnes and Don Bradman. Both were supremely confident about their abilities with the bat, and when it came to the last ball of an over both felt it was their right to take a single so they could face the next over. This led to some interesting running to say the least.

Dean Jones rates a mention on this list as well. A combination of great speed between wickets coupled with huge confidence in his batting ability made for scary times, especially for those batting with him. He could and would hit the ball straight to fielders and take off knowing he could beat the throw, but he left his mates stranded more than once. I seem to recall him doing that to a certain Alan Border, who was less than impressed.

A lack of speed and a lack of running technique were hallmarks for one of my favourite Australian players, Tony Dell. A big, lumbering left-arm fast bowler, he looked completely at sea running between wickets.

The man who might have taught Tony was Bert ‘Dainty’ Ironmonger. He was a completely hopeless batsman who apparently complemented his lack of batting ability with an inability to run quickly between wickets, make the right call et cetera.

The baton for nervy running between wickets ended up in the hands of a man some have dubbed Superbat: Glenn McGrath. He was always keen to get off the mark, and early in his career he was keen to get to the non-strikers end, especially when playing the West Indies. This resulted in some amusing running between wickets – though, to be fair, he did settle down as a runner.

The ‘bloke with the most’ also needs to rate a mention. Ricky Ponting holds the record for most Test dismissals run out, with 15. People have all sorts of theories about why someone who was so fast should lead the pack, but a guy who’s batted 258 times at Test level is going to get run out every once in a while.

The final character in Australia’s pantheon of great runners has to be Mike Witney, as the following video clip shows: