Walking wicket in cricket – what is it?

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of a striker in a cricket match. This batsman is not only responsible for scoring runs but also for protecting the wicket and hitting the ball strategically to delay the opposing team’s ability to return it to play. A striker, who, to put it mildly, fails to meet the expectations of his team, is often given the unflattering nickname Walking wicket.

What Is A Walking Wicket In Cricket?

So, this expression, of course, does not refer to a literal wicket moving across the field.

A Walking wicket is a term used to describe a particularly poor batsman who still competes at a professional level. Most often, this is the name of a player with a batsman averaging rating below 5. It can also refer to a typically good player who is going through a rough patch. As a rule, such a player enters the field one of the last.

This phrase is widely used by players, commentators, and fans alike.

Who Always Qualifies As A Walking Wicket?

No cricketer enjoys being called a “Walking Wicket,” and no one aspires to earn that title. Cricket history primarily celebrates victories and top-performing players, those who set the standard for others.

However, to identify the true Walking Wickets in cricket history, one must look at players who have accumulated the fewest runs, recorded the most ducks, and contributed the least to their teams as batsmen. Opinions may vary here because you can call a player the worst in history, given completely different indicators. We will tell you about several cricketers who could have been considered Walking Wickets at some point in their careers.

Lahiru Thirimanne (Sri Lanka)

Lahiru Thirimanne played international cricket and was the captain of the team in the ODI format. However, due to poor performance, he was dropped from the national team before making a successful return.

Lahiru started his international career in 2010 in ODI matches, and later, in 2011, he made his debut in test cricket. In his first innings, he was able to earn only ten runs, after which he was knocked out. However, in his eighth Test match, he scored 91 runs against Australia, and it seemed that things were going well. His performance improved further when he hit 155 runs against Bangladesh. Later, in 2014, during the Asia Cup, he was named the tournament’s best player.

But then his form declined. A number of unsuccessful performances led to his exclusion from the national team in 2016. To understand the extent of his decline, let’s look at the statistics. For a batsman who has played 50 or more innings in Test cricket, entering the field in the top six, the average of Lahiru is exceptionally low – 22.06. Before him, Javed Omar had the lowest average in Test history after 40 matches. Definitely, at that time, this player deserved the title of the Walking Wicket.

In July 2017, he was included in the squad for a training match and later returned to the team and started playing again. By 2021, he had scored his second hundred in Test, improving his average to 23.43. As a result, he no longer tops the list of the worst batsmen but still ranks among the lowest.

Chris Martin (New Zealand)

Chris Martin is often regarded as the worst batsman in the history of international cricket – a true Walking Wicket. He played from 2000 to 2013 and is remembered for two things: being an outstanding bowler and a notoriously poor batsman.

To begin with, he was knocked out 36 times in a test match without earning a single point. In total, in 71 test matches, he picked up the bat 104 times. The reason for pride is that he was not knocked out 52 times out of 104. But the way he hits the ball can hardly be called exemplary. In test matches, Chris earned only 123 runs. Just once in a test match, he scored more than ten runs in an innings. His highest score in an innings was 12 runs, which he achieved against Bangladesh.

Courtney Walsh (Jamaica)

Courtney Walsh played international cricket from 1984 to 2001 and became not only one of the best and fastest bowlers, but also one of the worst and most useless batsman. He holds the record for the most ducks in Test cricket, having been dismissed without scoring 43 times.

Despite this, Courtney was the captain in 22 test matches, took 519 wickets and won 963 runs. But only twice in his entire career did he score more than 30 runs in an innings.

Pommie Mbangwa (Zimbabwe)

Pommie Mbangwa leads the rating of the lowest batting average with a score of 2.00. This player, who is often called a walking wicket, played from 1996 to 2002. He was in 15 matches, earned 34 runs and took 32 wickets. Due to poor performance, he was eventually dropped from the national team.

However, Mbangwa was not entirely without talent. Despite this, it is worth remembering that Pommie is one of nine Zimbabwean players who were able to take 30 or more wickets. Now, this cricketer has finished his career and has become a sports commentator.

As a rule, Walking Wickets in international cricket are always not hopeless players but talented bowlers who do not feel well in the batsman’s position.