Published in 2008

10. The Waughs

Steve Waugh
First-Class Matches: 356 (1984-2004)
Tests: 168 (1985-2004)

Mark Waugh
First-Class Matches: 368 (1985-2004)
Tests: 128 (1991-2002)

Dean Waugh
First-Class Matches: 1 (1995)

The Waugh twins were the heartbeat of the Australian middle order throughout the Nineties. Australia lost just seven of the 37 Test series the brothers played alongside each other, as Steve (gritty, dogged) and Mark (laconic, invariably mulleted) combined to great effect.

Steve was the first to receive his baggy green cap, making his debut against India in 1985. Mark, the younger sibling by four minutes, and so fated to be known as Junior for the rest of his days, had to wait a further six years for his first taste of Test cricket.

When Junior did eventually receive the call during the 1991 Ashes it was a bittersweet experience, as it came at the expense of Steve’s place in the side. Another nickname – ‘Afghanistan’ (the forgotten war/Waugh) – could finally be dropped as Mark made a stunning debut hundred.

Steve went on to become the most successful captain and the second highest scoring batsman in Australia’s history while the mercurial Mark cemented his place at number four for the next decade but continued to thrill and frustrate in equal  measure. Between them they defined modern Australian cricket – guts, drive, grit on the one hand; style, elegance, class on the other.

Younger brother Dean also had a brief first-class career but if the opinion of ex-New South Wales paceman Richard Stobo is anything to go by then he wasn’t quite in the same league as his more celebrated brothers. After beating Dean’s outside edge several times in succession during a Sydney grade game an exasperated Stobo exclaimed, “for Christ’s sake Dean, you must have been ***king adopted.

9. The Hussains

Joe Hussain
First-Class Matches: 1 (1964)

Mel Hussain
First-Class Matches: 1 (1985)

Nasser Hussain
First-Class Matches: 334 (1987-2004)
Tests: 96 (1990-2004)

English cricket lost a stalwart this year. Jawad Hussain, or Joe as the lads who came to his famous Ilford Cricket School knew him, passed away in April. He was 68. He left behind two cricketing sons of similar ability, and a legacy few can match. His eldest boy, Mel, played a single game for Worcestershire before moving successfully into the business world; the other, Nasser, you may have heard of.

Joe himself played a single game for Madras in India before starting a new life in England, taking over the rickety old cricket school in Ilford and turning the building into a breeding ground for future Essex cricketers. Some of the other names to have passed through the doors include Graham Gooch, John Lever and Ravi Bopara, but it was more than just a finishing school for budding professionals; Joe’s place, stationed in a rough grey area, was a haven for cricket. It gave young lads, many from the cricketing no man’s land of east London and its outskirts, a rare chance to swing a bat or spin a ball.

It is true that without Joe’s drive and passion, without his deep understanding of the game and the role it can play in a young person’s life, cricket in this country would be a poorer thing. He gave us Nasser, and all that flowed from him. That is legacy enough. But for every Nasser, or Goochie, or Ravi, there were another hundred nippers who walked through those doors knowing nothing, and who walked out knowing so much more.

8. The Cowdreys

Ernest Cowdrey
First-Class Matches: 1 (1926)

Colin Cowdrey
First-Class Matches: 692 (1950-76)
Tests: 114 (1954-75)

Chris Cowdrey
First-Class Matches: 299 (1977-92)
Tests: 6 (1984-88)

Graham Cowdrey
First-Class Matches: 179 (1984-97)

It’s 1934 and the setting is a tennis court in Ootacamund – a small city located in the Niligiri Hills, south India. A cricket-mad father named Ernest is teaching his four-year-old son how to play with a straight bat.

Ernest had aspirations as a cricketer himself but despite playing one first-class match he never made the grade and instead worked as a tea-planter. Like so many parents with unfulfilled dreams who plough their energies into their offspring, Ernest christened his son with the initials MCC.

Thirty-four years later Ernest’s hard work had paid off. Colin Cowdrey strode out to bat at Edgbaston in his hundredth Test to face the old enemy in the third Test of the Ashes. Cowdrey was the first cricketer to reach the milestone and he celebrated in style with his 21st Test century and his first against the Australians.

Cowdrey, a true gentleman of the game, played 114 Tests averaging 44 and it’s testament to his natural ability that despite such achievements Fred Trueman once described him as “a terrific talent who never fulfilled his potential.”

His son Ron, although a talented player, never possessed the quality of his father and played the majority of his first-class cricket in England. “I recognised quite early that you can’t have two geniuses – father and son – in one family. I felt annoyance at other people as they would try and compare me with him,” Ron later said.

The elegant left-handed opener had 16 seasons at Worcestershire and was a key member of the side that won back-to-back Championships in 1964 and 1965.

In the twilight of his career Ron received the call he thought would never come. He was drafted into the 1973 touring West Indies Test side to play England after an injury crisis. But in reality his time had been and gone and he played just two Test matches with little success.

His son Dean enjoyed a more successful international career. After languishing in Middlesex seconds and struggling to make an impact after a move to Kent he finally announced himself on the county scene with three hat-tricks in the 1996 season.

The following year he made his international debut for England in the Ashes at Manchester. The right-arm paceman gave the Aussie left-handers a torrid time with his bounce and reverse-swing and took eight wickets in the match. Deano repeated his feats in the 1998/99 Ashes series, taking 6-60 in the second innings at Melbourne to scoop the man-of-the-match award and give England a famous victory.

But like his father he never fulfilled his potential in Test cricket as his career was curtailed after just 15 Tests when he was forced to retire in 1999 with persistent back problems.

2. The Mohammads

Wazir Mohammad
First-Class Matches: 105 (1949-64)
Tests: 20 (1952-59)

Raees Mohammad
First-Class Matches: 30 (1948-63)

Hanif Mohammad
First-Class Matches: 238 (1951-76)
Tests: 55 (1952-69)

Mushtaq Mohammad
First-Class Matches: 502 (1956-80)
Tests: 57 (1959-79)

Sadiq Mohammad
First-Class Matches: 387 (1960-85)
Tests: 41 (1969-81)

Shoaib Mohammad
First-Class Matches: 211 (1976-2002)
Tests: 45 (1983-1995)

No other dynasty has had such an impact on the shaping of a cricketing nation than that of the Mohammads of Pakistan. Following their introduction to Test cricket in 1952 the first 101 Tests played by Pakistan featured a member of the Mohammad family.

The four brothers Wazir, Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq played a total of 170 Tests for Pakistan, and a fifth brother Raaes was told the night before a Test match that he was selected, only to be demoted to 12th man the following morning.

Hanif was the star of the family. Renowned for his unparalleled powers of concentration, he retains the record for the longest innings in Test history for his 337 in 970 minutes against the West Indies in 1958.

With the Second Test against Pakistan beginning tomorrow, it’s a good moment to remember Hanif Mohammad, one of their greatest batsmen.

His Wisden obituary in 2017 recalled an extraordinary career.https://t.co/YjPXq2sChN#wisdenobits #wisdenarchive

— Wisden Almanack (@WisdenAlmanack) August 12, 2020

The following year he achieved the highest first-class innings to that point, scoring 499 for Karachi. The original ‘Little Master’ is also credited with the creation of the reverse sweep.

His son Shoaib went on to enjoy a successful Test career, scoring seven centuries in 45 matches. Like his father he won’t be remembered as one of cricket’s more electrifying batsmen but he proved to be an essential brick wall as Pakistan made their mark on the world stage in the 1980s.

1. The Graces

Edward Grace
First-Class Matches: 314 (1862-96)
Tests: 1 (1880)

WG Grace
First-Class Matches: 870 (1865-1908)
Tests: 22 (1880-1899)

Fred Grace
First-Class Matches: 195 (1866-80)
Tests: 1 (1880)

WG Grace (jnr)
First-Class Matches: 57 (1893-1903)

Charles Grace
First-Class Matches: 4 (1900-06)

Alfred Grace
First-Class Matches: 2 (1886-1891)

Norman Grace
First-Class Matches: 3 (1920-27)

In the year 1848, in Downend, Bristol, Martha Grace gave birth to the third of four sons. She christened him William, William Gilbert.

WG – or Gilbert as Martha called him – was born into cricket. His father Henry and his uncle Alfred were enthusiasts of this genteel Victorian pastime, but it was Martha, in the family’s back garden around the vegetable patch, who taught the game and techniques to her children, Henry, Frederick, Edward and our William Gilbert. All her boys showed aptitude, with WG showing particular promise.

Most elite sportsmen don’t reach their optimal level without the commitment and support of their parents. But some parents have such a profound input that any analysis would be incomplete without reference to their massive contribution, both emotional and technical. Tiger Woods was groomed by his father Earl from birth to such an extent that by the age of five he completed a par three course in level par. Another good, if less extreme example would be Judy Murray, whose dedication and expertise has meant that her two sons Jamie and Andy have made it as tennis players in an era where the LTA have produced none, despite the millions invested.

Martha was sport’s first pushy parent. In 1859, she wrote to George Parr, the England captain, with an audacious request:

“I am writing to ask you to consider the inclusion of my son, EM Grace – a splendid hitter and most excellent catch – in your England XI. I am sure he would play very well and do the team much credit. It may interest you to learn that I have a younger son, now twelve years of age, who will in time be a much better player than his brother because his back stroke is sounder, and he always plays with a straight bat. His name is WG Grace.”

It’s one of cricket’s most precious pieces of prose. Martha’s zest for the game would spawn a total of ten first-class cricketers crowding under the Grace family tree; Edward would indeed go on to play for England, as would young Fred, but the brothers would be usurped by their middle sibling. What is most revealing from the letter is the reference to her young son’s back foot technique and straight bat. Martha’s central concern with the development of WG Grace’s technique makes her in many ways the game’s most influential coach of all time; WG was later credited as the first player to play both off both front and back foot. From historical record she was no light touch either, reportedly lambasting her son after a bad shot: “How many times, Gilbert, have I told you how to play that ball?”

CLR James, the great academic and cultural historian, asserts in his book Beyond a Boundary that WG Grace was a towering figure who was personally responsible for popularising the game, nothing less than the most famous and iconic Englishman of the Victorian era. CLR dismisses two famous historical and social books written about Victorian times for the sole reason that they failed to include anything about WG Grace. By the same token, no mention of WG’s scope and influence should be made without a nod to the role played by his mother. Without her input, enthusiasm and expertise the game would not be what it is today. God bless Mother Cricket.

First published in 2008