Features

The fan-favourite cricketers from non-Test playing nations

by Wisden Staff April 18, 2020 - 1:16pm 4 minute read

There have been some fine players to have never played Test cricket, with their appearances restricted to the lower rungs of the international game.

Still, it seems that some of these cricketers have still managed to find a place in fans’ hearts. We asked our social media followers one simple question: who is your favourite cricketer of all time from a non-Test playing nation?

Here are some of the names that emerged from the responses we received.

Ryan ten Doeschate

There is the obvious caveat to Ryan ten Doeschate’s inclusion: he originally hails from South Africa. Nevertheless, ten Doeschate received several mentions due to his incredible exploits with the Netherlands. From a minimum of 20 innings, no-one averages more than ten Doeschate’s 67 in ODI cricket, with the 39-year-old widely considered to be one of the finest Associate cricketers of all time. He’s also carved out a fine county career for Essex, leading them to two County Championship titles.

Steve Tikolo

Steve Tikolo enjoyed a stellar career with Kenya and can also safely say that he showed his talents at the highest level, having impressed at a number of World Cups. He hit 65 on his ODI debut against India in the 1996 World Cup and contributed 29 in a famous win over West Indies 11 days later before finishing his tournament with a knock of 96 against eventual winners Sri Lanka. Six fifties against England, Australia, India and Canada followed over the course of the next two World Cups.

Who is your favourite cricketer of all time from a non-Test playing nation?

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 16, 2020

Ole Mortensen

Denmark’s Ole Mortensen enjoyed an excellent career with Derbyshire during the 1980s and 1990s, with the seamer taking 434 first-class wickets at an average of 23.88. On the latest episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine editor Jo Harman listed Mortensen as one of his own non-Test playing favourites, saying: “He retired in 1994, so I’m not even convinced I saw him in the flesh. But I used to get The Cricketers’ Who’s Who every year and I remember flicking through it and seeing this Danish man with an enormous moustache just wondering how on earth he’d ended up in county cricket. He felt like this mythical Nordic figure. As the years have gone by I’ve realised that he was a fantastic bowler as well.”