Cricket is a game which has nothing to do with physical appearances. It doesn’t require a 6-feet tall height like basketball but you can get the advantage of a good height. A tall bowler can generate more pace and bounce as compared to a short one. West Indies has produced some of the fastest bowlers who were tall. Also, short height helps a batsman to play along the ground. 5 feet 5 inches tall Sachin Tendulkar is today known as ‘God Of Cricket’. Here below are the shortest and tallest cricketers in history.
Top 5 Tallest Cricketers
5. Bruce Reid: He is 2.03m (6 feet 8 inches) tall and joint tallest bowler to play international cricket for Australia. He made his international debut in 1985 and has played 27 tests and 61 ODIs. In his career, Bruce bagged 113 and 63 wickets in Tests and ODIs respectively. He also worked as the bowling coach of the Indian team in 2003-04.
4. Joel Garner: He is one of the most successful West Indies bowlers and also the tallest bowler of West Indies at the height of 2.03m (6 feet 8 inches). Debuted in 1977 and struck 406 wickets in his international career.
3. Peter George: With 2.03 (6 feet 8 inches) Peter is the joint tallest bowler with Bruce Reid in Australian cricket history. He has played only one match in his international career which was a test against India in 2010. Right-handed pacer currently plays Australia’s domestic cricket for Queensland Bulls.
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2. Boyd Rankin: Ireland’s Boyd Rankin is 2.04m (6 feet 8 inches) which makes him the 2nd tallest Cricketer in the history. Rankin is one of the main bowlers of the Irish team. interestingly, Boyd started his international career for England and now contributing in Ireland team.
1. Mohammad Irfan: 2.16m (7 feet 1 inch) tall Mohammad Irfan is the tallest bowler in the history of cricket. Left-Arm Pakistan bowler made his ODI debut in 2010 and has taken 82 wickets in 60 matches. However, the cricketer is now suspended from all forms of cricket. In 2017, PCB handed him the suspension for corruption in Pakistan Super League matches.
Top 5 Shortest Cricketers
5: Gundappa Vishwanath: He was one of the finest Indian batsmen of the 70s era. Vishwanath stands at the height of 1.6m (5 feet 3 inches). Gundappa played 92 test matches for India scored a total of 6080 runs. Also, there are many players have the same height.
4. Parthiv Patel: He was just 5 feet tall when he made his debut for India at the age of 17. However, the cricketer’s height is now 1.6m (5 feet 3 inches). Many times Parthiv Patel has faced trolling for his short height but he has proven your physical appearance can’t be an obstacle in front of your dreams. Parthiv is one of the successful cricketers of the country.
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3. Alfred Freeman: Born in 1888, England’s Alfred Freeman stood at a height of 1.57m (5 feet 2 inches). He was an all-rounder and in his 12 test match career, he scored 154 runs and took 66 wickets.
2. Tich Cornford: Another cricketer from the old era Walter Latter Cornford was barely 5 feet tall. He played 4 tests for England and spent his career playing first-class cricket.
1. Kruger Van Wyk: He is the shortest cricketer ever to play international cricket. New Zealand’s Kruger Van Wyk is 1.45m (4 feet 9 inches) tall. The wicket-keeper batsman made his debut for the Kiwi team in 2012 vs South Africa in a test. He was not successful in internationals but has a decent domestic record. In 2015, he announced the retirement from all forms of cricket.