Batsmen with Most Ducks in Test Cricket History

Though it is primarily the responsibility of the batsmen to score for their team and secure the victory, there have been many instances where the team was in dire need of the lower order players to score and deliver. Now, the lower order mainly consists of bowlers, and many of them have failed to deliver on such occasions. On that note, here is a list of the five batsmen with the most ducks in Test cricket.

1. Courtney Walsh (West Indies; 43 ducks)

Courtney Walsh, the excellent cricketer from West Indies, requires no introduction. This Jamaican is widely acclaimed in the cricketing world for his skills with the ball. In fact, he was one of the finest that the team has ever had in all these years.

Now, he might have been a speedster – terrorizing batsmen and wreaking havoc with the ball in his hand – but he was out of his league with a bat in his hand. Walsh had a whopping number of 43 ducks in his entire Test career, which is the most balls faced in Test and scoring a duck.

In a total of 132 matches played by him, he not only got out for a duck on 43 occasions, but also had four pairs. Pairs referred to the fact that he got out for zero on both innings of one Test match. His career spanned 17 years, from 1984 to 2001. But he scored only 936 runs and had an average of 7.54. The only bright note was that he had 61 not-outs to his name as well.

2. Stuart Broad (England; 38 ducks)

Stuart Broad has commendably improved his batting prowess in the last couple of years. A top bowler for his team, Broad has 12 fifties and a hundred to his name, which shows that he is trying to improve his batting skills. In fact, with a bit more effort, he might even become a dependable all-rounder.

Regardless of that, this 33-year-old cricketer sits pretty high on the list of cricketers with the highest number of ducks in Test cricket. As he has scored 38 zeros till now in Tests, he wins the second spot on this list. 

Broad has been a part of 149 matches for England. The left-hander has a score of 3,370 runs, with a superbly improving average of 18.66. His highest score to this date is 169. Moreover, he has 31 not-outs to his name in Test cricket.

3. Chris Martin (New Zealand; 36 ducks)

Pacer Chris Martin of New Zealand was one of the most prolific bowlers of all time. In his long Test career spanning thirteen years, he had been a dependable arsenal in the bowling unit of the Kiwis. When it comes to bowling, Martin has 233 wickets in 71 Tests – a commendable statistic.

However, Martin kept struggling with the bat. With 36 ducks in total, Martin holds the third position on this list of the highest number of ducks ever recorded by a cricketer in Tests. Furthermore, he has the highest number of pairs in Tests, i.e., seven.

Between 2000 and 2013, Martin managed 123 runs and an average of 2.36. The average is the lowest ever in cricket history. He might have played 71 Tests, but he has the most no of balls faced in Test cricket for no reason because of his consistent ‘ducks.’ Martin has 52 not-outs to his name.

4. Glenn McGrath (Australia; 35 ducks)

McGrath is nothing short of a maestro with a ball in his hand, though he never managed to excel with his batting. Now, we will have to consider that McGrath comes from a time when his team had the best batting line-up ever. Thus, he might not even have considered improving his batting skills.

In any case, McGrath did not stay around for too long when it came down to him on the batting end of the crease. His 35 ducks in total show that the cricketer is not too comfortable with batting. McGrath’s career spanned 14 years, right from 1993 to 2007, and he had three pairs in all these years. But he did manage to shake the opposition with a knockout score of 61 – the only time he scored a half-century in Test cricket.

5. Shane Warne (Australia; 34 ducks)

Shane Warne, the Spin King, was a sorcerer with the ball. With a total of 708 Test wickets, this Aussie legend has hammered out many a team with his bowling skills. As such, he still holds the position of the second highest wicket-taker in Tests, right behind Muttiah Muralitharan. Now, he might have made the opposition suffer with his ball, but he did not suffer any less with the bat.

He did become a better batsman at the latter half of his cricketing career, but he had multiple unsuccessful outings with the bat in all the years before that. The fact that Warne improved his batting gradually shows his relentless zeal.

Warne scored a total of 34 ducks in his cricket career, which gets him fifth place on this list. However, Warne stayed unbeaten on seventeen occasions, though he holds the record of being the fifth player with the most balls faced by a batsman in Test cricket for a duck. He also sits on the list of batsmen who got dismissed on 99, and could never score a hundred in Tests.

Top Five Batsmen with the Most Ducks in Test Cricket

Here is a complete list of the top five batsmen with the most ducks in Test cricket.