Former West Indies pacer Courtney Walsh is undoubtedly among the most dominating fast bowlers to have played the game of cricket. In his 15 years long career, Walsh represented WI in 132 Tests and 205 One Day International and redefined pace bowling. He became the first bowler to cross the 500 wicket mark in a Test and signed off his career as the leading wicket-taker in red-ball cricket.
Walsh was an impactful player who could deliver performances against the strongest batting lineups. While his bowling records tell us the story of his dominance, his impact went beyond wickets. His mere presence shifted momentum in favour of the West Indies in many games. As he celebrates his 60th birthday today (October 30), we take a look at some of his most memorable spells
5-54 & 4-40 Vs India, 1987
Winning the toss, India decided to bat first at the second test of the home series against West Indies in 1987. Openers Kris Srikkanth and Arun Lal gave a sturdy start and put 50 runs on the board together. The stage was all set for the Indian batting lineup to carry on to a good total, however, Walsh had different plans.
He first dismissed Lal and followed it with the wickets of Mohinder Amrtnah and in form Srikkanth. Walsh finished the inning with a five-wicket hall and picked another four-wicket in the second innings helping his team to register a comfortable victory over the hosts
4/25 against India
In the first match of Champions trophy 1989/90, Walsh’s fiery bowling spell against India helped West indies to register a comfortable five-wicket victory. He first sent both openers Navjoy Singh Siddhu and Kris Srikkanth back to the pavilion and returned in the second spell to pick two more wickets.
Walsh finished the match with the figures of 4 wickets while giving just 25 runs.
5 for 1 against Sri Lanka, 1986
In the champions trophy series of 1986/87, Walsh achieved an extraordinary feat against Sri Lanka and picked 5 wickets while giving just 1 in his 4.3 overs. Batting first West Indies set a target of 249 runs for Sri Lankans.
The pressure of a huge target and fiery bowling lineup got better of the Lankan batter and the team was bundled for 55 runs.
4-16 Vs Pakistan, 1993
The fast bowling lineup of the West Indies from the 90s was capable of destroying any batting lineup of the world. West Indies was up and against Pakistan in the 9th match of the tri-series that also featured hosts South Africa. Winning the toss West Indies put Pakistan to bat first.
Making full use of the South African tracks, the West Indies bowling line-up led by Walsh ran through the Pakistani batting. Before the end of the 19th overs, the Pakistani were back to the pavilion at the score of 43. Walsh picked four-wicket giving 16 runs.
7-37 & 6-18 Vs New Zealand, 1994-95
One of the most memorable spells of Walsh’s career was his fiery bowling against hosts New Zealand in the second test match. With a huge total of 660 on the board in the first innings, the WI team became unstoppable. The bowling attack led by also ran through the Kiwi batting lineup and bundled for a total of 216 runs. Walsh’s seven-wicket haul forced New Zealand into a follow on.
However, nothing much changed in the second innings as well and Walsh picked another 6 wickets to pack Kiwis at 122 runs. West Indies registered an innings and 322 runs victory over New Zealand.
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