Waughs, Chappells, Flowers: Cricket’s most famous brothers

Hyderabad: Cricket has always had a special place for family ties. From brothers sharing the dressing room to twins creating records together, the game has witnessed some extraordinary sibling stories. While football, hockey and basketball have also seen siblings compete at the highest level, cricket seems to have a particularly fascinating history of brothers playing alongside each other, sometimes even scripting history in the same match.

Waugh twins had impressive statistics

Among these, few sibling partnerships come close to the legacy of Australia’s Steve and Mark Waugh. Born just four minutes apart, the twins went on to become two of the most celebrated cricketers of their generation. One was known for his steely determination and leadership, the other for his effortless elegance and stroke-making. Together, they were much more than brothers in the same team.

They became part of Australia’s golden era, helping establish the country’s dominance in world cricket through the 1990s and early 2000.

Together they have scored 35,025 runs in Test and ODI formats. This included 73 centuries. In second place are the Flower brothers of Zimbabwe. Andy and Grant Flower have scored a total of 21,608 runs across different formats. In third place are the Mohammad brothers of Pakistan. Hanif, Mushtaq, Sadiq and Wazir have scored more than 15,000 runs.

Chappell brothers’ amazing feat

Another set of brothers from Australia also set the cricket world alight. They were Ian and Greg Chappell. On one occasion, the duo scored a total of 646 runs. This was during Australia’s tour of New Zealand in 1974. That mark is the highest total runs ever put up by two brothers in a single Test match. They scored hundreds in both innings of the Test, the first and only such instance so far. Greg scored 247 and 133, and his elder brother Ian scored 121 and 145.

There are four other pairs of brothers who have scored hundreds in the same innings, namely Pakistan’s Sadiq and Mushtaq Mohammad, the Flower brothers of Zimbabwe, namely Andy and Grant, and the Waugh twins, who did it twice.

But the total runs scored by Ian and Greg have never been surpassed.

In ODIs, the highest aggregate by brothers in an innings is 223, between the Flowers against Bangladesh at Bulawayo in 2001. Andy scored 81, Grant scored 142, and Zimbabwe won the match by 36 runs.

Pakistan’s most accomplished family

Only one set of four brothers have played Test matches. They were Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammad and his brothers Mushtaq, Sadiq and Wazir, who represented their country in different Tests. The four played 173 Tests among them and scored 29 Test centuries. At the time of Mushtaq’s retirement in 1979, Hanif and Mushtaq were Pakistan’s top two run scorers in Tests.

A fourth brother, Raees, was selected as a 12th man in one Test. Had he been in the playing XI, five brothers of one family would have been Test cricketers. Hanif’s son, Shoaib Mohammad, also played 45 Tests for Pakistan. Their mother, Ameena, used to be a badminton and carrom champion in undivided India. Truly, the Mohammads could be called the greatest sports family of Pakistan.

Grace brothers of England

Then there have been three instances of three brothers playing in the same Test. Two of those occasions happened in the 1800s. All three Grace brothers of England, namely WG, Edward and Fred, played against Australia in 1880. The Hearne brothers of England played together but for different countries. All three played in an England vs South Africa Test match in Cape Town in 1891-92. But Alec and George Hearne played for England while Jack Hearne played for South Africa.

Three sets of brothers in the same match

One of the most unusual instances of brothers playing in the same team happened on September 18, 1997.

In 1997, Zimbabwe faced New Zealand in Harare, with three pairs of brothers featuring in the Zimbabwean playing 12th man. The brothers were Andy Flower and his brother Grant Flower, Bryan Strang and Paul Strang, and Gavin Rennie and John Rennie.

There was a Zimbabwean player named Guy Whittal, and the 12th man was his cousin, Andy Whittal. In short, almost the entire team was related to each other! Grant Flower scored a century in each innings (104 and 151) and the match ended in a draw.

There are also examples of fathers and sons being successful cricket players (and even grandfathers in some cases). And there are cases where husbands and wives have both played successfully for their country in men’s and women’s cricket. But that deserves to be focused on in a separate article.

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