New Delhi. Cook, Taylor, Shepherd, Butler, Contractor, and Engineer…. Don’t be surprised, these are not professions but the surnames of some players. In international cricket, many players with interesting surnames not only represented different countries but also achieved fame with their sports skills. Two cricketers with the surname ‘Cook’ (cook) and ‘Taylor’ (tailor) were the pillars of their country’s batting for a long time. Alastair Cook scored 12,472 runs with the help of 33 centuries in Tests and also captained England. Cook, a brilliant left-handed batsman, played the first and last Tests of his career against India and registered his name in a special club by scoring centuries in both of them. Apart from Alastair, another player with the surname ‘Cook’, Jimmy, also played 3 Tests and 4 ODIs for South Africa.
Similarly, Ross Taylor, surnamed ‘Taylor’, played more than 100 Tests for New Zealand and scored 7683 runs with the help of 19 centuries. His 8607 runs in 236 ODIs and 1909 runs in 102 T20Is place him among the best batsmen of the Kiwi team of all time. Jerome, surnamed ‘Taylor’, has also served West Indies cricket in all three formats as a fast bowler. International cricketers with surnames like ‘Pasha’ include West Indies’ Ashley Nurse, India’s Nari Contractor and Farooq Engineer.
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Nurse, who played for the West Indies team as an off-break bowler, took 49 wickets in 54 Tests and 8 wickets in 13 T20Is. Similarly, Nari and Farooq, surnamed ‘Contractor’ and ‘Engineer’, who come from the Parsi community, enriched Indian cricket. Nari, a brilliant left-handed batsman, took over the captaincy of the Indian team at the age of 26. His career ended prematurely when a ball from West Indies fast bowler Charlie Griffith hit his head. Similarly, wicketkeeper Farooq Engineer was quite popular due to his aggressive style of batting. Two cricketers with the surname ‘Ojha’, Pragyan and Naman, have also played for India. Left-arm spinner Pragyan took more than 100 wickets in Tests for India, while Naman played as a wicketkeeper batsman.
Josh, who has the surname ‘Butler’ (Chief Servant), is still playing cricket for England. Wicketkeeper batsman Butler is a fan favourite due to his ability to increase the scoreboard at a fast pace. The names of West Indies fast bowler Romario ‘Shepherd’ and England fast bowler of Caribbean origin Jofra ‘Archer’ (Archer) can also be included in this list.
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Beer, salt-onion-semolina, burger and mustard too
Some cricketers with surnames like food items are currently shining or have shined in international cricket. These include Michael ‘Beer’, Phil Salt (salt), Martin ‘Semolina’ (semolina or rava used in Indian cuisine), Graham Onions (onion) and Phil Mustard (mustard). Beer has played international cricket for Australia and Onions for England. Wicketkeeper batsman Phil Salt is still playing for England and is an important member of the ODI and T20 team. Martin with the surname ‘Semolina’ and his brother Tony have played for Kenya in the ODI World Cup. Martin Suzy was a fast bowler while Tony was an all-rounder. Phil ‘Mustard’ also played 10 ODIs and two T20Is for England in 2007-08 as a wicketkeeper batsman but he did not get much success. Nandre ‘Burger’ (food item) is a South African fast bowler who was among the reserve players of the South African team for the T20 World Cup 2024. He has played two Tests, three ODIs and one T20I so far.
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Players with the surnames Wood, Bell, Ball, Broom and Holder
Cricketers with surnames similar to the essential accessories of everyday life include Mark ‘Wood’ (wood), Ian ‘Bell’ (bell), Jack ‘Ball’ (ball) and Jason ‘Holder’ (glove or thing in which things are kept). England’s Wood, who bowls at a speed of 150 km per hour, and West Indies all-rounder Holder are still playing international cricket. Ian Bell was considered one of England’s best batsmen, while Jack Ball, as a fast bowler, played four Tests and 18 ODIs for England between 2016 and 2018. Neil ‘Broom’ (broom) has also played two Tests, 39 ODIs and 11 T20Is for New Zealand.
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Also surnames like Flower, Root, Bird, Head and Tongue
Bird, Flower, Root and Head are also among the players who played international cricket. Travis ‘Head’ So, he has given a big ‘pain’ to the fans of the country by scoring stormy centuries against India in the finals of the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup 2023. The ‘Flower’ brothers – Andy and Grant have played a ‘long innings’ in international cricket for Zimbabwe. In terms of talent, they were considered to be at the level of Australia’s Waugh brothers – Steve and Mark. Joe Root plays for England and is scoring a lot of runs in Test cricket.
Similarly, Josh with the surname ‘Tong’ has also played two Test matches for England in the year 2023. Right-arm fast bowler Joshua Charles Tongue aka Josh Tongue took 10 wickets in these two Tests. Cricketer Jonathan with the surname ‘Bird’ is a wrist spinner from South Africa. Umpire Dickie ‘Bird’ with the same surname gained a lot of fame in international cricket with his accurate decisions. Not only this, the meaning of a part of the surname of some cricketers is such that it cannot be written.
Tags: Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, travishead
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 17, 2024, 08:45 IST