Bat and ball / Andrew Hughes / 04 September 2008 / Leave a comment

Andrew Hughes looks at cricketing brothers from past and present to have strutted their stuff on the biggest stage. There's only one winner when it comes to the greatest sibling duo of them all though...

The fifth Test at the Oval, 2001 and the Ashes are long gone. England's seventh wicket has fallen with Hussain's men still 328 runs behind. The sight of the relatively unknown figure of James Ormond ambling to the crease provoked a torrent of abuse from the Aussies. As Ormond took guard, Mark Waugh chirped from the slips, "Mate, no way are you good enough to play Test cricket." Ormond's retort remains his most significant contribution to international cricket. "Maybe not," he replied, "but at least I'm the best player in my family." Even the most hardened Aussie would have to chuckle at that one.

The irony of the remark, and the source of its humour was that the Waughs, the first twins to play international cricket, were pretty closely matched in terms of ability. Mark may have ended with a Test average ten runs fewer than Steve and it may have been that he was a frustrating if not a frustrated talent, prone to lapses of concentration. But he was still a fine Test cricketer and for many years, worthy of a place alongside his brother in a formidable middle order.

Yet cricket can be a harsh game. Whilst Steve captained his country and earned the impressive nickname of 'The Iceman', Mark was saddled with 'Afghan - the forgotten Waugh.' Throughout the long history of brothers playing international cricket, it has invariably been the case that one is more highly regarded than the other. The first ever Test match in England, back in 1880, contained no less than three Grace brothers: William, Edward and Fred. Though Fred died tragically of pneumonia just two weeks later, there was no mistaking who the greatest cricketer in that family was.

Most recently, the Morkels took the field together during South Africa's ill-fated Natwest series this summer. It is not the first time they have played together. Last year, they both appeared in the Twenty20 Championships and at that stage it was older brother Albie who caught the attention with his big hitting lower down the order. But it was always felt that Morne was the more talented and he has since made the step up to Test level that has so far proven beyond his brother.

Another pressure on cricket siblings is the need to define yourself as distinct in some way. Though Ben Hollioakes's untimely and tragic death meant we didn't get to see whether he could have surpassed his brother Adam, he did give an insight into the peculiar pressures that come with playing international cricket with a sibling. Presented with the Young Cricketer of the Year award in 1997, he remarked that this was the first prize he had received with only one Hollioake on it.

This pressure to mark yourself out as distinct from your brother must be particularly acute for the Marshalls from Auckland, the first ever identical twins to play international cricket. Initially they were so similar in their batting styles, one of them had to wear sweatbands to help scorers, umpires and teammates. But as time has gone on, Hamish has developed into a stylish, flamboyant middle order batsman, whilst James became a more solid looking opener.

Though the Waughs would probably win an all-time competition to establish the best brothers in international cricket, it is another Australian duo, the Husseys, who are the best pair of brothers in the international fold at the moment. They illustrate the remarkably divergent styles that brothers can develop. Mike Hussey is a left-handed, technically correct batsman who's Test average is in the high sixties. Younger brother David, nicknamed, 'The Bomber' is a right-handed, front-foot biffer who made his name in Twenty20 cricket. The only thing their careers have had in common so far is in the long wait both have had to gain international recognition.

Both are currently enjoying a nice little warm up for the rigours of the Indian tour to come by smashing the Bangladeshi bowling around in Darwin. Two-nil up with one to play, you won't be surprised by the eye-wateringly miniscule odds of [1.03] on offer for an Aussie clean sweep on Saturday. If you believe in miracles, you can back the Bangladeshis at [16.0]