10 Famous Cricketers Who Played In Spectacles
Aug 10, 2020 at 12:25 PM
In cricket, weak eyesight is not a big issue like other sports. The game has witnessed several cricketers wearing glasses during the game for better viewing and sighting of the ball. Not only batsman but bowlers also wore glasses when in the field. However, some, later in their career, shift to contact lenses.
The recent name in this list of spectacle-wearing player is Australia’s bowler Jack Leach. His teammate Ben Stokes had also teased him for cleaning his glasses again and again while they build a last-wicket exceptional 76 runs partnership, in which Leach scored only one run, against Australia at Leeds.
Here, in this article, we have named 10 bowlers who played in spectacles:
Narendra Hirwani:
Narendra Hirwani is mainly remembered for his performance on his Test debut against West Indies in Madras. In the under-prepared wicket, he clean bowled Sir Vivian Richards with a googly which bowler failed to do. He went on to pick eight wickets in the first match.
Wearing glasses and hand bands, he gained instant fame with his Test debut. He continued to be the leading wicket-taker in the next series against New Zealand at home. But he failed to repeat his stint in foreign lands, which is why he was dropped from the team. He was replaced in the team with the rise of Anil Kumble.
Hirwani played a total of 17 Tests and 18 ODIs for India. Though being dropped from the national team, didn’t stop him from notching wickets in domestic cricket. He snared 732 wickets in the 21-year first-class career in India.
Mike Smith:
Former England captain Mike Smith was an unselfish leader and his realistic approach towards the game made him a successful captain. He was a spectacle wearer who represents England in 50 Test matches but he enjoyed much success in the county.
Overall, he has played 637 first-class cricket and scored 39832 runs. He retired from the game in 1975 and became an ICC match referee from 1991-1996. Notably, he has also represented England’s rugby team.
David Steele:
The bespectacled former England batsman David Steele got the opportunity to play for the national team when he was just going to announce his retirement from county cricket. At the age of 33, he played the maiden Test series against Australia in 1975. He was a significant contributor to his side until he announced his retirement in 1984.
He played 500 first-class cricket, including 8 Test matches, and scored 22346 which includes 30 centuries and 117 half-centuries. He was also named Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1976.
Dilip Doshi:
At the age of 30, Dilip Doshi, wearing glasses, burst international cricket for India. However, age doesn’t matter for him as he went on to pick 100 Test wickets in his five-year-long career. He played 33 Test matches and 15 ODIs, picking 114 and 22 wickets.
He waited for too long to earn the call from the national side and in the end, he made his dream debut against Australia at home. He cemented his place in the team after this series. However, he gradually lost his shine although he was accurate and consistent, but failed to give a match-winning performance. He played for India from 1979-1983.
Daniel Vettori:
New Zealand former spinner Daniel Vettori was the mainstay for Blackcaps from 1997-2015. He was the spearhead of the spin bowling attack and was regarded as the dangerous bowler for Kiwis. However, his spectacles-wearing look never showed how lethal he can be.
He is New Zealand’s most Test capped player and the eighth player in Test history to take 300 wickets and score 3,000 runs. Vettori played in 113 Test matches and picked 295 matches. He played a key role in helping New Zealand reach the 2015 World Cup final.
Virender Sehwag:
India former opener Virender Sehwag occasionally wore glasses in his illustrious career. He intimidated bowlers with his aggressive batting, striking boundaries all over the ground. He is the first Indian cricketer to score a triple century in Test cricket. Also, he is the second cricketer to scored triple century in the ODI format.
Several cricketers have tried to adopt his attacking batting but few have attained success like Sehwag. He has scored 8,586 Test runs and 23 centuries all at a strike rate of 82.23. Besides Tests, he has also shown his class in ODIs and was the key part of India in World Cup 2011 triumph. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2015.
Zaheer Abbas:
Zaheer Abbas’ appetite for runs never died even in his last first-class cricket, he amassed a hundred. For his prolific run-scoring power, he was named as Asian Bradman.
The bespectacled Zaheer Abbas represented Pakistan during the 1970s and 1980s. He scored 5062 runs in 78 Test matches while in ODIs, he scored 2572 runs in 62 matches. He retired from international cricket in 1985 and has officiated as a match referee in one Test and three ODI matches. In 2015, he also became the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Anil Kumble:
India’s former best spinner Anil Kumble is also on this list as he wore spectacles early in his career. He emerged as the match-winner for India with his unorthodox bowling. He didn’t turn the ball much but was consistent and accurate in his length. He also stands out as the successful captain which is an unknown fact to many.
In his illustrious career, he showcased masterpiece at several events but his memorable outing was against Pakistan when he claimed all 10 wickets to fall in an innings. He represented India in 132 Test matches and picked 619 wickets. In ODIs, he has latched 337 wickets in 271 matches. He retired as the third-highest Test wicket-taker in 2008.
Geoff Boycott:
Way back at the start of his career in the early 1960s, the England batsman Geoffrey Boycott used to bat in glasses before switching to contact lenses.
A few prolific decades later, he had scored 48,426 first-class runs, including 151 tons, and captained both his country and county on multiple occasions.
Boycott has since been a regular feature in cricket commentary boxes around the world, where his opinionated views always keep things interesting.
Clive Lloyd:
Under the captaincy of Clive Llyod, West Indies were invincible during the 70s and 80s. Llyod was forced to wear spectacles after sustaining an eye injury while involving in a fight at the age of 12. However, later in his career, he switched to contact lenses.
The attacking batsman was a tall, powerful middle-order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler. He also captained West Indies in three World Cups, leading them to two World Cup victory in 1975 and 1979. He was also the successful Test captain.
Playing from 1990-2008, he scored over 9000 international runs, playing 110 Tests and 87 ODIs.