Joel Garner

Joel Garner

Personal information
Full name	Joel Garner
Born	(1952-12-16) 16 December 1952 Christ Church, Barbados
Nickname	Big Bird
Height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm fast
International information
National side	West Indies
Test debut (cap 160)	18 February 1977 v Pakistan
Last Test	15 March 1987 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 21)	16 March 1977 v Pakistan
Last ODI	28 March 1987 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1975–1987	Barbados
1977–1986	Somerset
1982–1983	South Australia
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 58 98 214 256 Runs scored 672 239 2,964 1,023 Batting average 12.44 9.19 16.74 11.75 100s/50s 0/1 0/0 1/8 0/1 Top score 60 37 104 59* Balls bowled 13,169 5,330 39,829 13,359 Wickets 259 146 881 397 Bowling average 20.97 18.84 18.53 16.61 5 wickets in innings 7 3 48 10 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 7 n/a Best bowling 6/56 5/31 8/31 6/29 Catches/stumpings 42/– 30/– 129/– 71/–
Source: Cricinfo, 13 September 2009

Joel Garner (born 16 December 1952), also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early 1980s West Indies cricket teams. Garner is the highest ranked ODI bowler and #36 in Tests as per the ICC best ever bowling ratings.

He was a 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) fast bowler capable of ripping through the heart of opposing batting line-ups. In conjunction with fellow fast bowlers Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft, and later Malcolm Marshall, Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, the West Indies reached unprecedented heights in the Test and one-day cricket arenas, not losing a Test series in 15 years.

Career

One of the tallest bowlers ever to play Test cricket, Garner appeared in 58 Tests between 1977 and 1987 and took 259 wickets at an average of barely above 20, making him statistically one of the most effective bowlers of all time. However, it was in limited overs cricket that Garner put his height to use with devastating effect. In 98 matches he took 146 wickets. He had the ability to unleash a devastating yorker, as well as the ability to generate more bounce. He is one of the two players (the other being Mitchell Starc) with more than 100 ODI wickets to average under 20, while his economy rate of just over 3 runs per over, and average of less than 20 runs per wicket are also the best ever for any bowler who took more than 100 wickets. His 5 for 39 in the 1979 Cricket World Cup final against England remains the best ever performance by a bowler in a final; it included a spell of 5 wickets for 4 runs, and he was on a hat-trick twice.^[1][2]

He was also the part of the West Indian team which emerged as runnersup in 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup.In the finals he along with Sir Andy Roberts set the highest ever 10th wicket partnership in World Cup history(71)^[3][4]

Garner played for Barbados in the West Indies, for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield and alongside Viv Richards and Ian Botham for Somerset in the English County Championship. He was at Somerset in the most successful time in the county's history. In Barbados, his club team was YMPC.^[5]

Until the appearance of 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m) tall Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Irfan in 2010, Garner and former Australian pace bowler Bruce Reid, who also stood at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) tall, were the tallest players ever to play international cricket.

After retirement

In October 2010 Garner was named interim manager of the West Indies for the tour of Sri Lanka. He was one of the new faces in the team including captain Darren Sammy.^[6]

In the 2013 election he was the BCA candidate for vice-president of the West Indies Cricket Board, losing to Dave Cameron's running mate, Emmanuel Nanthan of Dominica, 8–4.^[7] As of 2016 he continues as Barbados Cricket Association president, spearheads West Indies’ drive in Masters Cricket, has served as a West Indies selector, and fulfils various other duties.^[8]

International record

Test 5 wicket hauls

#	Figures	Match	Opponent	Venue	City	Country	Year
1	6/56	13	New Zealand	Eden Park	Auckland	New Zealand	1980
2	5/56	28	Australia	Adelaide Oval	Adelaide	Australia	1982
3	6/75	33	Australia	Bourda	Georgetown	Guyana	1984
4	6/60	34	Australia	Queen's Park Oval	Port of Spain	Trinidad	1984
5	5/63	36	Australia	Antigua Recreation Ground	St. John's	Antigua	1984
6	5/55	38	England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	Birmingham	England	1984
7	5/51	57	New Zealand	Basin Reserve	Wellington	New Zealand	1987

ODI 5 wicket hauls

#	Figures	Match	Opponent	Venue	City	Country	Year
1	5/38	6	England	Lord's	London	England	1979
2	5/31	48	Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne	Australia	1984
3	5/47	86	England	WACA Ground	Perth	Australia	1987

International awards

One Day International cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No	Opponent	Venue	Date	Match Performance	Result
1	Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	12 February 1984	10-1-35-5, 1 ct. ; DNB	West Indies won by 6 wickets.[9]
2	Australia	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	27 January 1984	10-3-17-3 ; DNB	West Indies won by 6 wickets.[10]
3	New Zealand	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain	17 April 1985	6-1-10-4 ; DNB	West Indies won by 10 wickets.[11]
4	India	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah	22 November 1985	9-4-11-2, 1 Ct. ; DNB	West Indies won by 8 wickets.[12]
5	England	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain	31 March 1986	9-1-22-3 ; DNB	West Indies won by 8 wickets.[13]

References

External links

• Joel Garner at CricketArchive (subscription required)
• Joel Garner at ESPNcricinfo
• Barbados Cricket Association Profile