Usually, cricket is a game of skill and talent. You don’t need to be big, tall or small, cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar prove that height is nothing when it comes to being a good cricketer. You can check out more about the world’s shortest cricketers here “Shortest Cricketers in The History of Cricket“. But there is an argument to be made that taller crickets have an advantage, like these ten of the world’s tallest crickets to have ever played a professional cricket match…
1 – Mohammad Irfan (Pakistan) – 7’1”, (216cm)
Mohammad Irfan, the 7’1” lanky fast bowler from Pakistan is by far the tallest player ever to have featured in the game of cricket. He played his first match back in 2010 against England, after playing 2 odds he get out from the national team but he came back very strongly against India in the 2012/13 tour with lots of promises and now he looks like a mature left-arm fast bowler who bowls 140 km speed consistently. Also gets a lot of bounce from the wicket because of his height.
2 – Joel Garner (West Indies) – 6′ 8″ (203cm)
Known as the “Big Bird” from Barbados was a menacing West Indian speedster that ruled the roost during the Caribbean halcyon days in the seventies and eighties. with a wicked yorker that speared in at the batsman’s feet from a steepling 10 feet or so. Often his hand would be above the sightscreen too, just to make it even more difficult for the hard-pressed batsman. Garner polished England off in the 1979 World Cup final and finished with 146 ODI wickets at a tremendous average (18.84) and an even more tremendous economy rate (3.09 runs per over). In Tests, his 259 wickets cost less than 21 apiece.
3 – Bruce Reid (Australia) – 6’8” (203cm)
Bruce Reid, The lofty left-arm pacer from Australia stood at an imposing height of 6’8” that made him capable of extracting steep bounce from even unresponsive tracks. Bruce Reid represented Australia in Test cricket between December 1985 and December 1992 and in One Day Internationals between January 1986 and March 1992. He played 27 Test matches for Australia taking 113 Test wickets at an average of 24.63 runs per wicket. He also played 61 one-day-internationals taking 63 ODI wickets.
4 – Peter George (Australia) – 6’8” (203cm)
Peter Robert George is an Australian Test cricketer. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, George plays his first-class cricket for the Southern Redbacks. He has played One Test Match for Australia. With a Height of 203cm, he is one of the tallest cricketers in history and the Tallest ever Australian Cricketer along with Bruce Reid.
5. Boyd Rankin (England – Ireland) – 6.8″ (203cm)
William Boyd Rankin is an international cricketer from Northern Ireland, who has played international cricket for both England’s National side and Ireland. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Rankin is a tall bowler who stands at 6 ft 8 inches and has a distinctive bouncing action in his bowling. He gets lots of bounce because of his 6.8 foot height. He debuted for England against New Zealand in a T20 match on 25 June 2013 and was named in the England squad for the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia.
6 – Chris Tremlett (England) – 6’7” (201cm)
The tall English fast bowler is renowned for his first ball wicket in first-class cricket against New Zealand in the year 2000. Born September 2, 1981, Tremlett made his international debut for England in a One Day International match against Bangladesh in 2005. Tremlett has been a great bowling package for the English side but injuries have been a consistent issue with the lanky fast bowler, making it difficult for him to consistently be a part of the England international squad. Tremlett participated in England’s victory in the 2010–11 Ashes in Australia.
7 – Steven Finn (England) – 6’7” (201cm)
He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. At the age of just 16 he became Middlesex County Cricket Club’s youngest-ever debutant in first-class cricket. He made his England Test debut in 2010 against Bangladesh. Finn is a very tall bowler who can generate extra bounce, that trouble the batsmen big time.
8 – Curtly Ambrose (West Indies) – 6’7” (201cm)
Curtly Ambrose: The gentle giant standing at 6’7” was the spearhead of the West Indian bowling attack from the late eighties to the turn of the century. About half an inch shorter than Garner, but about twice as feisty. Ambrose, from Antigua, also had a neat line in yorkers and proved next to impossible to slog he finished with 630 international wickets, 405 of them in Tests. He was notoriously reluctant to speak to journalists. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1992 after his retirement he was entered into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame and selected as one of West Indies’ all-time XI by a panel of experts.
9 – Sulieman Benn (West Indies) – 6’7” (201cm)
Sulieman Jamaal Benn is a West Indian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies and first-class cricket for Barbados. Benn has represented the west indies in 17 test and 25 ODIs, he also played 17 T20 matches for west indies. Sulieman is one of the tallest guys who played international cricket. He is considered to be the Tallest Spin Bowler in history.
10. Jason Holder (West Indies) – 6.7″ (201cm)
Jason Omar Holder is a Barbadian cricketer. His height is 6 ft 7 inches. Holder made his ODI debut for the West Indies against Australia in January 2013. Just a couple of days after making his international debut, Holder was signed up by the MSD’s Chennai Super Kings in the IPL auction, at his base price of $20,000. Holder also made his T20I debut against New Zealand on January 15, 2014.
Do you remember any of these cricketers? Do you know of another tall cricketer who should have made the list? If so do let us know in the comments below.