The most unique quality about cricket is the uncertainty of playing conditions. This is because, the pitches in which the game is played varies according to different venues, making this game truly challenging. The teams and players need to adapt to different set of playing conditions different grounds offers and prepare accordingly to each of them.
Hence a player may take a liking to one venue more than the other and find it suited to him/her. In this article, we will discuss Test cricketers who have thrived at a single venue thanks to their all-round performances there in Tests.
Here are list of cricketers who have had legendary numbers at a single venue
Ravichandran Ashwin (Four 5-fors and Two centuries) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The latest to join this elite list is India’s Ravichandran Ashwin courtesy of his sensational century at Chennai, which happens to be his home ground as well. He struck a invaluable 113 in the first innings of the Test match against Bangladesh, giving them the pole position in the game. This is second Test century at this venue with the previous one coming in a Test held in 2021. It was the 2nd game of the tour against England and Ashwin struck an important 106 in India’s second innings and this proved to be decisive. In all, Ashwin has amassed 342 runs at this venue in just 7 innings.
With the ball, the ace spinner has been put up a equally dominant show at Chennai. In his very first game here back in 2013 versus Australia, the offie had a terrific outing with the ball, taking 7/103 in the first innings and then picked another fifer (5/95) in the second. The other two wicket hauls came in the 2021 series against England where he took 6/61 & 5/43 in the first & second Test of the series respectively. Before this game versus Bangladesh, Ashwin has 30 wickets in four games at Chepauk at a great average of 23.60.
Achieving his 2nd Test century, Ashwin became just the 5th cricketer to have taken two or more five-wicket haul and struck two or more centuries at a single Test venue. Let us look at the other gentlemen who has achieved this feat before the Indian all-rounder did.
Sir Garfield Sobers (Two 5-fors and Two centuries) – Headingley, Leeds
The former legendary skipper of West Indies had made Leeds in Headingley his happy hunting ground. He played his first Test at this venue against host England in 1957 but had a lacklustre return with the bat, having 4 & 23 in the two innings he played. Sobers couldn’t do much with the ball in the only innings they bowled, taking 1/79 in the process.
However, six years later, Sobers and West Indies made a triumphant return to this venue as they won by 222 runs. The left-hander was the star of the show as he made fifty plus scores in both innings including a century in the first and captured three wickets in the second innings. His best Test match at Leeds came arguably in the year 1966 where he not just smashed 174 runs in the first innings but also picked a fifer in the first essay (5/41) and taking three more in the second. Under his captaincy, WI won by an innings and 55 runs.
Sobers’ fourth and final Test at Leeds came in a losing cause but he picked his second fifer here (5/42) to his wicket tally to 19 here. With the bat, the left-hander amassed 374 runs in just 7 innings and it came at an average of over 53.
Read: Players with 1000 Runs, 100 Wickets, and 100 Catches in Test
Kapil Dev (Two 5-fors and Two centuries)- MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The former Indian skipper Kapil Dev was the first to achieve this double at this historic venue in India. Being a fast bowler and taking a five-wicket haul isn’t that easy but Kapil was usually at his best at Chepauk. He played 11 Tests at Chennai and took a whopping 40 wickets at an average of 27.30 with the help of two five-wicket hauls. The first of which came against Pakistan where he took 11 wickets in the match in 1980, including 7/56 in the second innings.
His next five-for at Chennai came in 1982 Test versus Sri Lanka in their second innings (5/110), but the game ended in a thrilling draw. With the bat, Kapil Dev was at his best here and had many great outings. While he had scored 403 runs in his first 11 innings at Chennai, he didn’t score a single ton but that changed, as in the next 6 innings, he had two centuries. One was 119 against Australia in 1986 Tied Test and the other was a match-winning 109 versus West Indies in 1988.
Sir Ian Botham (Three 5-fors and Two centuries) – Headingley, Leeds
At this venue, Ian Botham has played 10 Tests and scored 668 runs at an average of 41.75 and took 33 wickets at a great average of 23.43. He started with a bang at Leeds as he took a match-winning 5/21 in the first innings in what was his maiden Test here against Australia in 1977. Four years later, Botham took yet another five-wicket haul (6/95) against Australia which proved to be match-winning and his third fifer (5/74) at Leeds was in 1982 when they hosted Pakistan.
Being one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, Botham played many blinders with the bat in hand. Headingly too witnessed his batting prowess, including two centuries, the first was a 152-ball 137 in rain hit drawn match versus India in 1979 and second one was a stupendous 149* off 148 which saw England win by 18 runs against Australia in 1981. The latter was the same game where he took 6/95.
Chris Cairns (Two 5-fors and Two centuries) – Eden Park, Auckland
The New Zealand legend and their former skipper was the fourth cricketer to achieve this feat and he did so at the country’s traditional venue, Eden Park. Cairns played 8 Tests at this venue scoring 565 runs at 43.46 and taking 35 wickets at 29.17 with the ball in hand. The all-rounder’s best figures 6/52 here came in 1992 Test versus England but New Zealand ended up losing. A year before that, Cairns picked 9 wickets in the drawn match, including a 5/75 in the second innings versus Sri Lanka.
With the bat, Cairns struck two tons here with the maiden one (120 off 96) coming against Zimbabwe in 1996 Test match. The second came 8 years later against South Africa, and it was his career-best score of 158.
Read: Players with 2000 Runs and 200 Wickets in Test
