Most Ducks By Captains In Test Cricket 

Leading a cricket team in Test Cricket isn’t as easy as it seems. You need to possess a lot of qualities and skills to be a good leader. As a cricket Team captain, you ought to have great communication skills and should know how to bring the best of out your team members. The captain of the Cricket Team has the responsibility of taking important decisions in the game and needs to maintain a cool head under pressure.

In Cricket, a captain is usually a batsman. Over the years, we have witnessed some great batsmen who have gone on to become great leaders. It’s important to understand that as a captain, you need to lead from the front.

Before taking take the important decisions for the team, your first responsibility is to score runs with the bat. A captain who is in a good form with the bat tends to lead the team with immense confidence. However, it’s true that every captain goes through tough times in terms of their individual performances.

There have been occasions when the captains have got out without even opening their accounts. In Test Cricket, we have witnessed captains getting out on ducks on numerous occasions. But do you know the ones who have got out on a duck on most occasions in the longest format? Let’s take a look at the top 6 of those.

Most Ducks By Captains In Test Cricket

6. MS Dhoni: 8

India’s most successful captain in the history of Test Cricket, MS Dhoni finds himself in the not-so-special list at the sixth position. In his illustrious career, MS Dhoni has led India to all ICC title wins. Under his leadership, India won the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ICC World Cup, and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

He is regarded as one of the greatest white-ball captains. However, he didn’t achieve the same success in red-ball cricket. Dhoni took retirement from Test Cricket on 30 December 2014. In his Test Cricket, he got out on a duck on 8 occasions. He played 90 Tests and scored 4876 runs at an average of 38.1.

5. Hansie Cronje: 8

Hansie Cronje is regarded as one of the best cricketers ever played for South Africa. Consistent performances for the first couple of years helped him seal his spot in both ODI and Test squad.

Hansie Cronje became South Africa’s second-youngest Test captain after he led the team in the third Test against Australia in 1993-94. He went on to lead the side in 53 Tests and helped South Africa win 27 of those. He scored 3714 runs in 68 Tests at an average of 36.4 and also got out on a duck 8 times in his Test Cricket career.

4. Mike Atherton: 8

Former England’s right-handed batsman and an occasional leg-break bowler, Mike Atherton led the England Test team in 54 Tests. He was the backbone of England’s batting during the 1990s. However, his career, ironically, came to an end largely because of his chronic back pain.

He played as many as 115 Tests in his career and scored 7728 runs at an average of 37.69. He hit 16 centuries and 46 half-centuries during his career and also holds the record for scoring a hundred and getting out on a duck in a single Test match. Overall, he got out on a duck on 8 occasions as a captain in Test Cricket.

3. Graeme Smith: 10 wickets

South Africa’s former cricketer, Graeme Smith holds the unwanted record of having the second-joint highest number of ducks as a captain in Test Cricket. Graeme Smith is arguably the greatest captain South Africa has ever produced in the history of the game.

He was handed over the captaincy at a very young age. Smith led from the front and made South Africa a team to beat in Test Cricket. Graeme Smith holds the record for captaining a Test team for the highest number of matches in international cricket. He has, in fact, won the most number of matches as captain in Test Cricket.

Smith has helped South Africa win 53 matches out of 109. His batting number are also pretty impressive. The southpaw has scored 9265 runs in 117 Tests at an average of 48.2. Having said that, he has also got out on a duck on 8 occasions in Test Cricket.

2. Virat Kohli: 10

In the ongoing second Test between India and New Zealand, Virat Kohli set an unwanted record of registering the most number of ducks as an Indian captain in Test Cricket. He now has 10 ducks to his name- the second most number of ducks as captain in Test Cricket.

Virat Kohli hasn’t been in the best of form as far as his batting is concerned. The Indian skipper last scored a century in international cricket on August 14, 2019.

The fans are hoping that Virat gets back to his best and mesmerizes the cricketing fraternity, once again, with his special knocks. In his illustrious career so far, Virat Kohli has scored 7765 runs in 96 Tests at an average of 51.1.

1. Stephen Fleming- 13

Legendary New Zealand skipper, Stephen Fleming sits at the top of the list with 13 ducks to his name as captain in Test Cricket. Regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever to play for New Zealand, Stephen Fleming has more than 7000 runs in 111 Tests at an average of 40.06.

He is New Zealand’s most successful captain, having managed to register 28 wins. He has won the Test series against India, West Indies, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe. Fleming is currently the second-most Test capped New Zealand player, having played 111 matches.