Cricket often runs in families, with a grandfather or uncle passing on their love of the game to succeeding generations. Sometimes, this gift extends from merely watching the game to playing it as well.
Last summer Chris Broad, now a highly respected match referee, fined son Stuart, the England fast bowler, who has now joined the small and elite group of men to have taken 500 test wickets, 15% of his match fee for dissent after the first test with Pakistan.
The irony is that Broad senior himself had played 25 tests and 34 ODIs for England as an opening batsman and was known for his own fiery outburst on the field.
They are by no means the only father and son pairing to have played test cricket. Here are some more.
The Cowdreys
The son of a father who played one first-class match, Colin Cowdrey played 114 Test matches for England and made 22 centuries in his test career, a national record at the time he retired. He also captained the side between 1967 and 1969.
His son Chris made six test appearances for England and was briefly made captain in the middle of a series against the West Indies.
Another son Graham enjoyed a long career in domestic cricket with Kent.
The Pollocks
The Pollocks are one of the great South African sporting families. Peter Pollock was one of the great all-rounders of his day, taking 116 wickets in 28 tests, as well as being a destructive lower order batsman.
However, his international career was cut short by the country’s ban from the international sporting arena during the apartheid era.
His son Shaun was one of the finest fast bowlers of all time and played 108 tests and 303 ODIs for his country between 1995 and 2008. His 421 test wickets is a South African record.
And that is without considering Peter’s brother Graeme (Shaun’s uncle) reckoned by many to be amongst the finest who have ever played the game.
The Cairns
Lance Cairns played in 13 tests and 78 ODIs for New Zealand and was known both for his in swingers and hard-hitting batting, His 21-ball 50 against Australia in 1983 was the fastest in ODI history to that point.
Hi son Chris had an even better career, playing 62 tests for the Black caps, and striking 87 sixes, which, when he retired in 2004, was a test record. He also took 214 test records, which makes him the fourth highest wicket-taker for his country.
The Amarnaths
Lala Amarnath made history in 1933 when, in India’s first home test match, he scored a century against England. A series of disputes with team captains and cricket administrators meant he would only play in 23 more tests, but he still scored four more 50s, and was a useful medium pace bowler as well, twice taking two five-wicket hauls.
And he passed on his talent through his genes. Three of his sons would play first-class cricket, two of them for India. Surinder played 10 tests and three ODIs between 1976 and 1978, emulating his father by scoring a century on debut. Mohinder had an even more successful career – he represented India more than 150 times and was part of the team that won the World Cup in 1983
