Former West Indian bowling great Joel Garner is celebrating his 71st birthday today. He was famously known as the “Big Bird” for his long physical stature and ability to trick the batters with the extra bounce that he extracted off the pitch. He belonged to the famous pace quartet of West Indies which consisted of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Colin Croft. Garner played a very active part in making West Indies a brute force in international cricket and helped them win the World Cup in 1979.
Joel Garner cemented his place in the West Indies team soon after his debut in international cricket. He made his debut in test and ODI cricket in 1977 against the same opposition, Pakistan. By the time the 1979 World Cup came, he was already an integral member of the squad and pace battery. The 6ft 8 inches tall bowler was also the player of the match in the 1979 World Cup final against England where he picked up 5 wickets to demolish the opposition.
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A Legendary Career
Joel Garner played 58 matches in test cricket and represented West Indies in 98 matches in ODI cricket. “Extraordinary” would not be a fair evaluation of his career in terms of the stats that he held. Garner bagged 259 wickets in Test cricket at an exceptional average of 20.97 whereas in ODI cricket he had a total of 146 wickets at an average of 18.84 which is an unreal record to have.
However, the real essence of his greatness is not his extraordinary stats or records but the perfection and mastery of his art. His partnership with Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, and Colin Croft threatened the best of the batters across the globe. This was arguably the most feared bowling unit and it would be impossible for any other bowling unit to wield the same impact. He would remain a perpetual source of inspiration not just for budding cricketers in the Caribbean but worldwide.