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Joel Garner




  Nationality West Indian
  Country West Indies
  Country Abbrev WI
  Name Joel Garner
  Picture Cricket_no_picpng
  Batting Style Right-hand bat
  Bowling Style Right-arm fast
  Balls true
  Tests 58
  Test Runs 672
  Test Bat Avg 1244
  Test 100s/50s -/1
  Test Top Score 60
  Test Overs 13169
  Test Wickets 259
  Test Bowl Avg 2097
  Test 5s 7
  Test 10s -
  Test Best Bowling 6/56
  Test Catches/stumpings 42/-
  ODIs 98
  ODI Runs 239
  ODI Bat Avg 919
  ODI 100s/50s -/-
  ODI Top Score 37
  ODI Overs 5330
  ODI Wickets 146
  ODI Bowl Avg 1884
  ODI 5s 3
  ODI 10s -
  ODI Best Bowling 5/31
  ODI Catches/stumpings 30/-
  Date 25 January
  Year 2006


Joel Garner (born December 16 , 1952 in Christ Church, Barbados ) also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", was a West Indian Cricket player, and a member of the highly regarded late '70s and early '80s West Indies cricket sides.

He was a 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) fast bowler capable of ripping through the heart of opposing batting line-ups. In conjunction with fellow fast bowlers Michael Holding , Andy Roberts , Colin Croft and later Malcolm Marshall , the West Indies reached unprecedented heights in the Test and One-day Cricket arenas, not losing a Test series in 15 years. He is one of the tallest bowlers ever to play Test Cricket .

In Test Cricket he played 58 Tests between 1977 and 1987 and took over 259 wickets at an average of barely above 20, making him one of the most effective bowlers of all time.

However, it was in the Limited Overs cricket that Garner put his height to use with devastating effect. In 98 matches he took 146 wickets. He had the ability to unleash a devastating yorker, as well as the ability to generate more bounce. He is one of only two players with more than 100 ODI wickets to Average under 20, while his economy rate of just over 3 runs per over, and strike rate of less than 20 runs per wicket are also the best ever for anyone who took more than 100 wickets. His 5-39 in the 1979 World Cup Final vs. England remains the best ever performance by a bowler in a final.

Joel played for Barbados in the West Indies, for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield and more famously alongside Viv Richards and Ian Botham for Somerset in the English County Championship . He was at Somerset in the most successful time in the county's history.

His height is almost the same as that of his successor Curtly Ambrose , hence the same "Big" prefix.


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