Brothers, Sisters and Twins in International Cricket – Famous Brother Duos

If one player in a family turns out to be a fine cricketer, shouldn’t that be the case for his or her siblings? It doesn’t always turn out that way, but there have been a number of cases where brothers, sisters and twins all feature on the international stage.

12 Famous Brothers in Cricket History

Hardik and Krunal Pandya (India)

Although Hardik Panyda is set to have a longer career in Indian colours, his brother Krunal has turned in some useful displays for the national side. Hardik is a natural all-rounder who can score quick runs in the two limited overs formats, but he can also adapt well to the red ball game.

Krunal Pandya is the older brother and has so far only been used in limited overs internationals. He’s a left arm spinner who can make useful runs in the lower middle order. The two siblings played together for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, but both have since moved on.

Hardik proved that he has a future as a leader after he guided Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season of 2022.

Hardik and Krunal Pandya
Hardik and Krunal Pandya

Irfan and Yusuf Pathan (India)

Before the Pandya brothers came along, India had another pair of notable siblings in their international set up. This is another instance where one brother enjoyed a much longer career in Indian colours.

In this case, left arm seamer Irfan Pathan played in 173 matches across the three international formats. He was relied on more heavily in ODIs where he took 173 wickets in 120 games.

Yusuf Pathan was a hard hitting batter who could bowl some useful spin, but he wasn’t the most consistent of all rounders. He played in 79 limited overs internationals and did manage to hit two ODI centuries with a top score of 123 not out.

Andy Flower & Grant Flower (Zimbabwe)

The Flower brothers featured in Zimbabwe’s strongest international era in the 1990s into the early 2000s. Andy enjoyed the more productive international career, but his sibling Grant also produced some impressive displays in national colours.

Andy Flower kept wicket for Zimbabwe, but he was primarily a prolific batsman, scoring over 11,500 international runs with 16 centuries and a best of 232. Grant Flower made over 10,000 runs for Zimbabwe with 12 hundreds and he also claimed 129 wickets with his left arm spin.

Andy Flower & Grant Flower
Andy Flower & Grant Flower

Albie Morkel & Morne Morkel (South Africa)

In a lot of these cases, there is one brother who played on far more occasions for his country than his sibling. That’s the case once again as we move on to the Morkels.

Morne Morkel is the most famous of the two brothers and he represented South Africa for 12 years between 2006 and 2018. He was a tall fast bowler with pace and bounce and he claimed 547 wickets across the three formats.

Albie Morkel was an all rounder, known for some power hitting in limited overs cricket and some useful medium pace. He played just one test, along with 108 limited overs internationals, but he could never quite establish himself in the South African side.

There is another brother, Malan Morkel, who played for South Africa Under 19s.

Morne Morkel
Morne Morkel

Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and Adnan Akmal (Pakistan)

Now we come on to our first case of three brothers who have all represented their country. Kamran, Umar and Adnan Akmal all featured for Pakistan at various times.

Kamran is, perhaps, the most well known. He was a wicket keeper / batter who played in 268 international games between 2002 to 2017. While none of the brothers could ever really be considered as an international regular, Kamran had the better career with over 5,000 international runs and 11 centuries.

Umar Akmal also played in more than 200 games for Pakistan. He was used more regularly in ODIs where he made over 3,000 runs including two centuries. Adnan Akmal played just 26 times for his country and could never quite make the same impact as his two brothers.

Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal
Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal

Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh (Australia)

Shaun and Mitchell are the sons of Geoff Marsh who enjoyed a long career as a patient opening batsman for the Australian test side. In test cricket, Shaun Marsh was like a left handed version of his father, a player who liked to bat for long periods of time and was difficult to dismiss.

Shaun could also make quick runs in the limited overs formats and that’s where his brother Mitchell also excelled. Mitchell Marsh is a proven all rounder and he played a big part in Australia’s successful T20 World Cup campaign in 2021.

Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh
Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh

Brendon McCullum and Nathan McCullum (New Zealand)

Both of the McCullum brothers were talented cricketers, but Brendon enjoyed a much more successful career on the international stage. Brendon McCullum was the first batsman from New Zealand to make a triple century in test cricket and he still holds the country’s record individual score in this format.

Brendon would go on to play in 432 international matches, scoring over 14,000 runs and he also made the first century in the history of the IPL.

Nathan McCullum was primarily a spin bowler. He didn’t play test cricket but featured in 147 limited overs internationals for New Zealand, taking 121 wickets.

Michael Hussey and David Hussey (Australia)

Known as Mr Cricket, Mike Hussey was introduced to the Australian test side quite late on in his career. The left hander made his debut in the longer international format at the age of 30, but he quickly made up for lost time and went on to become one of the most prolific run scorers in the game.

Mike Hussey eventually played in 302 international matches, making more than 12,000 runs with 22 centuries and a highest score of 195. His brother David Hussey scored lots of runs in first class cricket, but he never played in a test match. He did, however, feature in 108 limited overs internationals, scoring over 2,500 runs with one century.

Tom Curran and Sam Curran (England)

Tom and Sam Curran are the sons of the late Kevin Curran who played international cricket for Zimbabwe. The Curran brothers have both played in test and limited overs formats for England while appearing in franchise leagues all over the world.

Sam has enjoyed more success to date and he was the Player of the Match when England beat Pakistan in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Tom has featured more in limited overs cricket, but he’s yet to become a regular in the national team.

Tom and Sam have another brother, Ben Curran, who has opened the batting for Northamptonshire in English county cricket.

Tom Curran
Tom Curran

Brett Lee and Shane Lee (Australia)

Both of the Lee brothers were bowlers, but one was much quicker than the other. Brett Lee has sent down some of the fastest deliveries in international cricket and he enjoyed a much longer Australian career that lasted from 1999 to 2012.

He played in 322 international matches across the three formats, taking 718 wickets with best figures of 5/22.

Brother Shane Lee bowled at a much more modest pace, but he did enjoy some success in Australian canary yellow. He played in 45 ODIs between 1995 and 2001, taking 48 wickets with a best of 5/33.

Brett Lee and Shane Lee
Brett Lee and Shane Lee

Martin Crowe and Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)

Brothers Martin and Jeff Crowe featured in the same New Zealand sides for much of their careers. Martin was known as the more successful player and he developed into one of his country’s best ever batsmen.

Martin Crowe played in 77 tests and 143 ODIs between 1982 and 1995. He made over 10,000 international runs with 21 centuries and a highest score of 299. Brother Jeff Crowe played in 114 internationals across two formats. He made significant contributions at times and finished with over 3,000 runs and a highest score of 128.

Richard and Dayle Hadlee (New Zealand)

The Hadlees came from a strong cricketing family. Father Walter Hadlee was one of New Zealand’s earliest international players and he featured in 11 test matches between 1937 and 1951.

Richard Hadlee was the best player in the family by far and he would go on to be knighted for his services to cricket. At the height of his powers, he was one of the best all rounders in the game, playing in 201 international matches and taking 598 wickets.

Richard Hadlee’s total of 431 test wickets remains a record for a New Zealand player.

Richard and Dayle Hadlee would occasionally open the bowling together and that’s a rare instance for a pair of brothers. Dayle’s career was far less spectacular, but he did take 91 wickets in 26 tests and 11 ODIs.

There is a third brother: Barry Hadlee was a batsman who featured in just two ODIs against England in 1975.

Twins in Cricket

Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh (Australia)

The most famous cricketing twins in the history of the game are Steve and Mark Waugh. Steve arrived first which is why Mark always goes by the nickname of ‘Junior’. Steve Waugh would go on to become one of the greatest captains in world cricket and one of the leading run scorers for Australia.

Steve played in 168 tests, scoring 10,927 runs and that puts him in third place in his country’s list of run scorers, behind Ricky Ponting and Allan Border.

Mark Waugh was the more elegant batter of the two twins, even if he didn’t manage quite so many runs for Australia. Mark played in 128 tests, scoring just over 8,000 runs and he was also known for being a brilliant slip fielder.

Both the Waugh twins also picked up useful wickets, even though bowling wasn’t the strongest part of their game.

Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh
Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh

Hamish Marshall & James Marshall (New Zealand)

Hamish and James Marshall were identical twins and they also played the game in a similar fashion. It’s even said that early on in their career, one twin replaced the other during a bowling spell in order to confuse the umpire.

They were the first pair of identical twins to play international cricket, but it was Hamish who would enjoy the more successful career. He played in 82 matches for New Zealand across three formats, making over 2,000 runs with three centuries and a highest score of 160.

James Marshall played just 20 times for the Kiwis, but there was a high point in his career when he made 161 in an ODI against Ireland in 2008.

Alex and Kate Blackwell (Australia)

There are a number of instances of female siblings in international cricket, but the Blackwells are surely the most famous. The two siblings were part of the Australian side that won the women’s World Cup in 2005.

Kate Blackwell played in 51 international games and scored 774 runs across the three formats. Twin sister Alex was a more prolific batter and she would go on to enjoy a longer international career. Alex played in 12 tests, 144 WODIs and 95 WT20is. She scored over 5,000 runs for Australia from 2003 to 2017 with three centuries and a highest score of 114.

Final Thoughts

There are obviously more than could have been included, but this list has to stop somewhere. Ian and Greg Chappell are notable absentees, and don’t forget that they had another brother, Trevor, who also played international cricket for Australia.

There’s also the interesting case of the Pattinson brothers who were capped by different countries. Darren played one test for England, while his sibling James had a longer career for Australia.

What about Ed Joyce, who played internationally for both England and Ireland.? He has two brothers, Gus and Dominick who also played for Ireland, while his sisters Isobel and Cecelia played for the Irish women’s team.

I’m also interested to see how the Jansen twins, Marco and Duan develop. They are identical and it would be fascinating to see them bowling in tandem for South Africa.

That’s it for now, but there will surely be more to come in the future.