5 bowlers who have dismissed father-son pair of batters in Test cricket

Test cricket is the purest format of the sport. Generally, it is the first format with which young players fall in love and develop their skills in. Test matches not only test the cricketing skills of an individual but also challenge the mindset, patience and stamina levels of the players.

Several players have mastered the art of playing Test cricket. Some players also introduced their sons to this format of the game, and their sons became second-generation Test players.

Interestingly, there have been five such instances in Test history where the same bowler accounted for the wicket of the father and son in his career. In this listicle, we will look at those five bowlers.

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#1 Ravichandran Ashwin

The latest name to feature on the list is of Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He picked up the wicket of West Indies' batter Tagenarine Chanderpaul in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship match between India and West Indies. Ashwin rattled Tagenarine's stumps yesterday in Dominica.

12 years ago, Ashwin accounted for Tagenarine's father Shivnarine Chanderpaul's wicket on his Test debut. Playing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the Indian off-spinner trapped Shivnarine in front of his stumps.

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#2 Simon Harmer

Another off-spinner to have dismissed both Shivnarine and Tagenarine Chanderpaul is South Africa's Simon Harmer. The Proteas off-spinner has played only 10 Tests in his career, but he has managed to dismiss the father and son pair.

Like Ravichandran Ashwin, Harmer picked up Shivnarine's wicket on his Test debut. He got him stumped out at Newlands in January 2015. Earlier this year in March, Harmer bagged Tagenarine's wicket at The Wanderers Stadium. Dean Elgar took the catch off Harmer's bowling to send Tagenarine back to the dressing room.

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#3 Mitchell Starc

The first bowler to dismiss both Shivnarine and Tagenarine Chanderpaul in Test cricket was Australia's Mitchell Starc. The left-arm fast bowler trapped Shivnarine Chanderpaul in front of his stumps at Windsor Park in April 2012.

A decade later, Starc dismissed Shivnarine's son Tagenarine twice in two matches. He rattled his stumps at the Perth Stadium and then dismissed him caught behind at Adelaide Oval.

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#4 Wasim Akram

Former Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram dismissed New Zealand's father-son pair of Lance Cairns and Chris Cairns during his Test career. Akram bagged Lance's wicket in his second Test match. He dismissed him caught behind at Carisbrook in February 1985.

More than 10 years later, Akram dismissed Lance's son Chris Cairns bowled at the AMI Stadium. Akram was the first Asian bowler to achieve this rare feat.

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#5 Ian Botham

Former England all-rounder Ian Botham was the first bowler in Test history to pick up the wickets of both father and son. Botham picked up Lance Cairns' wicket at the Kennington Oval in July 1983. He dismissed Lance caught out.

In February 1992, Botham got Chris Cairns out caught behind, thus becoming the first bowler to dismiss a father-son pair in Test cricket. No other bowler from England has joined Botham on this list to date.