Courtney Walsh still in love with cricket

For 21 years, Courtney Walsh ran the equivalent of 1000 miles in first-class cricket destroying metacarpals and careers with his pace and guile. Like many great athletes, he possessed a rare physiology that allowed a strong work ethic and uncommon longevity, writes Kate Laven in the Telegraph.

Three years later against Australia at Perth, Walsh was captaining West Indies when he tore a hamstring. The team doctor took one look and signed him off but Walsh kept his physio up all night demanding more and more ice treatment. Most believed he would at best bowl a couple of overs off a short run but he amazed everyone by bowling 20 overs non-stop until West Indies had won. Unable to walk properly for two weeks, he maintained – and still maintains – that it was worth it.