Since its inception in 1877, the gentleman’s game has evolved in a lot of ways. Cricket has emerged as one of the biggest sports that is being played across the globe. Also, the standards of the game are getting a notch higher every time a match is played.

The history of cricket has been witness to quite a few instances where two or more members from the same family have played the game. Siblings, cousins, uncles, nephews, grandchildren – the sport has seen it all. Though the instance of both father and son playing together in a first-class game have been rare, there have been few exceptions.

While not all father-son duos have excelled in terms of performance as it is a tough ask for a father to keep playing at the top level as his son makes his way through the ranks and joins him at the pinnacle. Here we take a look at a few selected anecdotes where a father and son have graced the match field together.

1. M.V Nagendra and G.Vijayasarathi umpiring in the same match

The only Indian Father-son ‘Umpiring Pair’ in cricket history is MG Vijaysarathy and his son MV Nagendra. Both took up the umpiring job for a first-class match between Andhra and Mysore in 1960-61 in Bangalore.

M.V Nagendra was an Indian cricket umpire who stood in eleven Test matches between 1964 and 1977 while his father essayed the role of umpire in 13 Test matches between 1951 and 1960. Vijayasarathi had also represented Mysore in eight first-class matches.

2. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Tagenarine Chanderpaul involved in a run-out dismissal

Father-son duo Shivnarine and Tagenarine Chanderpaul are one of the lucky ones who got the opportunity to bat together on the crease for a few minutes. The incident took place during the semi-final match of West Indies domestic tournament Super Cup 50 in 2018.

Both Shivnarine and Tagenarine were part of Guyana Jaguars squad where Tagenarine opened the batting while his father came to bat at number 3. However, the duo could add only 13 runs for the second wicket as Tagenarine, who was backing up at the non-striker end, was found short of the return crease and was adjudged run out, ending the unique partnership.

43-year-old Chanderpaul is West Indies’ most capped player in Test cricket with 164 Tests to his name but was unceremoniously dropped from the West Indian team after 2015. On the other hand, Tagenarine Chanderpaul is still looking for an entry into the National team.

3. Hitesh Modi given LBW by his father Subhash Modi

Former Kenya team captain Hiten Modi and his father Subhash Modi were once caught in a unique situation as they both were present on the same field while fulfilling their responsibilities as batsman and umpire respectively. What made the entire episode stand out is Subhash giving his son out and sending him back to the pavilion.

The incident took place during an ODI match against Bangladesh in 2006, Hitesh had adjudged LBW by his own father Subhash Modi. Subhash was appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the official umpire of the game. The incident also then became a world record as it is the only instance to date when a father declared his son out.

Back in 2018, speaking about that incident, Hitesh had said that his father had no hesitation in raising his finger and it became a unique sort of World record. The left-handed batsman has played 63 ODIs for Kenya in which he has scored 1109 runs and his last national outing came in 2006.

4. Dennis Lillee and his son Adam Lillee’s spectacular bowling

Another instance of both father and son playing for the same team and at the same time occurred in 1999. Pakistan had toured Australia for Three Tests and a tri-series against Australia and India. They first played a match against the Australian Cricket Board Chairman’s XI at Perth’s Lilac Hill. It was in that match Dennis and his son Adam featured together in playing XI.

The duo opened the bowling for ACB’s XI and put up a spectacular show. The Men in Green were reduced to 24/5 in just 11 overs in a 50-over game. Moreover, both Dennis and Adam ended with three wickets each and with one spectacular catch under their name.

The highlight of the whole match was when senior Lillee bowled a perfect bouncer and Pakistan’s batsman Ghulam Ali had pulled it towards fine leg. Adam who was standing at the fine leg took an amazing one-handed catch to dismiss the Pakistani batsman and Dennis couldn’t have been more proud as the scoreboard read “Ghulam Ali c Lillee b Lillee”

5. Stuart Broad fined by his father Chris Broad

The most recent instance involving the presence of both father and son on the match field occurred during the first match of the three-match Test series between England and Pakistan. While Stuart Broad essayed the role of a pacer in England’s playing XI, his father Chris Broad took up the referee duties for the Test match at Manchester.

What made the whole situation more interesting was the pacer getting fined 15% of his match fee by referee Chris for using inappropriate language against Yasir Shah during the match. The incident took place during the 46th over of Pakistan’s second innings. In the excitement of sending the opponent batsman back to the pavilion, Stuart ended up using some inappropriate language.

Making note of the whole situation, Chris didn’t hesitate in giving a demerit point to his own son. In reply to this, Stuart jokingly said on social media that his father would not be receiving a Christmas present and card from his side this year.