Last night in the SA20 2025 Qualifier 2, while Sunrisers Eastern Cape thrashed Paarl Royals to enter their third successive final in the tournament in as many editions, there was one father in the crowd with conflicting emotions: Marius Hermann, wearing a half-and-half Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Paarl Royals shirt.
“My dad has a Sunrisers side and a Paarl Royals side, so he’s the happiest man on earth at the moment. It’s a massive pride,” Jordan had said after the Sunrisers beat the Royals at St George’s Park before the Playoffs.
Rubin Hermann shone for the Paarl Royals with an unbeaten 81 off 53 balls , while his younger brother, Jordan Hermann, played a match-winning knock of 69* off 48 balls for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape as they reached the final.
This wasn’t the only family link story from cricket that hit headlines on Friday.
In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe took on Ireland in a one-off Test with Johnathan Campbell, playing his debut Test, captaining the side. Johnathan, the son of former Zimbabwean captain Alistair Campbell, was handed the responsibility after regular captain Craig Ervine withdrew due to a family emergency. Alistair and Johnathan became the fourth overall father-son pair to captain the national team in Test cricket.
And then again, this was all in one day. There have been quite a few more interesting family links in cricket in recent times that could spike your curiousity.
Archie Vaughan, son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, announced his arrival on the international stage by taking a remarkable six-wicket haul for England U19. The young spinner’s performance kind of proving that cricketing talent indeed runs deep in the Vaughan lineage.
After signing his first professional contract with Somerset in May, Vaughan made his county debut in July and caught attention during Somerset’s Championship finale at Taunton in September. Teaming up with Jack Leach, he produced impressive match figures of 11 for 140 against league leaders Surrey, keeping the club’s title hopes alive—if only briefly.
In the same England Lions side Rocky Flintoff, son of England legend Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, made headlines with his stellar performances on the Lions tour. Interestingly, the senior Flintoff was the coach of the side which had the 16 year old teenager. Rocky earned a late call-up for the South Africa tour after making history in July as the youngest player to score a century for England Under-19s. He went on to smash the ton against the a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane.
Displaying all-round capabilities reminiscent of his father, Rocky’s exploits have led to whispers about the emergence of another Flintoff to watch in international cricket.
Ben Curran, brother to England internationals Sam and Tom Curran, took a different path by making his debut for Zimbabwe in December. Embracing his Zimbabwean roots, Ben made an impressive debut.
On December 26 at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe played their first Boxing Day Test in 28 years, and Ben made sure it was a memorable one. The left-hander, opening the innings, became the 17th Zimbabwean to notch a fifty on debut, crafting a fluent 68 off just 74 balls.
After a seven-year hiatus from cricket, Tejasvi Jaiswal, borther of Yashasvi, made a remarkable first-class debut for Tripura, scoring a maiden fifty against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy. His younger brother, Yashasvi Jaiswal, a rising star in Indian cricket, took to Instagram to congratulate him. Tejasvi went on to play a handful of games for Tripura in the season.
The 27-year-old even entered the IPL 2025 auction with a base price of INR 30 lakhs, but went unsold. The brothers lived in a tent at Azad Maidan, Mumbai’s cricketing hub, at a young age where they trained together, and although the Yashasvi story gained popularity due to his rise, his brother’s sacrifice didn’t quite make headlines until now.
“Tune sab ke liye kiya, apne sapne ko choda, bahut sacrifice kiya, abhi tumhara time hai, enjoy karo (You sacrificed your dream for us, now it is your time, enjoy it),” Yashasvi told Tejasvi, reported The Indian Express.
“I also wanted to play cricket, but the financial situation of our family was not good. Yashasvi was doing well… So by the end of 2013, I quit Mumbai and cricket and moved to Delhi, where a relative runs a shop,” Tejasvi said. “I played one game in the Harris Shield and picked up seven wickets. Then people started saying that I had an age-verification issue. I was benched for a year and a half. Yashasvi was doing extremely well and I didn’t want his prospects to be affected because of me.”
In a memorable T20I against South Africa late last year, Ross Adair smashed a scintillating century for Ireland, while his brother, Mark Adair, complemented the effort by taking four crucial wickets. Ross joined Kevin O’Brien and Stirling as the only Irish men’s players with a T20I ton.
Their combined heroics led Ireland to a famous victory, their first over South Africa in men’s T20Is, making it a day to remember for the Adair family and Irish cricket fans alike.
In a twist of fate, Indian cricketer Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the IPL auction, while his younger brother, Musheer Khan, secured a lucrative deal at the IPL 2025 auction.
Musheer Khan secured his maiden IPL deal with Punjab Kings, who picked him up at his base price of ₹30 lakh. The 19-year-old top-order batter, who has been making waves in domestic cricket, is set to experience the tournament for the first time. Interestingly, Sarfaraz also played for Punjab Kings for three years but did not get a lot of opportunities.
In a unique occurrence, Ibrahim Zadran opened the batting for Afghanistan in a Test match alongside his uncle, Noor Ali Zadran, who was making his debut. Interestingly, the nephew was the more experienced player in the format.
Later in the year, Noor Ali Zadran announced his retirement from international cricket, having begun his career in Afghanistan’s first-ever ODI against Scotland in 2009, but only getting a Test debut 15 years later in 2024, the same year he retired. Ibrahim, meanwhile, continues to be a prominent player for Afghanistan.
Also Read:
Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy made history as the first married couple to play Test matches at the same time last week. Adding an unusual twist, both were also playing their 287th international game for Australia, bringing their combined tally to 574 caps.
While Starc stepped out to play for Australia men’s side against Sri Lanka, Alyssa Healy was playing for the women’s Test side against England in the women’s Ashes. Healy and Starc, married since 2016, became the first married couple to play Test matches simultaneously. Though there have been previous Test-playing couples – Ruth Westbrook and Roger Prideaux (England) or Rasanjali Silva and Joe de Alwis (Sri Lanka) – neither have played Tests at the same time.
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh humorously recounted how, after tiring encounters facing India’s Jasprit Bumrah, he returned home to bowl against his four-year-old nephew in the backyard, only to find the young lad mimicking Bumrah’s distinctive action. It’s a light-hearted reminder of cricket’s deep cultural impact and how legends inspire even the youngest fans.
“My little nephew, Ted, is four years old. We played backyard cricket the other day, and he came in with Bumrah’s action, and the nightmare continues,” Marsh hilariously recounted at the Australian Cricket Awards ceremony.
