Sibling rivalry adds a new chapter

Tonight at Trent Bridge, Joe Root of Yorkshire will square off against his younger brother Billy of Nottinghamshire in what will be a rare case of cricketing siblings playing against each other.

The Root brothers will do battle in a 50-over contest in Nottingham in a match that features Australia pace ace James Pattinson, who begins his white-ball preparation for June’s ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Quick Single: Why Pattinson could be the first quick picked in Champions Trophy XI

While the match is unlikely to determine who is the better Root (Joe is the No.3 Test batsman in the world and has recently been named England’s Test captain while Billy has played just six first-class games), the cricket field has witnessed scores being settled between siblings at the domestic and international level for many years. 

Below we provide some examples of not-so-brotherly love in cricket, starting with a triple threat match that begun in the backyard and continued all the way to the Sheffield Shield.

Ian Chappell v Greg Chappell v Trevor Chappell

Having been born and raised in South Australia, Ian, Greg and Trevor Chappell all enjoyed healthy first-class careers, with the two eldest brothers captaining their country.

Each Chappell played for South Australia before Greg moved to Queensland in 1973 while Trevor moved to Western Australia in 1976 before settling in New South Wales a year later, all while Ian remained at the Redbacks until his retirement in 1980.

The separation of the trio led to one-on-one encounters at first-class level. Greg played his older brother Ian five times in Shield cricket; Ian played Trevor once; but Greg and Trevor never played a Shield match in opposition.

Greg scored one hundred, six half-centuries and averaged 85 in the eight innings he played against Ian, who also rose to the challenge of playing against his younger brother, passing 50 four times and 100 once to average 57.

On two occasions all three Chappell brothers played in the same XI for South Australia in 1972 before Greg made the move to the sunshine state.

Mike Hussey v Dave Hussey

The Hussey brothers enjoyed a strong rivalry in their cricket careers which concluded in the epic KFC Big Bash League decider in 2016.

Hailing from Western Australia, the Hussey boys were spilt up when Dave made the move across the Nullarbor to play for Victoria while Mike mastered his craft for the Warriors.

The pair faced off seven times in domestic four-day cricket, with Dave scoring a century and averaging 34 and Mike producing two tons at an average of 58.

Mike’s WA got the better of Dave’s Victoria in five of the seven 50-over matches they played against each other, while older brother ‘Mr Cricket’ won two of the three BBL matches, including the BBL|05 final at the MCG with the Sydney Thunder.

Shane Lee v Brett Lee

Two fifths of the Aussie rock band Six & Out, Shane and Brett Lee played practically all their elite cricket together.

However, in an exhibition one-dayer between Australia and the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy, Brett got the better of his bigger brother who was playing in the green and gold.

Having just run out Steve Waugh, Brett almost bowled Shane with a yorker first ball before producing a leading edge and easy return catch two deliveries later to send the batsman on his way for a third-ball duck.

Watch the encounter here.

Ed Joyce v Dom Joyce

On the international stage, brothers Ed and Dom Joyce opened the batting for England and Ireland respectively in 2006.

Although he was born in Dublin, Ed made his ODI debut for England against the country of his birth, which so happened to feature younger brother Dom.

Ed made 10 in his maiden international outing while Dom was bowled by towering quick Steve Harmison for a three-ball duck in Belfast. 

Image Id: EDADDE311C26469F9F68BB3327DEA9EB Image Caption: Joyce pulls on debut against Ireland in June, 2006 // Getty

Bruce Reid v John F. Reid

While Bruce and John F. Reid aren’t brothers, the pair are cousins and played against each other in February, 1986 in Wellington.

Representing Australia, Bruce dismissed Black Cap John for 32 on day two of the first Trans-Tasman Test at the Basin Reserve.