Test Debut is a milestone moment in a player’s career. Every aspiring cricketer wants to play the red-ball format, and it is when he is within a touching distance that the nerves usually settle in. That said, a few players in the history of the game have had an excellent Test debut, not in one but two departments. In this article, we talk about five popular cricketers who scored a century and took wickets on Test Debut.
1) Greg Chappell vs England (1970)
Century: 108 in 1st Innings || Wickets: 1
Former Australian Skipper Greg Chappell was the fourth player in the history of the game who scored a century and took wickets on Test debut. In fact, Greg also got a century in his final match and hundreds in each innings of his captaincy debut.
Talking about his debut which happened in Perth, Greg scored a brilliant hundred while batting at No.7. However, before he got to bat, the player kickstarted his debut with a wicket using his medium pace. England’s Colin Cowdrey was the Aussie cricketer’s first victim with the ball.
2) Javed Miandad vs New Zealand (1976)
Century: 163 in 1st Innings || Wickets: 1
Pakistan’s youngest captain when he was appointed, Javed Miandad had a Test debut to remember. Six years after Greg scored a century and took wickets on Test debut, Miandad repeated the feat in Lahore against New Zealand.
The second-highest run-scorer for Pakistan in Tests, Miandad’s debut hundred came up against legendary bowlers like Richard Hadlee. Hadlee also happens to Miandad’s first Test wicket that got him eligible to qualify for this list. Pakistan won this game convincingly by six wickets.
3) Sourav Ganguly vs England (1996)
Century: 131 in 1st Innings || Wickets: 3
Sourav Ganguly‘s career had almost come to a standstill until the resurgence at the Lord’s in 1996. A Test hundred at the Lord’s is memorable for any player but achieving it on debut is an altogether different feeling.
Batting at No.3, after England had put on 344 runs on the board, Ganguly struck 131 runs, including twenty boundaries. He had even accounted for India’s commendable bowling performance in the first innings. Using his medium pace, Dada collected the wickets of Nasser Hussain and Graeme Hick. In the second innings, Ganguly picked another wicket in the form of Jack Russell. The game eventually ended in a draw.
4) Marcus North vs South Africa (2009)
Century: 117 in 1st Innings || Wickets: 1
Marcus North is also one of the cricketers who scored a century and took wickets on Test debut. The southpaw made his debut at the Wanderers in South Africa. A part-time off-spinner, North contributed to both departments in his first encounter. He scored 117 runs while batting at No.6 and later picked the wicket of Paul Harris to help his nation pull off a memorable 162-run win.
While he was magnificent in the 2009 Ashes, the player lost his way after that. He was too inconsistent and eventually lost his place in the set-up. Having played a total of 21 Tests, he scored 1171 runs at an average of 35.48.
5) Kane Williamson vs India (2010)
Century: 131 in 1st Innings || Wickets: 1
Kane Williamson actually made his Test debut against India in Ahmedabad. Held in 2010, this match ended in a draw after the Kiwis were successful in tackling the Indian spin-duo of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Bhajji also got a hundred in this encounter.
It was the current Kiwi skipper who was at the centre of the Kiwi performance. While he picked the wicket of Suresh Raina with his off-spin in the first inning, Kane then constructed a well-made century comprising ten boundaries. He was ably supported by Jesse Ryder in the batting department.
