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Dean Elgar made his Test debut in Perth in 2012, but found the fiery Mitchell Johnson too hot to handle.
The South African top-order batsman made his debut in Perth in 2012, but
found the fiery Mitchell Johnson too hot to handle. He was first caught
behind and then trapped in front, making for a forgetful debut despite
South Africa’s 309-run win. He left all that behind soon enough, scoring
centuries against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies in the 14
Tests he has played since. He has a healthy average of 37.65 and is in
the process of finding a slot in a quality South African outfit.
Chamara Silva Bagging a pair wasn’t the way to go
He made his ODI debut as a 19 year old in 1999, but it was in 2006 that
he made his Test debut, against New Zealand in Christchurch, after
convincing the selectors with strong performances in the domestic
circuit. Bagging a pair wasn’t the way to go – Franklin and Shane Bond
dismissing him before he could get off the mark – but he was given
leeway and in the second Test he scored a 61 and an unbeaten 152. In 11
Tests, the last of which was in 2008, he scored 537 runs at an average
of 33.56.
James Franklin debut against Pakistan in Auckland in 2000
Franklin, an effective allrounder, couldn’t buy a run, first trapped in
front by Saqlain Mushtaq and then bowled by Mohammad Sami. He was
dropped after the series, but returned to the side in the mid-2000s –
scoring an unbeaten 122 against South Africa in 2006 – and played the
last of his 31 Tests in 2013 in South Africa.
Saeed Anwar had an inauspicious start to his Test career, against West Indies in Faisalabad in 1990.
Curtly Ambrose and then Ian Bishop dismissed him for zero even as he
shone in One-Day Internationals, but he matched his ODI prowess when
wearing whites soon after. He ended with 4052 runs in 55 Tests, at an
average of 45.52 and 11 centuries one of those, an unbeaten 188,
helping Pakistan to a 46-run win in the Kolkata Test in 1999.
Marvan Atapattu made his runless debut in 1990, against India in Chandigarh,
Atapattu join with Virender Sehwag, Javed Miandad, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky
Ponting in the list of batsmen with most 200-plus scores in Test
cricket. His assiduousness was the perfect foil for the adventurous
Sanath Jayasuriya, his opening partner for much of his career, but
Atapattu had major hurdles to cross when he started out. He made his
runless debut in 1990, against India in Chandigarh, where he was caught
and bowled by Venkatapathi Raju in the first innings and then trapped in
front by Kapil Dev. It took him till 1997 to get established in the
side but, thereafter, there were runs aplenty – 90 Tests, an average of
39.02 and 16 centuries speak volumes of his class.
A more-than capable batsman
New Zealand Ken Rutherford managed just 12 runs in his first seven Test innings, having
started out with a pair on debut against West Indies in Port of Spain
when, as a 19 year old, he had the unenviable task of facing Malcolm
Marshall. He was then run out in the second innings to cap a poor debut,
but thereafter scored 2465 runs for New Zealand on his way to an
average of 27.08 from 56 Tests.
Pair on Debut
Former England’s highest Test run-scorer, Gooch ended his 118-Test career with
8900 runs at an average of 42.58 and 20 centuries. All rather
incredible, given that on Gooch’s debut in 1975, against Australia, Max
Walker and Jeff Thomson sent him back for successive ducks. Pair on debut for Rajendra Chandrika, but he's part of a club that includes Graham Gooch, Marvan Atapattu and Saeed Anwar.
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