Top 5 Highest Scores By Batsmen On Debut In Test Cricket: Normally when the cricketers make their way from domestic cricket to international cricket, they take a bit of time to find their feet, but it doesn’t apply to all the cricketers.
There have been a few cricketers who have registered huge scores on their debut itself and that too in Test cricket which is considered to be the toughest format of the game.
Here are the top 4 highest scores on debut in Test history:
Reginald Erskine Foster (England): 287 runs
Foster made his Test debut for England in the first Test match of the Ashes series of 1901 which was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Australia batted first and posted a score of 285 in the first innings. England, in reply, managed to take a huge lead, courtesy a wonderful double hundred by Foster who scored 287 runs in the very first innings he played in Test cricket.
Foster’s innings eventually helped England win that game as well, as they beat the Kangaroos by 5 wickets.
Jacques Rudolph (South Africa): 222* runs
Jacques Rudolph got the opportunity to play his first Test match for South Africa in 2003 against Bangladesh and he took full advantage of a below-par Bangladesh attack as he smashed them to all corners on his way to a stroke-filled double hundred.
Rudolph stitched together a partnership of more than 400 runs with Boeta Dippenaar before being dismissed for a score of 222. Rudolph’s knock put South Africa on the driving seat as the Proteas secured an innings victory.
Lawrence Rowe (West Indies): 214 runs
Lawrence Rowe featured for West Indies for the first time in Test cricket in 1972 against New Zealand and he began his career with a double hundred. Rowe scored 214 in the first innings of the game and helped West Indies put a mammoth total on the board.
But, Rowe didn’t just stop there. He scored a hundred in the second innings as well. However, despite Rowe’s efforts, West Indies couldn’t emerge victorious as the Test match ended in a draw.
Matthew Sinclair (New Zealand): 214 runs
Matthew Sinclair also scored a double hundred the first time he batted in Test cricket. It was a Test match against West Indies and New Zealand were batting first. West Indies had a very skillful bowling attack at that point in time spearheaded by the great Courtney Walsh.
However, Sinclair showed tremendous composure and grit in his first Test innings. He didn’t play a lot of flashy strokes but batted for a long period of time. Sinclair guided the Kiwis to a score that helped them win the Test match by an innings eventually.
Brendon Kuruppu (Sri Lanka): 201* runs
Brendon Kuruppu’s valiant 201* is arguably the best Test debut by a Sri Lankan batsman. Kuruppu’s marathon innings lasted for 777 minutes and 548 deliveries, making it the slowest double century ever in terms of time and balls faced.
