Most wickets by bowlers on Test debut
A bowler always dreams of making a solid impression on his Test debut for the country. Picking up most wickets in the first match is something a bowler looks to irrespective of the format. Test cricket is the ultimate and the purest format and to snare the majority of the scalps in a maiden match in the whites is remarkable.
Let’s take a look at the most wickets picked by bowlers on debut in Tests:
3. Fred Martin (12/102)
Late Fred Martin achieved the third-best bowling figures on debut in a Test match. The English left-arm medium-pacer took 12/102 in 57.2 overs with 21 maidens against Australia at The Oval way back in the year 1890. In the first innings, he grabbed 6/50 in 27 overs with nine maidens. Martin bowled a spell of 6/52 in 30.2 overs with 12 maidens in the second innings as England won by two wickets.
2. Bob Massie (16/137)
The former right-arm medium-fast bowler from Australia, Bob Massie grabbed the second-best match figures by a debutant. He took 16/137 in 60.1 overs with 16 maidens against England at Lord’s in the second game of the 1972 Ashes series. Massie tormented the English batting line-up in the first innings as he delivered a spell of 8/84 in 32.5 overs with seven maidens. He again took eight wickets for 53 runs in 27.2 overs in the second innings as Australia won by eight wickets.
- Narendra Hirwani (16/136)
Former India spinner Narendra Hirwani holds the record for achieving the best match figures by a debutant in Test cricket. The leg break googly bowler spun his web to pick 16/136 in just 33.5 overs which included six maidens against West Indies in Chennai in 1988. He bowled a brilliant spell of 8/61 in 18.3 overs,, which included three maidens in the first innings and then again tore apart the Windies batting with figures of 8/75 in 15.2 overs with three maidens in the second as India won by 255 runs.
