Skippers who bagged a pair on their Test captaincy debut
Being the captain of the national team is a great privilege for any player as the position is a much-coveted one in every team as only a few people get the opportunity to be the head of the team.
While most captains are able to deal with the extra added pressure in the first game itself, some find it hard and start their captaincy tenure miserably. On that note, let’s take a look at the only four players in Test history who bagged a pair on their captaincy debut:
Mark Taylor
Australia’s Mark Taylor was the first captain to have the ignominy of getting out on a pair on his Test captaincy debut. He achieved the unwanted feat against Pakistan in October 1994 in Karachi. It was not just his ducks which troubled him in the first game as Australia also went on to lose the thrilling match by one wicket. It was clearly not a good beginning to his captaincy tenure as the other two Tests of the series ended in a draw and Australia lost the three-match series by 0-1.
Rashid Latif
Pakistan’s Rashid Latif is the second player on this list as he also got out on a pair on his captaincy debut against South Africa in Gqeberha in March 1998. Pakistan were 1-0 ahead in the series after the first two Tests and had a great chance of defeating South Africa in their own den. Latif was handed over the captaincy duties in the last Test, but could not replicate the success of Aamir Sohail in the second Test as South Africa won the match by 259 runs and levelled the series 1-1.
Habibul Bashar
It was Bangladesh’s second tour to Zimbabwe since they got the Test status in 2000. Bangladesh were led by Habibul Bashar, who also got out on a pair in the first Test of the series in February 2004 in Harare. Bashar’s troubles did not end there as Bangladesh went on to lose the match by 183 runs and further lost the series 1-0.
Temba Bavuma
Bavuma is the latest addition to the list as he also bagged a pair recently against West Indies in the first Test played in Centurion. However, from the captaincy point of view, he had a great beginning as South Africa won the match by 87 runs. He further made a great comeback in the second Test scoring a brilliant hundred in South Africa’s 284-run win.s
