Ten Cricketers Who Didn't Have Dream Debuts But Turned Out As Greats

There’s an old saying that goes as “A good beginning makes a good ending”. It does hold true as it sets things in motion for an athlete’s career for the future. Surprisingly, for a few other players, it works the other way. Despite not enjoying promising starts, such cricketers have managed to work their way to a fulfilling career.

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It barely mattered for them whether they have scored no runs or picked no wickets at the start. They didn’t lose hope and bounce back strongly to make a name for themselves. It was only a matter of time before these athletes become a household name. Eventually, they also become role-models for the upcoming players not to give up hope after commencing weakly.

We take a look at ten players who had far from dream debuts but turned out as greats:

Graham Gooch:

Former English captain Graham Gooch was not only a prolific run-getter in first-class cricket but also for England in Tests. His 44846 first-class runs come in the top ten for most runs in the format. However, his first game in whites for England against Australia in Birmingham in 1975 wasn’t a promising one. The former English batting coach recorded consecutive ducks in the match in two innings.

Gooch became the victim of Max Walker in the first innings while Jeff Thomson claimed his scalp in the second. Across the game, the 66-year old could survive only 11 deliveries. However, by the time the Essex-born retired in 1995, he had accumulated 8900 Test runs. It was a record for the most runs scored by an Englishman in red-ball cricket for England till Alastair Cook surpassed it in 2015.

Sachin Tendulkar:

Arguably one of the best batsmen in the game, Sachin Tendulkar leads the run-scoring charts in Tests and ODIs currently. In his 24-year old career, Sachin comfortably neutralized the likes of Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralidharan, and Shoaib Akhtar. But even the highest run-getter in both the formats joins the list of men, who didn’t enjoy good start.

He made his ODI debut in Gujranwala against arch-rivals Pakistan in 1989. Batting at number six, Waqar Younis dismissed the 16-year old Sachin for a duck. However, the Mumbai batsman didn’t let that failure deter his confidence as in the years to follow; he left the best bowlers spellbound. The 46-year old retired from ODIs in 2012 with 18426 runs under his belt, which are miles above every active batsman.

Shane Warne:

Shane Warne was the finest exponent of leg-spin bowling among the modern-day bowlers. His staggering record of 708 wickets in 145 Tests for Australia is a second-most number of wickets. Warne’s impactful performances in England in 1993, 2001 Ashes and India 2004 were some of his many achievements during his 15-year old career.

But the Victorian wasn’t among the wickets when he first wore the Baggy Green. On his debut against India in Sydney in 1992, the 50-year old picked only one wicket, conceding 150 runs in 45 overs. Precisely a year later, the leggie shot into the limelight by bowling what came to be known as “the ball of the century” to Mike Gatting in the first Test.

The delivery pitched outside the line of Gatting’s leg-stump. However, the footmarks enabled the ball to spin exponentially, thereby dislodging the top of the batsman’s off-stump. In that Ashes of 1993, the 50-year old picked up 34 wickets in six Tests in a winning effort. Warne retired from international cricket in 2007 at the end of another successful Ashes series.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni:

Unquestionably, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most impactful players the world has witnessed. Widely acclaimed as amongst the best finishers of the game, Dhoni has over 10000 ODI runs under his belt in 350 ODIs at 50.57. As a captain, the keeper-batsman took responsibility in taking the matches deep and ended it or won it excitingly.

Having made his ODI debut in 2004, the Jharkhand cricketer endured a disastrous outing. At  number seven, Dhoni was part of a rare run-out, suffering a golden duck. It is pretty surprising, considering that the 38-year old is a swift runner between the wickets. After three more innings, he played an innings of 148 against Pakistan in Jaipur. And the rest is history.

Dale Steyn:

Having made his Test debut in 2004, Dale Steyn has established himself as the best fast bowler of this generation. In 2019, he became South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in Tests, surpassing Shaun Pollock’s tally of 421 wickets. Unfortunately, the speedster’s career got limited to 93 Tests as injuries forced him to retire from the format.

Meanwhile, the 36-year old didn’t enjoy a dream debut. Steyn could pick up only three wickets in his debut against England at an economy rate of nearly five in both the innings. It wasn’t before 2006 that he became unstoppable in whites. When the likes of Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock hung up their boots, Steyn successfully took over as the Proteas’ pace spearhead.

Marvan Atapattu:

Marvan Atapattu bounced back incredibly well from the worst possible start to his Test career. In a span of three Tests, the right-handed batsman had recorded five ducks. Having made his debut way back in 1990, Atapattu reached his first century against India at Mohali in 1997. In 90 Tests, the Sri Lankan accumulated a whopping six double-centuries.

His maiden Test turned as a horror one not only for him but also for Sri Lanka. The tourists crashed to 82 and 198 all out in two innings in reply to India’s 288 in Chandigarh as the Kalutra-born made consecutive ducks. By 2007 as he called time, Atapattu had amassed 5507 Test runs with a high score of 249 at 39.02.

Sir Viv Richards:

Perhaps the greatest batsman to have ever graced the game, Vivian Richards was fearless in his approach. Vivian Richards was part of the West Indian side of their glorious years when they ransacked their opponents for fun. His aggressive batting in the middle-order often pushed the opposition at the backfoot.

Nevertheless, the Antiguan could make only 3 and 4 in his first two innings respectively. Bhagwath Chandrasekhar claimed his wicket twice for paltry scores. However, the right-handed batsman punished India in the very next Test by hitting an unbeaten 192 to announce his arrival to the international scene. In total, Richards played 121 Tests between 1974 and 1991, scoring 8540 runs at 50.23.

Ricky Ponting:

Ricky Ponting was Australia’s answer to India’s Sachin Tendulkar during his playing days. An aggressive batsman, Ponting was the pillar of Australia’s batting line-up in ODIs and Tests. The former Australian captain is one of the successful ones in world cricket and retired as the nation’s highest run-getter in both the versions.

And he too had an uneventful ODI debut. Unlike in his first Test in which the Tasmanian scored 96, he couldn’t do the same in 50-over cricket. The right-handed batsman could manage only a single against South Africa in 1995 as Eric Simons dislodged his stumps. But in the coming years to come, the 45-year old amassed 13704 runs in the format, including a hundred in the World Cup final.

Daniel Vettori:

At a tender age of 18 in 1997, Daniel Vettori burst into the international scene with a nerdy look. His first ODI came after a month his Test debut took place. However, the left-arm spinner’s performance in the maiden ODI wasn’t as promising as in red-ball cricket. Vettori played as the lone spinner for New Zealand and bowled only two overs, conceding 21 runs without a wicket.

The Kiwis eventually failed to defend a target of 201 as Sri Lanka romped home by six wickets. But as of today, the retired spin-bowler is Black Caps’ highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 305 in 295 games. Daniel Vettori also served as the skipper, captaining in 82 ODIs and winning 41 of them.

Saeed Anwar:

Saeed Anwar was one of the best opening batsmen ever witnessed, especially in limited-overs cricket. A flamboyant left-handed batsman, Anwar relied on excellent hand-eye coordination and timing to make up for the lack of footwork. Out of 20 ODI centuries, seven of them came at Sharjah Cricket Ground, which was his favourite. The tally of 20 hundreds are also the most by any Pakistani batsman in ODIs.

The Karachi-born batsman didn’t have a dream start to his career by any standards. His Test career commenced by recording two ducks while he could manage only 3 in his maiden ODI innings. But by the time, Saeed Anwar finished his career; he had played 247 ODIs. He has also been part of three World Cups. His 8824 runs are the third-highest for his nation in 50-over cricket. As far as his Test career is concerned, the 51-year old featured in 55 Tests, scoring 4502 runs at 45.53.

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