5 Batsmen Who Hit Double Century On Test Debut

Test cricket is a real challenge for cricketers. It tests various aspects of a batsmen, right from grit, patience and mental stamina to overcome the odds and keep going. Test cricket has seen some of the finest cricketers grace the game with their brilliant ability. Their also have been some records etched in history books which will forever be remembers.

Talking about Test cricket, let us have a look at five batsmen, who scored a double century on their debut:

Tip Foster

Tip Foster made a dream start to his career but did not go too far. RE ‘Tip’ Foster’s recorded the highest score on debut, which is still to be broken, in over 117 years. Foster had scored 287 runs against Australia in his debut appearance in Sydney on December 11, 1903. Incidentally, their is an interesting stats about Foster. The Worcestershire and England cricketer, only man to captain England at both football and cricket. His cricket career lasted for only eight matches where he scored 602 runs at an average over 42.

Lawrence Rowe

West Indies batsman Lawrence Rowe was known for his elegance, he was class apart. He was a well composed batsman who batted higher up the order and had an average over 110 while playing Test cricket at his hometown at Sabina Park. Rowe was the second to hit a double century on Test debut. He notched up 214 runs against New Zealand at Kingston in 1972. Rowe was known for his back-foot drives, it was staple to his batting approach. He retired with 2047 Test runs at an average over 43.

Brendon Kuruppu

Brendon Kurrupu did not have a long lasting Test career but played 54 ODIs for Sri Lanka. He, however, averaged over 53 in the longest format with the high score of an unbeaten 201 which he notched up on his debut against New Zealand in Colombo, 1987. His marathon run saw him at the crease for 777 minutes. He did not fare too well in the ODI format as he had an average of merely 20.

Mathew Sinclair

New Zealand star Mathew Sinclair was also among the batsmen who scored a double century in Test cricket on their debut. Sinclair had scored 214 runs against the West Indies in Wellington, 1999. He played 33 Tests and 54 ODIs before calling time on his career to spent time with his family. Sinclair had also applied for unemployment benefits after retirement as he was struggling. He said he had no choice but to seek welfare because he could not feed a family on what he earned as a first class cricketer, paid for only six months of the year.

Jacques Rudolph

South Africa batsman Jacques Rudolph notched up a double century on his debut against Bangladesh in Chattogram. He notched up the score of an unbeaten 222 in the year 2003. As a result, he became the fifth batsman in the history of Test cricket to achieve the feat.