5 one-hit wonders in cricket

#2 Bob Massie

Bob Massie's memorable debut remained the only high-point of his career

In the case of this right-arm seamer, the single wondrous performance of his career came in his debut match, that too an Ashes Test in June 1972.

The typical Australian seamer is a strong, tall lad who could bowl fast and hit the deck hard. But Massie was more skilled at doing what English bowlers are known for– swinging the ball. And on a seamer-friendly Lord’s wicket, he swung the ball round corners and did so again in the second innings to finish with a haul of 16 wickets on his debut– eight each in both innings.

This secured his place in the annals of Australian cricket history. Massie played five more matches but failed to show any brilliance in them. There were even suspicions of ball-tampering on the side of the English players during the first Test and the fact that Massie never seemed to reproduce the kind of swing he did in the Lord’s Test is seen as lending weight to that theory.

Whatever may be the case, the fact that Australian bowlers dazzled the English at Lord’s, on his debut, through the art that they specialize in will always be fondly remembered by the Aussies.