5 cricketers who had a terrible debut but went on to carve out great careers

Richards had a terrible debut against IndiaCricket has always been a game where you can expect the unexpected to take place. What may look like the beginning of something great can end up being a flash in the pan; on the other hand, a poor start may translate into success of epic proportions.The sport offers too many examples of this trait, some pertaining to individuals and quite a few others which apply to teams. There have been many legendary cricketers whose debuts were far from being even modest, but they went on to create history with their exploits later on in their careers.Here we have picked 5 such iconic cricketers:

#5 Saeed Anwar (Pakistan)

Saeed Anwar could only manage a pair in his debut Test

Performance on debut: 0 & 0 against West Indies, 1990

Test Career Stats:

MAT	RUNS	AVE	100s
55	4052	45.52	11

The Pakistani run machine Saeed Anwar had an incredibly poor debut as he got a ‘pair’ against West Indies at Faisalabad. No one had thought at that point of time that the southpaw will be one of the mainstays of the Pakistan batting line-up in the days to come.

In the first innings, he succumbed to the great Curtly Ambrose whereas Ian Bishop nailed Anwar leg before wicket in the second essay. It was only in the subsequent series that Saeed Anwar started to show his class and later went on to become one of the finest batsmen Pakistan has ever produced.

#4 Michael Holding (West Indies)

Michael Holding was one of the most fearsome pacers of all time

Performance on debut: 0 for 81 & 0 for 46 against Australia, 1975

Test Career Stats:

MAT	WKTS	AVE	BEST
60	249	23.68	8/92

0 for 127 - These are the debut match stats for a bowler who was popularly known as ‘Whispering Death’ later on in his career. On debut, the iconic West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding did not give anyone a hint of what he had in store for world cricket in the days that followed.

Holding gave the likes of the Chappell brothers no trouble whatsoever as he ended up being wicketless in a one-sided victory for Austraila against West Indies. That was probably the lowest point of Michael Holding’s career and he overcame it quickly as he went on to take 249 wickets in just 60 Tests in an amazing career.

#3 Vivian Richards (West Indies)

A disastrous debut was not enough to deter the great Viv Richards

Performance on debut: 4 & 3 against India, 1974

Test Career Stats:

MAT	RUNS	AVE	100s
121	8540	50.23	24

Vivian Richards is one of the greatest cricketers to have ever set foot on a cricket field. But you would find it hard to believe that the swashbuckling West Indian batsman managed scores of 4 and 3 in the two innings of his debut Test against India at Bangalore in the year 1974. On both occasions, he fell prey to the great Indian spinner, BS Chandrasekhar.

Even though he was quick to make amends as he registered a sparkling 192 not out in his 2nd Test, Richards’ debut will definitely remain as one of the worst matches in his otherwise brilliant career.

#2 Shane Warne (Australia)

Warney had a forgettable debut against India

Performance on debut: 1 for 150 against India, 1992

Test Career Stats:

MAT	WKTS	AVE	BEST
145	708	25.41	8/71

Possibly one of the greatest examples of a terrible debut translating into a legendary career is that of Shane Warne. Considering the Australian leggie’s exploits during a glittering career, even disastrous would be an understatement for the kind of debut he had.

He toiled for as many as 45 overs and could only pick up one wicket, that of double centurion Ravi Shastri. Things started to fall into place for Warne only from his first Ashes series onwards and he did not look back since.

But on debut, the leg spinner showed no signs whatsoever of the great bowler that he eventually went on to become.

#1 Donald Bradman (Australia)

Bradman had a forgettable start to his cricket career

Performance on debut: 18 & 1 against England, 1928

Test Career Stats:

MAT	RUNS	AVE	100s
52	6996	99.94	29

Arguably the greatest batsman of all time, Donald Bradman, had a very forgettable start to his Test career. On his debut against England, he recorded a total of 19 runs, which included a score of 18 in his very first Test innings.

The staggering fact is that consequently he got dropped from the Australian side for the next Test and only made his return in the Test that followed. That was indeed the only occasion in his entire career on which Bradman was dropped and he came back with a bang scoring a fifty and a maiden century in his 2nd Test.

What followed that is now a part of cricket’s legacy and the master batsman, till this date, sits pretty with an astonishing average of 99.94 which may never be surpassed.