First Test of each Test playing nation

Test cricket is the ultimate form of cricket which tests a cricketer for a period of 5 days. Though the ODI and the T20 format lure more audiences to the stadium, it is the Test format in which every cricketer would want to excel. At present, 10 nations have Test status and in the next couple of months, there will be 2 additions to the list.

Ireland will become the 11th Test playing nation when they will battle it out in their maiden Test against Pakistan in Dublin starting 11th May 2018. It will be a memorable occasion for all the Irish fans who come out in large numbers to support their cricket team.

India will host Afghanistan for their maiden Test in June 2018 in Bengaluru. It will indeed be a historic moment for the Afghanistan team who have been impressive in the shorter formats of the game.

Let's go down the memory lane and see how the current 10 Test playing nations fared in their maiden Test.

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Australia and England

Australia triumphed England in the first ever Test by 45 runs

15th March 1877 saw the first Test in the history of cricket between England and Australia at Melbourne. It was a timeless Test. Australia won the toss and elected to bat and scored 245 runs in their first innings with Charles Bannerman becoming the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to score a century. Bannerman scored an impressive 165 of 285 balls which included 18 boundaries before he retired hurt.

England were bowled out for 196 in their first innings with William Midwinter from Australia becoming the first bowler to take 5 wickets in an innings. Australia were bundled out for a paltry 104 in their second innings leaving a target of 152 for England to win the first ever Test.

England were crushed for just 108 and Tom Kendall from Australia picked up 7 wickets. Australia triumphed in the first ever Test by a margin of 45 runs.

South Africa

South Africa played England in their maiden Test in 1889

South Africa became the third Test-playing nation when they played England in a Test at Port Elizabeth. England won the Test by 8 wickets and handed South Africa a defeat in their maiden Test.

The home team won the toss and elected to bat on 12th March 1889 and the Test got completed on the next day i.e. 13th March 1889. South Africa was bowled out for 84 in their first innings and England replied by scoring 148 in the first innings and took a handy lead of 64 in a low scoring match.

The second innings saw South Africa scoring 129 and England were set a target of 65 which they chased comfortably by losing just two wickets.

The Test got over in a couple of days and South Africa were handed a defeat in their maiden Test appearance.

West Indies

West Indies lost their maiden Test by an innings and 58 runs

There could not have been a better ground for West Indies to be introduced to Test cricket. The Lord's cricket stadium in London was the venue for the first ever Test for the West Indies. The Test started on 23rd June 1928 and ended on 26th June 1928 with the second day being declared as a rest day.

The West Indies like England and South Africa struggled in their maiden Test and the margin of defeat was huge. Electing to bat, the hosts England scoring 401 and then bowled out the West Indies twice in the match for 177 and 166 (after enforcing the follow-on). West Indies lost the Test by an innings and 58 runs.

New Zealand

The Blackcaps played their first ever Test against England in Christchurch

The Kiwis too made their Test debut against a strong English team. The year was 1930 and Lancaster Park in Christchurch was the venue for the occasion.

After winning the toss, the hosts were bundled out for 112. England replied strongly in their first innings by scoring 181 and a lead of 69 which was very handy. The hosts batted a bit better and scored 131 in their second innings and England were left with a target of just 62 which they chased comfortably with 8 wickets remaining.

Thus New Zealand too continued the tradition of losing their maiden Test along with the likes of England, South Africa, and West Indies.

India

India played their first Test against England at Lords

India too started their Test campaign against England. The year was 1932 and the venue for the historic occasion for the Indian team was Lord's. The visiting team was led by C.K. Nayudu.

England were way too experienced in Test cricket and that reflected in the overall result of the match. The strong English team scored 259 in the first innings. The visitors could manage 189 handing a 70 run lead to the hosts.

The Indians struggled to bowl England out in the second innings and the hosts eventually declared their second innings for 275. India were bowled out for 187 in the fourth innings and England won the Test by a huge margin of 158 runs.

India, the sixth Test-playing nation, became the fifth nation to lose their first ever Test.

Pakistan:

Pakistan played their maiden Test against

arch rivals

India in 1952

Pakistan played their first ever Test against India in the year 1952 at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi. The new entrants to Test cricket were no match for the hosts who thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 70 runs in their maiden Test.

India scored an impressive 372 in the first innings courtesy a brilliant innings of 81 by Hemu Adhikari. Pakistan were bundled out for a mere 150 in their first innings with Vinoo Mankad being the chief destroyer by picking up 8 wickets. The visitors were asked to follow on and were bowled out for 152 with Vinoo Mankad once again picking up 5 wickets and 13 for the game.

Pakistan, the 7th Test playing nation too could not win their maiden Test.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka played their first Test against England in 1982

The island nation became the third country to play Test cricket from Asia exactly 50 years after India played their first Test and 30 years after Pakistan played Test cricket.

The eighth Test-playing nation too suffered defeat in its maiden Test. Colombo was the venue for the historic occasion and the hosts were up against a strong visiting English team.

The hosts started the Test impressively by scoring 218 in the first innings and then bowling out the visitors for 223. The island nation collapsed in the second innings for 175 and England easily chased the target with 7 wickets remaining.

All in all, the Test was an impressive one for Sri Lanka and their introduction to Test cricket was a memorable one.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe had an impressive outing in their maiden Test

The 9th Test playing nation Zimbabwe has a distinctive record of not losing its first ever Test. Zimbabwe played their first ever Test against India at Harare in 1992 and they dominated the Test for the most part.

Riding on skipper Houghton's 121, the hosts scored 456 in the first innings and then bowled out the visitors for just 307 and took a huge lead of 149 runs in their first ever outing. The match ended in a draw with the hosts losing 4 wickets in the second innings.

Zimbabwe apart from Australia are the only nation not to lose its first ever Test.

Bangladesh

The 10th Test playing nation Bangladesh had an impressive start to their Test career by scoring 400 in the first innings versus India at Dhaka in the year 2000. The hosts then bowled out the strong Indian team for 429 and the Test was evenly poised.

The second innings saw the hosts collapsing for a score of just 91 and India chased the target with 9 wickets in hand.

It has been 18 years since then and Bangladesh are still struggling to become a competitive Test playing nation especially outside the subcontinent.