Five Greats who began and ended their Test career against India

For any player, who steps on the lavish grassy field of Cricket while donning the whites for his nation has two most special memories. One is his first day on the ground, and the other is his last.

The honour of receiving the Test cap is a moment of pride for any cricketer. His last game though, may or may not be known the player himself. While some enjoy the luxury of quitting on their own terms, a few get treated in a rather harsh way. However, whatever begins has to end.

For a select band of players, the life completes a full circle. They ended their career where they had begun. Here are five greats who played their first and their last Test match against India.

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#1 Steve Waugh (Australia)

Steve Waugh was a ruthless and brave leader

Known as the Iceman, Steve Waugh was a ruthless and brave leader of the Australian Test team that went on to dominate the cricket world like never before. He was a determined batsman who accumulated 10927 Test runs.

When Waugh first broke out on the scene, he was a medium-pacer who batted at nine. He made his Test debut against India at Melbourne. The all-rounder scored 13 and 5 alongside the bowling figures of 36/2.

19 years and 168 Tests later, Waugh strode out to bat for the last time in Test cricket against the same team, India at Sydney in the fourth and last Test match of the 2004 series. With the series locked 1-1, the Australian team needed a win, however, the Indian team batted the hosts out of the Test. Waugh ended up scoring 40 and 80 in his farewell Test.

#2 Carl Hooper (West Indies)

Hooper was a constant threat to India

A constant nemesis of India, it is no wonder that the West Indian all-rounder made his debut and played his last game against the same nation.

The Guyanese batsman scored 5,762 Test runs and captured 114 wickets with his off-spin.

Carl Hooper’s Test debut against India occurred in the 1986-87 winter tour. He played his first Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and scored 37 in what resulted as the nine-wicket Test win.

Hooper performed at his best against India, even his highest Test score of 233 was scored against India on his home ground at Guyana. The all-rounder played his Test of the career against the Subcontinental giants at Kolkata in 2002, where Hooper as captain scored 19 and grabbed the wicket of Sourav Ganguly.

#3 Brad Hogg (Australia)

Brad Hogg played only seven Tests for Australia in a career that spanned over 12 years

Spinner of the rarest breed in cricket, the Australian left-arm wrist spinner could have played a lot more had he not been in the same era as that of Shane Warne. Brad Hogg played only seven Tests for Australia in a career that spanned over 12 years.

Hogg received his Test debut against India at Delhi in 1996-97 with Shane Warne out of the series due to injury.

The chinaman spinner could take only a single wicket that of Sourav Ganguly in the 17 overs that he bowled and had to wait another seven years to play in whites once again.

After Warne’s retirement and with Stuart McGill ruled out due to injury, Hogg was recalled to the Australian Test team against India in 2007-08 tour.

He was part of the controversial Test in Sydney and bid farewell to Test cricket after his last Test at Adelaide where he could take only two wickets in the match.

#4 Bill Bowes (England)

The bowler amassed 1639 wickets in first-class cricket

The English fast-medium pace bowler Bill Bowes boasted an interesting cricket career and an even extraordinary life.

The bowler amassed 1639 wickets in first-class cricket. In between, he was captured as a prisoner of war in 1942 and was kept in the Italian and German war camps until the World War II ended in 1945.

Bowes’ Test debut took place in an extraordinary match.

His debut Test was the debut Test of India as a nation. Bowes picked up six wickets in the 158-run victory of England in India’s inaugural Test match at the Lord’s in 1932.

When India returned for a tour in 1946, Bowes was not the same bowler with age and War years taking out the best in him.

He played in the first Test of the tour at Lord’s which was against India which began on the same day as that of the inaugural Test (25th June). Bowes could take only one wicket in the last Test.

#5 Alastair Cook (England)

Cook will leave the game as England’s highest run-getter

England’s most prolific run-getter Alastair Cook is the most recent addition into the club. The left-handed opener announced his retirement recently, and the fifth Test at the Oval against India will be his last.

Cook will leave the game as England’s highest run-getter, greatest centurion and the best catcher in terms of numbers.

Cook played his debut Test against India at Nagpur on 1st March 2006.

He opened the innings alongside Andrew Strauss and scored a solid 60 in three and half hours.

In the second outing, the opener scored his maiden ton (104 not out) and helped England secure a draw.

Playing without a break since his debut series, Cook has gone on to play 158 consecutive Tests with the fifth Test at the Oval against India slated to be his last.

In four Tests so far, Cook has collected only 109 runs in seven knocks with the highest score of only 29.

Life will complete a full circle for Alastair Cook on 7th September when he will step out to bat in the last Test against the same opposition as that of his first.

Will he sign off with a century or not remains to be seen.