Stats: Hardus Viljoen takes wicket with first ball of Test career, joins elite list

26-year-old Hardus Viljoen has been given his Test debut in the ongoing match between South Africa and England at Johannesburg, and he struck gold with the very first delivery he bowled. He was introduced into the attack in the 11th over, and he got the wicket of Alastair Cook with his very first ball, caught by wicket keeper Dane Vilas.

Viljoen is not the first cricketer to take a wicket with his first ball in international cricket, but this is a very exclusive list, and Viljoen is the 20th bowler with this feat in Test cricket. 17 bowlers have done this feat in ODI cricket.

Viljoen was picked in the team ahead of Kyle Abbott for the 3rd Test, and what made the occasion even more special for the debutant was that he was bowling at his home stadium, The Wanderers.

However, bowlers who have taken a wicket with their first ball have often not enjoyed a very long international career, and Viljoen has to ensure he does not fall victim to this ‘curse’ as well. Of the 20 bowlers, only Maurice Tate, Intikhab Alam, Nathan Lyon and Shaminda Eranga have played in more than ten Tests.

Fidel Edwards and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the only bowlers to have taken a wicket with their first delivery in ODIs to have enjoyed relatively long careers.

Players of this exclusive list –

In Test cricket

Player	Batsman	Team	Opposition	Venue	Year
Tom Horan	Walter Read	Australia	England	SCG	1882-83
Arthur Coningham	Archie MacLaren	Australia	England	MCG	1894-95
Bill Bradley	Frank Laver	England	Australia	Old Trafford	1899
Ted Arnold	Victor Trumper	England	Australia	SCG	1903-04
Bert Vogler	Ernie Hayes	South Africa	England	Old Wanderers	1905-06
Jack Crawford	Bert Vogler	England	South Africa	Old Wanderers	1905-06
George Macaulay	George Hearne	England	South Africa	Newlands	1922-23
Maurice Tate	Fred Susskind	England	South Africa	Edgbaston	1924
Matt Henderson	Eddie Dawson	New Zealand	England	Lancaster Park	1929-30
Dennis Smith	Eddie Paynter	New Zealand	England	Lancaster Park	1932-33
Tyrell Johnson	Walter Keeton	West Indies	England	The Oval	1939
Dick Howorth	Dennis Dyer	England	South Africa	The Oval	1947
Intikhab Alam	Colin McDonald	Pakistan	Australia	Karachi	1959-60
Richard Illingworth	Phil Simmons	England	West Indies	Trent Bridge	1991
Nilesh Kulkarni	Marvan Atapattu	India	Sri Lanka	Premadasa	1997
Chamila Gamage	Mohammad Ashraful	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh	Premadasa	2002
Nathan Lyon	Kumar Sangakkara	Australia	Sri Lanka	Galle	2011
Shaminda Eranga	Shane Watson	Sri Lanka	Australia	SSC	2011
Dane Piedt	Mark Vermeulen	South Africa	Zimbabwe	Harare	2014
Hardus Viljoen	Alastair Cook	South Africa	England	New Wanderers	2015-16

In ODI cricket

Player	Match	Venue	Year
GG Arnold	Eng v Aus	Manchester	1972
CH Lloyd	WI v Eng	Oval	1973
S Mahboob	Pak v Ind	Lahore	1982/83
SA Thomson	NZ v Ind	Dunedin	1989/90
Inzamam-ul-Haq	Pak v WI	Faisalabad	1991/92
E Matambanadzo	Zim v Pak	Peshawar	1996/97
S Ramesh	Ind vs WI	Singapore	1999/00
WW Hinds	WI v Ind	Singapore	1999/00
JS Ababu	Ken v Zim	Nairobi	1999/00
M van Jaarsveld	SA v Ban	Kimberley	2002/03
M Zondeki	SA v SL	Bloemfontein	2002/03
K Lokuharachchi	SL v Ken	Sharjah	2002/03
R Clarke	Eng v Pak	Manchester	2003
F Edwards	WI v Zim	Harare	2003/04
M Mirando	SL v WI	St Lucia	2007/08
PA Desai	Can v WI	Jamaica	2009/10
B Kumar	Ind v Pak	Chennai	2012/13