One Test or Series Wonders

[NZTailender]

D Mitchell Test series in England 2022.

Beginning to look like a freakish effort really

 

[AndrewB]

I remember Gower's comment about the first test, which India won comfortably, involving 'a leg spinner that we'd never seen before and an umpire that we never wanted to see again.' Without looking it up, England must have worked a few things out by the second test, as they won that one almost as comfortably. I suppose most of the side wouldn't have seen any leg spin at all unless they'd gone to Pakistan 12 months earlier and faced Abdul Qadir. Perhaps only Fowler, Gower and Lamb from the top 7.

Also Gatting, who apparently was the one to work him out - he scored 136 in the first Test.
In Fox on the Run, Fowler also reckons Siva got the benefit of a few ropy decisions in that game.

 

[Coronis]

Also Gatting, who apparently was the one to work him out - he scored 136 in the first Test.
In Fox on the Run, Fowler also reckons Siva got the benefit of a few ropy decisions in that game.

So much for Gattiing working spinners out huh

 

[wpdavid]

So much for Gattiing working spinners out huh

Despite falling to that delivery from Warne, Gatting was actually a pretty good player of spin when still in his prime.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

I don’t think my entry fits the criteria, but Leon Garrick was heading towards greatness for us…he only played one test.

His first ball in test cricket was one of the sweetest timed shots in the history of test cricket…unfortunately, it went into Shaun Pollock’s lap at backward point (?)

In his second innings, he made 26 off 70-odd deliveries.
Never to get a game again. West Indies selectors suck. Big time.

 

[palehorse]

Sanjay Manjrekar scored 596 runs in 4 tests (average 94.83) against Imran, Wasim, Waqar and Qadir in 1989. The sequence was 3, 113*, 76, 83, 218, 72, 4

It all went downhill from there.

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Kurtis Patterson.
2 Tests , 1 Test hundred with a batting average of 144.00 which would make him the cricketer with the highest Test Average of all time..

Still only 30 years old too but unlikely to play another Test.

 

[Silver Silva]

Chanaka Welegedara vs South Africa Durban 2011/2012 season ..destroyed a very good SA batting line up .

 

[Coronis]

Kurtis Patterson.
2 Tests , 1 Test hundred with a batting average of 144.00 which would make him the cricketer with the highest Test Average of all time..

Still only 30 years old too but unlikely to play another Test.

Cashed in on a massive road didn’t he?

 

[Ali TT]

Chanaka Welegedara vs South Africa Durban 2011/2012 season ..destroyed a very good SA batting line up .

Not enough to get him MotM though, as discussed somewhere else.

Peter Such essentially bookended his career with Ashes 5fers at Manchester and SCG 6 years apart (he played one more match after against the Black Caps).

Shaun Udal was 36 when he debuted for England in Pakistan in 2005 and was generally rubbish in that series but got a second go at the Wankhede the following Spring. His 4/14 helped England to a famous win.

Martin Bucknell came back after a ten year break, in his final test helping defeat the Saffers with a final innings 4fer.

 

[Nintendo]

Axar Patel with the ball? Had that crazy series vs England and since then he's been subpar in friendly home conditions. Looked like a genuine part timer when he was given the ball vs AUS.

 

[subshakerz]

Muhammad Zahid, perhaps the fastest bowler who ever was. Took 11 wickets in his first test but couldn't replicate that due to back issues.

Carl Hooper:

First time a bowler made me sit up
The first time I really felt that I had to watch a guy was against Mohammad Zahid at the Gabba in a Benson & Hedges game. It was probably the fastest spell I faced. I was in good form but the ball was just a blur. He was looking for wickets and and he had me thinking that if he got it on target, there was a very good chance of getting hit.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Most shocking part of that video is that we had an opening stand of 82.

 

[a massive zebra]

Zahid was quick but he definitely doesn't look as fast as Jeff Thomson in 1974/75. I'm not really convinced he was quicker than Shoaib Akhtar either.

 

[SteveNZ]

Andy McKay played a solitary Test in 2010, bounced out Sachin for his only Test wicket.

 

[Saket1209]

Viv richards, 76 series in england. Apart from that some 7500 runs in 120 test is just mediocre. But was a phenomenal one day player.

 

[mr_mister]

Bevan in tests had a pretty damn solid 96/97 series against the Windies scoring three 80s and taking 10 wickets in a match

That's about all he managed of note in tests

 

[The Sean]

Bevan in tests had a pretty damn solid 96/97 series against the Windies scoring three 80s and taking 10 wickets in a match

That's about all he managed of note in tests

And one of those 80s (an 85*) came in the same match he took the 10-fer - statistically one of the outstanding all-round performances by an Australian in Test history.

As an aside - it's interesting how many of Australia's greatest Test all-round performances came from players who wouldn't rank among Australia's greatest Test all-rounders, or in most cases as meaningful Test all-rounders at all. Bevan, Border, Lehmann, Matthews, Warne and Johnson would all rank high on such a list, and even the best of them are stretching the term all-rounder to its limit.

 

[Coronis]

Viv richards, 76 series in england. Apart from that some 7500 runs in 120 test is just mediocre. But was a phenomenal one day player.

Someone gets it!

 

[AndrewB]

In his first 23 Tests, George Giffen scored 644@16.94 and took 60 wickets @28.10.

Then in 1894-5 he had one of the best all-round series of all time: 475 runs @ 52.77 and 34 wickets @ 24.11.

Then he returned to mediocrity in his last series: 119@19.83 and 9@31.66.