One Test wonders

[slippy]

Sturat Law Australia

 

[Dissector]

Question: what are the best performances by one-test wonders? I believe Andy Ganteaume was the only one-test wonder to score a century. Have any others scored a fifty? Any bowlers taken a five-for?

 

[Richard]

Rodney Redmond scored a century and half-century in his only Test. Ganteaume is the only one to score a century in his only Test innings, though Victor Stollmeyer all but did, hitting 99.

Lester King took 7-60-odd in what looked for a long time like being his only Test, before he played another 5 years later.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Any bowlers taken a five-for?

Charles Marriot did in both innings.

 

[Dissector]

Interesting. Never heard of Redmond and Marriot. From Cricinfo, Redmond's problem seems to have been poor form in first-class games on his next tour which meant he didn't get another test. It's not clear why Marriot was never picked again; perhaps at 38 he was too old?

 

[Richard]

Pretty sure Redmond at some point suffered from eye trouble of some sort, and that played a not-inconsiderable part in his failure to do anything to merit another Test.

 

[SJS]

Here is a list of the one Test wonders and their deeds
BATTING WONDERS

1. Ganteaume, Andrew G (WIN-1948) Test Avg 112 :

• Only man with a batting average higher than Bradman (112)
• The first man to score a century on debut and never play another Test.
• Highest Test average for a West Indian

2. Redmond, Rodney E (NZL-1973) Test Avg 81.5

• Most runs (162) by a man with a one Test career
• Only other man (besides 1. above) to score a century on debut and not play another Test.
• Only man with a century AND a fifty in his only Test (107 and 56)
• Highest Test average for a New Zealander

3. Nawaz, Mohamed N (SRL-2002) Test Avg 99.0

• 78 not out and 21 on debut
• Only man, besides Bradman, with an average between 99 and 100
• Highest Test average for a Sri Lankan

4. Stollmeyer, Victor H (WIN-1939) Test Avg 96.0

• Only batsman ever to get out in the 90's (96) in his first and last Test innings

BOWLING WONDERS

5. Marriott, Charles S (ENG-1933) Bowl Avg 8.73​

• Only man to get a ten for haul on debut and yet never play again (11 for 96)
• Only man to have two five wicket hauls on debut and never play again (5 for 37 and 6 for 59)

6. Ashley Williams (SAF - 1889) Bowl Avg 13.57

• Best innings debut analysis for a single career player. (7 for 59)
• Only South African EVER to take seven wickets in the first innings of his debut Test.

7. CA Smith (ENG 1889) Bowl Avg 8.71

• 5 for 19 and 2 for 42 against SAF

8. Michael Malone (AUS - 1977) Bowl Avg 12.83

• 5 for 63 and 1 for 14 against ENG
• He also scored 46 in his only Test innings

9. Warren, Arnold (ENG - 1905) Bowl Avg 18.83

• 5 for 57 in his debut innings against AUS

KEEPERS and Fielders

10. Emery, Philip A (AUS - 1994)

• 5 catches and a stumping

11. Singh, Rabindra R (IND - 1998)
12. Atiq-Uz-Zaman (PAK - 2000)
13. Payne, Thelston (WIN - 1986)

• 5 catches each

 

[SJS]

One could look at the other extreme too. Players who played far too many matches.

CS Nayudu is a great example. He was a bowler and in 18 years from 1936 to 1954 he played 11 Tests for India and managed ..

Career Span	18 yrs
Tests        	11
Batting Avg	9.2
Wickets     	2
Bowl Avg	179.5
Str Rate	243

 

[SJS]

Another Indian Chandu Sarwate would have been the world's greatest all rounderif his batting and bowling averages were swapped. These were 13 and 125 (3 wickets in total) in 9 Test matches spread over 5 years.

At least Kirti Azad (Batting 11.25 and 3 wkts at 124 each) had some qualification to justify his 7 Tets - his father, Bhagwat Jha Azad, was a cabinet minister in Indira Gandhi's government

 

[The Sean]

Roy Park.

 

[fredfertang]

............ and there's always the no test wonders, like the Indian bloke whose name escapes me but took four catches as a sub

...... and, best of all, Gary Pratt of course

 

[Richard]

Roy Park.

That's the one who has the rumour that his wife bent down to pick up her knitting which she'd dropped and missed her husband's entire Test career, isn't it?

 

[Richard]

Here is a list of the one Test wonders and their deeds
BATTING WONDERS

1. Ganteaume, Andrew G (WIN-1948) Test Avg 112 :

• Only man with a batting average higher than Bradman (112)
• The first man to score a century on debut and never play another Test.
• Highest Test average for a West Indian

2. Redmond, Rodney E (NZL-1973) Test Avg 81.5

• Most runs (162) by a man with a one Test career
• Only other man (besides 1. above) to score a century on debut and not play another Test.
• Only man with a century AND a fifty in his only Test (107 and 56)
• Highest Test average for a New Zealander

3. Nawaz, Mohamed N (SRL-2002) Test Avg 99.0

• 78 not out and 21 on debut
• Only man, besides Bradman, with an average between 99 and 100
• Highest Test average for a Sri Lankan

4. Stollmeyer, Victor H (WIN-1939) Test Avg 96.0

• Only batsman ever to get out in the 90's (96) in his first and last Test innings

BOWLING WONDERS

5. Marriott, Charles S (ENG-1933) Bowl Avg 8.73​

• Only man to get a ten for haul on debut and yet never play again (11 for 96)
• Only man to have two five wicket hauls on debut and never play again (5 for 37 and 6 for 59)

6. Ashley Williams (SAF - 1889) Bowl Avg 13.57

• Best innings debut analysis for a single career player. (7 for 59)
• Only South African EVER to take seven wickets in the first innings of his debut Test.

7. CA Smith (ENG 1889) Bowl Avg 8.71

• 5 for 19 and 2 for 42 against SAF

8. Michael Malone (AUS - 1977) Bowl Avg 12.83

• 5 for 63 and 1 for 14 against ENG
• He also scored 46 in his only Test innings

9. Warren, Arnold (ENG - 1905) Bowl Avg 18.83

• 5 for 57 in his debut innings against AUS

KEEPERS and Fielders

10. Emery, Philip A (AUS - 1994)

• 5 catches and a stumping

11. Singh, Rabindra R (IND - 1998)
12. Atiq-Uz-Zaman (PAK - 2000)
13. Payne, Thelston (WIN - 1986)

• 5 catches each

Interesting that the only bowling one-Test wonder (I thought it was Mitchell Malone, not Michael ) of modern times has extenuating circumstances - ie, it was the last pre-WSC Test. But for WSC, he'd pretty much undoubtedly have played again.

Seems bowlers don't just turn-up, perform then fade rapidly as batsmen very occasionally do.

BTW Naved Nawaz doesn't count to my mind as his "Test" was against Bangladesh, and for a second-string SL side what's more.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Interesting that the only bowling one-Test wonder (I thought it was Mitchell Malone, not Michael ) of modern times has extenuating circumstances - ie, it was the last pre-WSC Test. But for WSC, he'd pretty much undoubtedly have played again.

But for WSC it's quite likely that he would never have played at all. He only played in that Test because the series was settled and Australia decided to play their non-Packer players with one eye on the future. At the time he and Craig Sergeant were not signed to WSC and Jeff Thomson had withdrawn. The most surprising thing about Malone's debut was that he bowled all day on his debut apart from two overs before lunch. The innings lasted just over a hundred overs and he bowled unchanged from one end bar three overs.

 

[The Sean]

That's the one who has the rumour that his wife bent down to pick up her knitting which she'd dropped and missed her husband's entire Test career, isn't it?

That's him mate.

And for a one-Test wonder who then became a no-Test wonder - Alan Jones.

 

[SJS]

Interesting that the only bowling one-Test wonder (I thought it was Mitchell Malone, not Michael ) of modern times has extenuating circumstances - ie, it was the last pre-WSC Test. But for WSC, he'd pretty much undoubtedly have played again.

Seems bowlers don't just turn-up, perform then fade rapidly as batsmen very occasionally do.

BTW Naved Nawaz doesn't count to my mind as his "Test" was against Bangladesh, and for a second-string SL side what's more.

Malone (and it is Michael ) played in the side which included a lot of those who had signed for Packer viz Greg Chappell, David Hookes, Max Walker, Doug Walters, Rodney Marsh, Ray Bright and Ric McCosker.

So he played as a direct replacement for Lennie Pascoe who was injured. His selection in that Test had nothing to do with WSC but his never playing again may have.

 

[Richard]

Apparently he wouldn't have been likely to have played at all but for WSC... so we can safely say that WSC caused him to be a one-Test wonder, because without it he'd either have been a no-Test wonder or a several-Test one.

Are there any more bowlers with particularly good performances in one-off Tests that you didn't list earlier?

 

[SJS]

Apparently he wouldn't have been likely to have played at all but for WSC... so we can safely say that WSC caused him to be a one-Test wonder, because without it he'd either have been a no-Test wonder or a several-Test one.

Are there any more bowlers with particularly good performances in one-off Tests that you didn't list earlier?

What makes you say that?

 

[Richard]

This post, TBH.

 

[SJS]

This post, TBH.

But thats not factualy correct. The team was clearly selected without any consideration given to WSC.