From Gary Gilmour to Conway and Ravindra: 18 famous Cricket World Cup debuts

Gary Gilmour v England, Headingley 1975 (semi-final)

Gilmour came into the 1975 World Cup with two ODIs and 16 overs under his belt. He missed the league matches before Australia picked him on a green pitch in the knock outs. He took the first six England wickets and finished with 6-14, at that point the best figures in ODIs, but his match did not end there.

After bowling out England for 93, Australia themselves became 39-6 when Gilmour joined Doug Walters. He made a run-a-ball 28 (the highest score from either side) to see Australia home. He then took 5-48 in the final (to end the World Cup with 11-62)… but played only once more after that.

Duncan Fletcher v Australia, Trent Bridge 1983

It was Zimbabwe’s ODI (let alone World Cup) debut, and captain Fletcher rose to the occasion. Coming out at 86-4 against an attack featuring Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, and Rodney Hogg, Fletcher made 69 not out to lift his side to 239-6. He followed this with 4-42, including the first four wickets, to help Zimbabwe pull off one of the greatest World Cup upsets.

Yashpal Sharma and Roger Binny v West Indies, Old Trafford 1983

Across the first two World Cups, the West Indies had not lost a single match, while India had beaten only East Africa. Now, Yashpal’s 89 – the only score from either side in excess of 40 – helped India reach 262-8. Help came from Binny (27), who added 73 with Yashpal for the sixth wicket.

The job was only half done, but Binny (3-48) then ran through the middle order, removing Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, and Jeff Dujon. The West Indians became 157-9 before their last wicket added 71, but the mighty West Indians were eventually felled.

Winston Davis v Australia, Headingley 1983

Davis would not have played had both Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner not been injured. After the West Indies made 252-9, Davis, in only his second ODI, then went on to surpass Gilmour. His 7-51 would remain the best ODI figures for the rest of that decade, but Davis managed only one wicket in four matches for the rest of the World Cup, and 39 wickets across a 35-ODI career.

Abdul Qadir v New Zealand, Edgbaston 1983

Imran Khan’s injury restricted him to a specialist batter in the 1983 edition, but their young leg spinner stepped up. By the time the New Zealand batters could figure out his unusual action and variations, Qadir was done with figures of 4-21 from 12 overs.

Chasing 239, Pakistan became 0-3, then 102-7, when Qadir walked out, and top-scored with an unbeaten 41. Unfortunately, it all went in vain.

Navjot Sidhu v Australia (and beyond), Chennai 1987

In 1983/84, journalist Rajan Bala had called the Test debutant Navjot Sidhu a “strokeless wonder”. After four years of practice (which involved hitting 300 sixes a day), he debuted in India’s first match, and hit five sixes in a 79-ball 73. In the next match he hit four more, against New Zealand, and remains the only batter to have hit a fifty in each of his first four ODI innings – all of them at the World Cup.

After the tournament, Bala wrote “from strokeless wonder to a palm-grove hitter, what a change!”

The entire South African team v Australia, Sydney 1992

As hosts and defending champions, Australia were touted as the favourites for the 1992 World Cup. South Africa, back to international cricket after more than two decades, had played only one series – and lost.

In reality, not one Australian reached double figures as they crawled to 179-9. The tight, incisive bowling and world-class fielding kept the pressure on, and Australia could simply not get the ball away. Kepler Wessels (81 not out) then helped South Africa to a nine-wicket win against his old team. The South African run ended only in the semi-final.

Nathan Astle v England, Ahmedabad 1996

Astle’s bizarre World Cup career kicked off with this innings – a well-paced 101 at the top when none of his teammates reached 40. New Zealand won by 11 runs, but Astle followed it with 0, 1, 2, 6, 1. From 22 matches across three editions, he made two hundreds and a fifty, along with 12 scores under five including five ducks. His median score was four.

Lance Klusener v India, Hove 1999

Curiously, Klusener’s outstanding World Cup began with a bowling performance. Klusener conceded 66, but he took out Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Mohammad Azharuddin. He came out when South Africa needed 26 in 25 balls and hit a boundary off the each of the first balls he faced, effectively closing the match.

The wickets and short, unbeaten cameos would define one of the greatest ever World Cup campaigns (17 wickets, batting average 140.50, strike rate 122).

Andrew Symonds v Pakistan, Johannesburg 2003

As Shane Warne opted out of the match and flew home shortly afterwards in the aftermath of the drug scandal, a question mark loomed over Australia’s chances. Pakistan were certainly the favourites when Symonds walked out at 86-4, but he soon reduced it to a one-sided contest.

Symonds’ 125-ball 143 not out and Australia’s 82-run win reminded the cricket fraternity of exactly how strong Australia were. They also lost Jason Gillespie soon after, but it did not matter. The juggernaut did not stop until 2011.

Austin Codrington v Bangladesh, Durban 2003

Now sadly reduced to a quiz question, Codrington emerged at No.10 in Canada’s first World Cup match since 1979 to take them from 146-8 to 180. It was probably redundant, because he then wrecked Bangladesh – already a Test-playing nation – with 5-27.

Scott Styris v South Africa, Bloemfontein 2003

Styris’ World Cup numbers (909 runs at 53.47 and 89) are significantly superior to his career record (32.48 and 79), and it began with a ferocious onslaught in a losing cause against Sri Lanka. Barring Chris Cairns (32), no other New Zealand batter reached 15 – except Styris, whose 141 took only 125 balls.

Jeremy Bray v Zimbabwe, Kingston 2007

Ireland qualified for the Super Eights in their maiden World Cup appearance, in 2007. They famously beat Pakistan, but they needed another point, which came from their first match. Bray batted through the entire fifty overs to make 115 not out and take Ireland to 221-9 when nobody else made 30 before the bowlers held their nerves to tie the match (Zimbabwe needed only nine in the last two overs).

Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim v India, Port of Spain 2007

Indian fans probably had some hope even after they were bowled out for 191. That went out quickly, when Tamim lofted Zaheer Khan for six over mid wicket and blazed away to 51. At one-drop came Mushfiqur to calmly see Bangladesh through with 56 not out.

So impressed was Indian captain Rahul Dravid that he gifted the two teenagers a bat each after the match.

Imran Tahir v West Indies, Delhi 2011

Thirty-two-year-old South African leg-spinners seldom debut at the World Cup, but Tahir – who had moved from Pakistan for the love of a woman – had to wait until 2010/11 for citizenship. His 4-41 against the West Indies were all middle-order wickets. In his next match, he had 3-19. In the one after that, 4-38. By the time the World Cup got over, he had evolved from a sought-after franchise professional to an international star.

Mitchell Marsh v England, Melbourne 2015

England probably did not fancy their chances to chase 343. What they had not expected was the spell from Marsh, who came out of nowhere to take five of the first six wickets. At one point his figures read 5-16 (he finished with 5-33), but he has only bowled four overs at the World Cup since that day.

Ben Stokes v South Africa, Kia Oval 2019

Stokes played a World Cup match nearly eight years after his first ODI. When he did, he blasted 89 in 79 balls, held two catches (one of them bordering on the absurd), ran out a South African, and rounded the innings off with 2-12. It is astonishing that he did not add a stumping or two to that.

Stokes remains the only cricketer to win the Player of the Match award in Match 1 and the final of the same World Cup. The wait was worth it.

Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, Ahmedabad 2023

Conway (152 not out in 121 balls) got more runs, but Ravindra (123 not out in 96) provided the initial charge as New Zealand made a mockery of the target of 283 against the defending world champions, sealing the match with 82 balls to spare. Earlier in the day, Ravindra had also taken out Harry Brook.