Gus Atkinson rewrote a plethora of records on his remarkable Test debut against the West Indies at Lord’s.
Gus Atkinson took to Test cricket like a duck to water right from the moment he was brought on first-change on the first morning. The first two wickets came in an early burst, but the West Indies recovered to 88-3.
Then, in the 35th over of the innings, Atkinson took three wickets in four balls to put the tourists on the back foot. He finished with 7-45, the best figures by an English bowler on men’s Test debut innings and their second-best in any innings on Test debut.
| Figures | Team innings | Bowler | Against | Venue | Season |
| 7-43 | Second | Dominic Cork | West Indies | Lord’s | 1995 |
| 7-45 | First | Gus Atkinson | West Indies | Lord’s | 2024 |
| 7-46 | First | John Lever | India | Delhi | 1976/77 |
| 7-49 | First | Alec Bedser | India | Lord’s | 1946 |
| 7-56 | Second | James Langridge | West Indies | Manchester | 1933 |
| 7-62 | Second | Tom Hartley | India | Hyderabad | 2023/24 |
| 7-103 | First | Jim Laker | West Indies | Bridgetown | 1947/48 |
Interestingly, each of the above entries involve India or the West Indies, and three of top four are at Lord’s.
The West Indies were shot out for 121. England led by exactly 250, and had the visitors reeling at 79-6 at stumps on the second day. They lasted only 73 balls on the third morning as Atkinson finished with 5-61.
Atkinson’s match figures of 12-106 are now the second-best for England and the fourth-best by anyone on men’s Test debut.
| Figures | Bowler | Team | Against | Venue | Season |
| 16-136 | Narendra Hirwani | India | West Indies | Madras | 1987/88 |
| 16-137 | Bob Massie | Australia | England | Lord’s | 1972 |
| 12-102 | Fred “Nutty” Martin | England | Australia | The Oval | 1890 |
| 12-106 | Gus Atkinson | England | West Indies | Lord’s | 2024 |
| 12-177 | Prabath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | Australia | Galle | 2022 |
| 12-358 | Jason Krejza | Australia | India | Nagpur | 2008/09 |
Barring Krejza, everyone on the above table had taken two five-wicket hauls on Test debut. In all, 12 men had taken two five-fors on debut.
Atkinson also has the second-best match figures for England against the West Indies, and the fourth-best in England-West Indies Test matches.
| Figures | Bowler | Team | Against | Venue | Season |
| 14-149 | Michael Holding | West Indies | England | The Oval | 1976 |
| 13-156 | Tony Greig | England | West Indies | Port of Spain | 1973/74 |
| 12-106 | Gus Atkinson | England | West Indies | Lord’s | 2024 |
| 12-119 | Fred Trueman | England | West Indies | Birmingham | 1963 |
Note:
- The above tables do not include JJ Ferris, who played eight Test matches for Australia before switching to England. In his only appearance for England, Ferris claimed 6-54 and 7-37.
- In women’s Tests, Myrtle MacLagan (7-10), Anne Palmer (7-18), and Lesley Johnston (7-24) are the only ones to take seven wickets in an innings on debut, while Betty Wilson’s 10-65 remains the only match haul of 10 wickets.
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