Over 400 cricketers are stuck on one Test cap, here is an XI of these unlucky fellows – some of whom did better than others...
Rodney Redmond New Zealand v Pakistan 1973
Redmond arguably had the best debut of any in the one cap club cracking 107 and 56 against Pakistan in Christchurch and consequently winning a place on the tour to England the following summer. Unfortunately for Redmond he didn’t take too well to his new contact lenses, struggled for runs and failed to play in any of the Tests. And that was that. At least son Aaron has fared a little better having played seven Tests to date.
Andy Lloyd England v West Indies 1984
Lloyd had the misfortune to make his debut against the fearsome West Indies attack of 1984. Half-an-hour into his first innings, he ducked into a bouncer from Malcolm Marshall and was rushed off to hospital, suffering from double vision. There he remained for the rest of the match, and he did not play again that season. England were famously blackwashed whereas Lloyd was left with the dubious honour of being the only player to open in a Test and never be out.
Andrew Ganteaume West Indies v England 1948
Wicketkeeper-batsman Ganteaume topped Don Bradman’s immortal average of 99.94 having scored 112 in his only Test innings. Thanks to the West Indies endless supply of great batsmen at the time and the fact that it was felt that he have slowed down to much when nearing his hundred (thus preventing a West Indian win), Ganteaume was never to get to the crease in a Test again.
Roy Park Australia v England 1920-21
It wasn’t the fact that Dr Park was bowled first ball in his only innings that earns him a place in this XI, nor that he hadn’t slept the night before on account of supervising a complicated birth but the legend of how his wife watching proudly in the crowd missed her husband’s entire Test career by bending down to pick up her knitting at just the wrong moment.
Stuart Law Australia v Sri Lanka 1995
Law stroked an effortless unbeaten 54 in place of the injured Steve Waugh, but his face didn’t fit and he had to be content with one-day international cricket and compiling over 27,000 first-class runs at an average of over 50. If he had been English, Law would probably have played at least 50 Tests.
Gavin Hamilton England v South Africa 1999
Having starred for Scotland during the 1999 World Cup, Hamilton was a surprise pick for the following winter’s tour to South Africa. He made his debut in the 1st Test at Johannesburg (Duncan Fletcher’s first game as coach), bagged a pair, didn’t take a wicket and was unceremoniously dumped. Hamilton then had to wait a further four years to requalify for Scotland who he captained from 2009. Alex Ferguson doubtless wasn’t amused.
Zulqarnain Haider Pakistan v England 2010
After Pakistan finally lost patience with the error prone Kamran Akmal, Haider was given the gloves at Edgbaston where he responded to a first ball duck with a courageous second innings 88. Unfortunately, a broken finger (allegedly caused by Stuart Broad petulantly throwing the ball at him) ruled him out of the rest of the series. Then he famously absconded from the team hotel in Dubai during a series with South Africa claiming he had received death threats and been kidnapped by aliens (ok we made that bit up). He fled to England but has now returned to Pakistan so may still have a chance of exiting the one cap wonder club.
Darren Pattinson England v South Africa 2008
A hark back to the selection faux pas of the 1980s and 90s saw an Australian with only six first-class games in England under his belt plucked from nowhere to face South Africa at Headingley. "Surely the Poms have got better bowlers than Patto?" said a bemused club mate at Dandenong, his Melbourne club. Younger brother James has made a much better fist of Test cricket.
Fred Tate England v Australia 1902
Tate made such a mark in his only Test that the game will forever be known as ‘Tate’s Match’. Unfortunately, it was for all the wrong reasons. England lost a close game and Tate took the blame after crucially dropping a skier off Australian captain Joe Darling and then being last man out clean bowled with England just four runs short of victory. Son Maurice restored honour for the family taking 155 wickets in his 39 Tests – 38 of them in the 1924/25 Ashes down under.
Charles Marriott England v West Indies 1933
Marriott has the best bowling return of any in the one cap club taking 11 for 96 and bamboozling the West Indies with his googly at The Oval in 1933. He was 38 when he played his solitary Test and he only played cricket part-time on account of his profession as a teacher at Dulwich College. He did tour India the following winter, but couldn’t force his way into the side ahead of the legendary Hedley Verity.
Pud Thurlow Australia v South Africa 1932
The fast bowler had a pretty disastrous debut taking no wickets with the ball and then failing to make his ground as number 11 when called for a quick single by Don Bradman leaving the latter stranded on 299 not out. It was hardly surprising therefore that Thurlow didn’t get to don the baggy green again.
12th man: Brandon Bess West Indies v South Africa 2010
A team like this needs a 12th man and who better than the hitherto unknown Brandon Bess who came in as a last minute replacement for Nelon Pascal at Bridgetown in 2010? A first-class bowling average of 50 didn’t bode well and so it turned out with Bess taking 1 from 92 from his 13 overs.
Where next?
Check out some of our other Cricket XIs: They also played cricket, Rugger Buggers, Cricketing Criminals , A team of cricketers that died young, The Worst Australia Ashes XI of the last 30 years, The Worst England Ashes XI of the last 30 years
The strangest test debutant of all
Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes
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