New Delhi: England pacer Gus Atkinson shot to prominence in his maiden red-ball fixture for the Three Lions against the West Indies at Lord’s in the first Test on Wednesday (July 10). The Surrey quick bagged figures of 7 for 45 to demolish the Men from Caribbean to a miniscule score of 121.
Atkinson happened to record the second best figures by an English player on debut after Dominic Cork’s 7 for 43 in 1995 at the same venue, interestingly it also came against the West Indies. The 26-year-old has displayed his credentials at the right time with legendary bowler James Anderson all set to retire from the game.
It would certainly be too early to name the successor of a player who has not done anything ordinary throughout his prolonged and storied career. In other words, the shoes are too big to fill. For now, we can consider Atkinson to be one of those pacers who can potentially lead the English attack down the line.
A debutant’s dream! 😍
Atkinson on 🔥 @HomeOfCricket#ENGvWI Day One Highlights 👇 pic.twitter.com/t6xXg0Ywzp
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 11, 2024
Atkinson joined a list of bowlers who registered a five-wicket haul on Test debut ever since Ben Stokes took over the captaincy reins. Here we take a look at all five bowlers to have achieved a similar feat.
#1. Gus Atkinson vs WI, Lord’s, 2024
Atkinson was brought into the attack after the new-ball pair of James Anderson and Chris Woakes failed to find the early breakthrough. The Surrey speedster didn’t took long to breach the defences of West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite with a wide full length delivery pitched outside the off-stump.
The scrambled seam became his potent weapon in a spell that kept the Windies batters on their toes. In his second spell, he picked three wickets in the space of four deliveries, running through the feeble middle order. He ended up with seven scalps after bowling just 12 overs.
#2. Tom Hartley vs IND, Hyderabad, 2024
The left-arm spinner got his opportunity to play for The Three Lions in the absence of Jack Leach. It was an arduous task for England to defend 231 runs against Rohit Sharma and his men on their own soil but Hartley made things look effortless, though pulled-a-rabbit-out-of-hat-like-act. With the dismissals of top order batters like Rohit, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, Hartley put India on backfoot before providing the finishing touches for England while claiming figures of 7 for 62 as England won by 28 runs.
#3. Joshua Tongue vs IRE, Lord’s, 2023
The Worcestershire pacer went wicketless in the first innings where England bowled out Ireland for 172 on the first day but claimed 5 for 66 in the second innings despite the Irish batters showing dogged resistance. The most important dismissal of his spell was of Harry Tector, who looked promising on 51.
#4. Rehan Ahmed vs PAK, Karachi, 2022
At the age of 18 years and 126 days, Rehan Ahmed became the youngest Test debutant for England. He ensured to make it further memorable by also becoming the youngest debutant to pick up a five-wicket haul in Test cricket on the third day of the Karachi Test against Pakistan. His 5 for 48 included the scalps of Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman as England swept the series in Pakistan by a 3-0 margin.
#5. Will Jacks vs PAK, Rawalpindi, 2022
Before Rehan hogged the headlines in Karachi, Will Jacks showed his credentials in Rawalpindi, a flat track which offered nothing for the spinners. Jacks was expensive but kept Pakistan in check and balance with regular interventions. His salient efforts (6 for 161) helped England gain a 78-run first-innings lead despite scoring a mammoth 657 runs in the first innings and they eventually won by 74 runs.
England speedster Gus Atkinson joined a list of bowlers who registered a five-wicket haul on Test debut ever since Ben Stokes took over the captaincy reins. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
