This refers to catches by fielders, not keepers.
Innings:
Match:
Note that both records were set in the same match by Yajurvindra Singh on debut in 1977-one of the few bright spots for India in that series which they lost 3-1. He played only 4 Tests between 1976-77 and 1979-80.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/yajurvindra-singh-36072
The first to take 4 catches in an innings was McConnon in 1954.
The first to take 5 catches in a match was Fairfax in 1929.
Debutant left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s Test and series win against Bangladesh, especially as the first Test was played on a batting paradise.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/praveen-jayawickrama-1028665
In the second Test he took 6-92 and 5-86, making a total of 11-178.
This was the best by a Sri Lankan bowler on debut in an innings:
Note that his name appears twice here, for his 6-for as well as 5-for.
And the best match figures by a Sri Lankan bowler on debut:
We see that he is the first Sri Lankan bowler to take 10 wickets on debut.
Now let us see about left-arm spinners on debut:
Jayawickrama has the third-best figures here.
A more surprising result is obtained when we see the match bowling figures of this category on debut:
Here, he has the best match figures of debutants in this category, edging out the famous Alf Valentine’s figures in 1950.
The West Indies has had many levels of aristocracy, such as Baron Constantine and Sir Frank Worrell. And the calypso men such as Lord Kitchener, Lord Beginner and Lord Relator.
So the tabloids in Barbados may well refer to Kyle Mayers as Lord Mayers of Chattogram.
(They might also be interested in what their heroine Rihanna says about India 🙂 )
Also his partner Nkrumah Bonner whose parents must have named him after the Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/348056.html
https://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/314650.html
Both of them have been prominent in domestic cricket for a while, but would probably not been on this tour if not for Covid.
Here are some of the records set during the chase of 395:
Most runs on debut (innings scores):
5th position here among the 6 who scored 200+
Most runs in a match on debut:
4th among the 12 who have made 200 in their debut match. Yasir Hameed did not score a century after making two on debut. Others such as Foster, Umar Akmal and Kuruppu did not last long, and Rowe somewhat under-performed though he played Tests up to 1980. He did make 302 against England in 1974.
Most runs in 4th innings on debut:
Mayers does top this list, surpassing India’s AA Baig who had provided a small silver lining to the 5-0 sweep in 1959. None of the other debutants except Yasir Hameed figured in successful chases.
Highest partnerships in successful chases (not only for debutants):
6th in this all-time list. No other instance where both were debutants. Gilchrist was playing his 2nd Test.
Most runs in unbeaten innings in successful run chase:
Here too Mayers is far ahead of the rest. No one else scored a century under these conditions. Next in line is a recent player Bancroft who was part of the Smith-Warner axis and probably will not play again.
This list also includes Lloyd, Lewis and Gimblett against India, besides Gavaskar for India against the West Indies. Maybe in some cases they hit the winning runs, but we need to check accounts of the match or commentary transcripts if available. It can be seen that Mayers did hit the winning run (a single).
Finally, we look at the cases of unbeaten 100+ scores in successful run chases (all instances, not only debutants):
Here Mayers is second only to Greenidge. India has Tendulkar and VVS near the bottom. There are also Haynes, Richards and Mark Taylor against India. But the next highest debutant after Mayers is Bancroft, as described above.
Tail piece: The WI captain Kraigg Brathwaite recorded his first win. His first 5 Tests as captain were losses.
These are the players who made their Test debut in 2020:
This list is in chronological order of debut.
No really outstanding performances. We look through the good performances:
Batting: 40 or more in an innings:
PJ Malan (SA) 84 v E
KT Kasuza (Z) 63 v SL
Hasuranga de Silva (SL) 59 v SA
J da Silva (WI) 57 v NZ
GD Philips (NZ) 52 v A
S Gill (I) 45 v A
KA Jamieson (NZ) 44 v I
80 or more in the match:
PJ Malan (SA) 89 v E
S Gill (I) 80 v A
While Malan has the best innings and match scores, he is not in the current Test team of SA. Similarly Philips is not in the current NZ team. Gill is likely to make further progress, as he did with 91 in the decisive Test at Brisbane.
Bowling: 4 or more wickets in an innings:
The only fiver is by BE Hendricks, who is not in the current SA team. Jamieson with 4-39 can be said to be the bowling find for NZ, as he went on to make a 10-for.
8 or more wickets in the match:
None. The best are
6-100 by L Sipamla (SA) v SL
6-175 by BE Hendricks (SA) v E
5-77 by Mohammed Siraj (I) v A
Fielding: Most dismissals in an innings:
2 by J da Silva (WI) and by Mohammed Siraj (I)
Most dismissals in a match:
Again, 2 by J da Silva (WI) and by Mohammed Siraj (I).
da Silva is a keeper and Siraj is not.
Oddly, no one made a stumping on debut this year.
Best all-round performances:
KA Jamieson (44, 4-39) and 1 catch
Hasuranga de Silva (59, 4-171) and 1 catch.
Clearly Jamieson had the more impressive all-round debut.
abn397 