Gus Atkinson breaks multiple records to script history on debut

You couldn’t have asked for a better debut than what Gus Atkinson had in the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s. The Surrey pacer made an instant impact on his Test debut, removing the West Indian skipper Kraigg Brathwaite off the second delivery before he ran through the Windies middle order. 

It was only the second occasion in England’s Test history that a debutant had picked up their first Test wicket inside two balls. The 26-year-old finished with figures of 7/45 in his debut innings and further inflicted more damage to the Windies team with a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

Towards the end of the second innings, it became incredibly tight when Atkinson was on 11 wickets, but the speedster bounced Jayden Seales out to finish with match figures of 12/106. In the process, the Surrey man broke multiple records. Here’s the list of all the records that he created.

Best figures for England on Test debut 

7/43 - Dominic Cork vs West Indies at Lord's in 1995

7/45 - Gus Atkinson vs West Indies at Lord's in 2024*

7/46 - John Lever vs India in Delhi, 1976

7/49 - Alec Bedser vs India at Lord's, 1946

Best figures for a pacer on Test debut in their first ever bowling innings (1st / 2nd inns of a Test)

8/84 - Bob Massie vs England in 1972

7/29 - Kyle Abbott vs Pakistan in 2013

7/45 - Gus Atkinson vs West Indies in 2024*

Fewest balls taken to pick a Test wicket for England

2 - Gus Atkinson vs West Indies in 2024*

2 - Matthew Fisher vs West Indies in 2022

Fast bowlers to take a 10-wkt haul on Test debut in the last 50 years

John Lever (ENG) in 1976

Mohammad Zahid (PAK) in 1996

Gus Atkinson (ENG) in 2024*

Fast bowlers to pick 12+ wickets on Test debut

Fred Martin (1890)

Bob Massie (1972)

Gus Atkinson (2024)*

Best figures for a pacer on Test debut

16/137 - Bob Massie in 1972 vs England at Lord's

12/102 - Fred Martin in 1890 vs Australia at The Oval

12/106 - Gus Atkinson in 2024 vs West Indies at Lord's*

Bowlers to take 12+ wkts on Test debut

Fred Martin - ENG (1890)

Bob Massie - AUS (1972)

Narendra Hirwani - IND (1988)

Jason Krejza - AUS (2008)

Prabath Jayasuriya - SL (2022)

Gus Atkinson - ENG (2024)*

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