Dhawan's Dream Debut

Last week I was extolling the virtues of Hamish Rutherford's impressive 171 on his Test debut, making England's attack look fairly ordinary.
That innings was the highest for a first-timer in ten years. Now it has taken Shikhar Dhawan a mere eight days to surpass the New Zealand opener's knock. His 187 ranks sixth in the all-time list and was all the more remarkable in that it came at more than a run a ball against one of cricket's top nations, Australia.

Dhawan is no spring chicken but has broken into the Test XI with Murali Vijay in the place of 30-something veterans Gambhir and Sehwag. However, their near-triple-century opening partnership indicates that the selections were spot on, albeit on home territory against an Aussie attack perhaps weakened by 'Homework-gate'! The latest new boy, 27, first represented India at top level in an ODI in October 2010. It was with the same partner against the same opposition but then his innings lasted just two balls for a duck. He did manage a half-century not long afterwards but, with 69 runs in five matches, he was jettisoned after a defeat to the West Indies nearly two years ago. Perhaps he had a real point to prove.

So will he go on to immortal status? Well, he gave Sachin Tendulkar eleven years' headstart in international cricket so he has a lot of catching-up to do. There had been talk of him becoming the highest-scoring debutant in history, but Tip Foster's record from 1903 looks safe for a long time yet; Dhawan fell a full hundred runs short. Foster's 287 proved to be his only Test century in the era of Grace, Gunn, Trump et al.

What about the other memorable debut innings in history? Jacques Rudolph made 222 not out almost ten years ago, but that came against lowly Bangladesh. Lawrence Rowe also scored a double on his debut, in Jamaica 41 years ago, followed immediately by 100 not out in the second innings! Although he also has what was then a rare 'triple' to his name, Rowe never quite held down a place at the top of the Windies' batting order, competing against Fredericks and Greenidge, amongst others. New Zealander Mathew Sinclair has experienced a similar career trajectory after his initial 214 at Wellington, while Brendon Kuruppu's 201 not out against NZ in 1987 sustained him for only four Tests. That innings also stands in the record books as the slowest double-hundred in first-class history, lasting almost thirteen hours!

Others to have made their mark with three figures on their first Test appearance include some names with a more familiar ring to them. WG Grace, Ranjitsinjhi and George Headley managed it in the sepia and monochrome eras while Javed Miandad, Mark Waugh and a certain Michael Clarke achieved a similar feat in more modern times. Current England regulars, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior opened their accounts with 119 and 126 not out, respectively. Intriguingly, Shikhar Dhawan's is one batting record which Sir Don Bradman cannot claim. The Aussie all-time great mustered a mere 18 and 1 against England at Brisbane, 1927 when his side were slaughtered by - wait for it! - 675 runs. Good job he wasn't dropped! That won't be a fate likely to face Dhawan, unless perhaps he fails to write an essay to the selectors explaining why he got out so quickly on the second day.....

Compton and Rutherford: Honours Even

Well, masses of credit to New Zealand for at least keeping the series interesting. More than that, after the first few days' play,there was even the prospect of a sensational Black Caps win amidst the verdant setting of Dunedin. Had it not been for the Day 1 washout, Brendan McCullum's men could yet have taken a lead. However, once they put their woeful first innings shot-making out of their minds on what was by all accounts a perfect batting track, the England top order are probably the best in the business at grinding out a result.

It was all looking so promising as the NZ new boys Bruce Martin and Hamish Rutherford helped deliver their side an extraordinary 293-run lead. Martin and Neil Wagner shared eight cheap wickets to embarrass the visitors, then the tall 23 year-old left-handed opener compiled 171, one of the best debut Test innings in history, to defy England's lauded attack. His skipper gave Finn a late-order thumping, but credit to Jimmy Anderson for persevering on an unhelpful pitch to take four wickets and keep the team in with a chance.

WIth almost two days to bat, this was an occasion tailor-made for Alastair Cook and Nick Compton. The former has done it umpteen times at this level while the latter is no stranger to concentration, focus and painstaking performances for Somerset. And that's just in T20! I was delighted that Compton reached his maiden Test century just before close on Day 4 to prevent a potentially nervous night.

And yet England could give even greater thanks to Finn the nightwatchman. He stuck around for almost five hours for his 56 while first Compton, then Trott and Pietersen fell at the other end. KP and Root each failed twice in the match but ultimately it didn't matter because Ian Bell and Matt Prior held their nerve and made sure McCullum and co wouldn't have the opportunity to thrash their way to a low target at the death.

So no whitewash. Both sides can take some positives from the match. England probably won't suffer such a collective batting meltdown again, and showed in the second innings while they remain number two in the world. Wellington should hold no fears. The home team also demonstrated some talent in depth, although I have to say it did owe a hell of a lot to Rutherford's straight bat and level-headedness and McCullum's belligerence. The others need to step up to their high standard if New Zealand are to win either of the remaining fixtures but anything is possible!