Beginning with a bang, and wickets for a veteran

Clarke's smashing start
Since Michael Clarke's international debut, in a one-day match against England in 2002-03, critics have cast him as the next big star of Australian cricket. He started off with an unbeaten 39 in his ODI debut - exactly as many as Michael Bevan managed in his first match. Since then, Clarke's cool demeanour and vital contributions at the finish in one-dayers have drawn comparisons with Bevan; now, his smashing Test debut will surely inspire parallels with some of the greatest Australian batsmen in the longer form of the game.

Clarke joined 16 other Australians in making a century first up, but, significantly, only two others achieved that feat overseas - Harry Graham, a right-hander batting at No. 7, made 107 against England at Lord's way back in 1893, while Dirk Wellham made 103 against the same opponents at The Oval in 1981. Clarke's 151 is thus the highest overseas debut score by an Australian.

Australia's seemingly lopsided stats in terms of home-and-away debut centurions leads to another interesting query: how many Australians actually play their first Test overseas? Are the Australian selectors especially careful about ensuring that their players get their first taste of international cricket at home, before going on to face tougher challenges abroad?

A look at the list of debutants for all countries suggests that is, indeed, the case. Of Australia's 389 players, 261 have started their Test careers at home - that's 67%. Apart from Zimbabwe, only South Africa have a marginally higher figure; the rest of the teams are significantly lower.

Does the start-at-home policy help? Apparently it does. The intrinsic quality of their players might have something to do with it as well, but the numbers seem to suggest that a few matches under their belt at home ensures that when these players do finally play a match abroad, they are better prepared to cope. The table below lists how players from each country fare on their first Test overseas - if a century or a five-for is taken as a successful outing, then a higher percentage of Australians have achieved success on their first overseas Test than players from any other country. At the other end of the spectrum are Sri Lanka, whose players have struggled the most when playing abroad.

The Australians have been particularly miserly in handing out caps to specialist batsmen in Tests over the last few years - Clarke was only the third debutant in the last six-and-a-half years, Simon Katich and Martin Love being the others. (Andrew Symonds made his Test debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year at Galle, but the fact that he could bowl reasonably tidy offspin was arguably as much of a reason for his inclusion as his batting.) After Clarke's spectacular performance, it's unlikely that Australia will search for other options to fill in a middle-order berth.

Kumble on the march
When Anil Kumble sneaked through Simon Katich's defences on the opening day of the Bangalore Test, he became the third-fastest - after Muttiah Muralitharan and Richard Hadlee - to the 400-wicket milestone. Like those two, Kumble has often been the only strike bowler in the side, which has probably meant a greater opportunity to be among the wickets, but which has also consistently put them under far greater pressure, a challenge to which all three have responded magnificently.

The three of them share something else - they are the only bowlers among the nine who have bowled their 400th victim - Hadlee defeated Sanjay Manjrekar's technique in 1989-90 at Christchurch, while Murali's was a rather less distinguished batsman - Henry Olonga. Kumble and Hadlee are also the only lucky ones to achieve this landmark on their home ground.

Kumble has often been written off by his critics, but there's nothing to suggest that he can't carry on a little longer. While his first 200 wickets took his 47 Tests, his next 200 have come in just 37, and his last 100 have taken him only 19. During this period, he has also put to rest doubts about his ability to perform outside the subcontinent - his last six Tests, three each in Australia and England - have fetched him 38 wickets at 31.95.

Next in Kumble's sights is Curtly Ambrose, who is only five wickets in front. Another 35 will put him ahead of Kapil Dev as India's leading wicket-taker in Tests. With five more matches after this to follow at home, you wouldn't put it beyond Kumble to reach that landmark within the next couple of months.