Trivia #03: Oldest Test Debutants (25Nov93)

Oldest Test Debutants The oldest Test player on debut was James Southerton of England. He played in the first-ever Test match, between England and Australia, at Melbourne; the match started on 15 March 1877 when Southerton was 49 years 119 days old. Born on 16 November 1827, Southerton is therefore the first-born of all Test players. He played in the two matches of that first series and never played Test cricket again. Oldest debutants from other countries: Age Cntry Player Yrs-Days Opp Venue Series Pak Miran Bux 47-284 Ind Lahore 1954/55 Aus D.D.Blackie 46-253 Eng Brisbane 1928/29 WI N.Betancourt 42-242 Eng Port-of-Spain 1929/30 Ind R.Jamshedji 41-27 Eng Bombay 1933/34 RSA G.W.A.Chubb 40-56 Eng Nottingham 1951 SL D.S.DeSilva 39-251 Eng Colombo 1981/82 NZ H.M.McGirr 38-101 Eng Auckland 1929/30 My 1992 Wisden has no record of the oldest debutant for Zimbabwe, for obvious reasons. The longest Test career, as far as I can tell, was that of Wilfred Rhodes of England. Rhodes also has the distinction of being the oldest-ever Test player; on the final day of his last Test match, against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica on 12 April 1930, Rhodes was 52 years 165 days old. He took the record from W. G. Grace, who coincidentally made his last appearance in the first Test against Australia which started on June 1 1899, the match in which Rhodes made his debut. Rhodes' Test career therefore spanned 30 years 316 days; I can find no record of a longer one (but maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough :-). Rhodes was born on 29 October 1877. He played in 58 Test matches for England. He scored 2325 runs at 30.19 and took 127 wickets at 26.96. Originally picked for his prowess with the ball, he later emerged as a solid batsman who could (and did) bat anywhere from opener to number 11. No mug, our Wilf. He died on 8 July 1973, aged 95. A couple of other interesting facts about that series in the WI in which Rhodes made his final appearance: it was also the series in which the WI's youngestever player, J. E. D. Sealy, made his debut at 17 years 122 days. Also playing was George Gunn, recalled to the England side at the age of 50; the last time he played in a Test match before that, in Australia in 1912, Sealy was still several months away from being born. Sources: Wisden (1992), The Illustrated History of the Test Match (1988). Thanks to David A. Wheeler on r.s.c.