10 of the oldest debutants in cricket

Sometimes dreams don’t come true immediately. While the shelf life of a sportsman isn’t massive, there are those who don’t always make an early start. While Sachin Tendulkar is one of the best examples of someone making an early start, Rafatullah Mohmand’s call-up to the Pakistan T20 side, at the age of 39 is an example of how you are never too old to make an impact.In the wake of Rafatullah’s debut, let us take a look at some of the oldest debutants in cricket. Interestingly, Rafatullah, the oldest T20 debutant, does not even feature in the list.Proving that age is just a number, here are 10 of the oldest debutants in Cricket History:

#10 Don Pringle 43 years, 41 days

Pringle's career was tragically cut short by a car accident

Born in Manchester, England, Don Pringle made his ODI debut for East Africa (Kenya) in 1975 having a forgettable outing, during the inaugural Cricket World Cup. In the two ODI matches that he played, he failed to get a single break through.

He moved to Kenya in 1958 as a landscape consultant but his career was cut short, just 115 days after making his debut, as he passed away in a car accident. After a successful outing in a cricket match in Nairobi, where he picked up 6 wickets for 16 runs, Pringle was returning back, when he met with a tragic accident that ended his life.

#9 Flavian Aponso 43 years, 112 days

Dutch cricketer, Flavian Aponso

Born in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka); Aponso moved to Netherlands after he was banned for playing in the rebel league in South Africa. He made his ODI debut for Netherlands during the 1996 World Cup against New Zealand, and retired at the conclusion of the tournament, after being a mainstay of Dutch batting for a number of years.

He made his debut in the same match as Nolan Clarke, who also features on this list. He featured in all the five matches that Netherlands played in the World Cup, scoring 120 runs at an average of 30 and a highest of 58. His strike rate however, wasn’t too impressive.

The left handed batsman, was also a handy off-break bowler, but during the World Cup in 1996, he could take only 2 wickets leaking 6.37 runs per over. He also once represented Sri Lanka against Tamil Nadu, when Sri Lanka hadn’t earned Test status.

#8 Lennie Louw 43 years, 236 days

Louw represented Namibia in 2003 World Cup

Born in Capetown, South Africa, Lennie Louw made his ODI debut for Namibia in the only ODI that he played, during the World Cup in 2003. Previously, he had spent almost 27 years playing first class cricket in South Africa. Louw was a left arm bowler who could bowl both fast-medium and spin.

In the only ODI match that he played, he conceded 60 runs in his 10 overs taking a solitary wicket, in a match where Zimbabwe scored 340 runs for the loss of two wickets. His List-A career hasn’t been too impressive either, as he took 11 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 27, but at an impressive economy rate of just 3. He also has a impressive first-class record, with 20 wickets in just 4 matches at an average of 21.

#7 Rahul Sharma 43 years, 306 days

Rahul Sharma given the chance to finish things off in his last match for Hong Kong, in 2007.

Born in New Delhi in 1960, Rahul Sharma went on to play 2 ODI matches for Hong Kong in 2004. He didn’t do much to impress though, in the two outings that he got in Asia Cup 2004, against Bangladesh and Pakistan, he could score only 11 runs. He scored 2 runs in the only first class match that he played for Hong Kong, which was against Nepal in 2005.

Previously, he played for Delhi as an opener in Ranji Trophy before migrating to Hong Kong. After a stay of four years as a qualification, he went on to become Hong Kong’s premier batsman. Though his ODI and first class records look paltry, he played over 100 matches for Hong Kong and scored 20 centuries, he was also impressive with the ball; once claiming six wickets for 3 runs, which included two hat-tricks, in 1998 against Japan.

He also holds the record for being the oldest player to play an ODI match. He retired from International Cricket in 2007, at an age of 47, but went on to play domestic cricket for some more time.

#6 Norman Gifford 43 years, 359 days

Gifford has played more than twice as many first-class matches as List-A games

Norman Gifford became the second-oldest ODI debutant when he made his ODI debut in 1985, 25 years after he began his first-class career. His ODI debut more than 20 years after his Test debut and 11 years after his last Test for England in 1973.

His short stint in ODI Cricket was an impressive one. A slow left arm bowler and left-handed batsmen, he played 2 matches and took 4 wickets at an average of 19, with his best figures being 4/23and an economy rate of just 2.5.

His first class career stretched for over 28 years in which he played 710 matches taking 2048 wickets at an average of 23.56. He also played 397 List-A matches taking taking 443 wickets at an average of 26.

Gifford was known for finding turn at almost any surface despite bowling rather fast for a spinner. Unfortunate to be born at a time such that for most part of his career, he couldn’t find a place in the side because of Tony Lock and later because of Derek Underwood, who were England’s first choice spinners. He later went on to become a part time bowling coach for Worcestershire, the county side that he captained for 9 seasons.

#5 Herbert Ironmonger 46 years, 247 days

Bert Ironmonger

Also known as Bert, Herbert Ironmonger made his debut for Australia against England in November 1928. Owing to the late debut, the left arm spinner couldn’t persevere with his international career for too long. He last played for Australia in 1933 at the age of 50, making him the second-oldest Cricketer to play Tests.

He played 14 matches for Australia, and scalped 72 wickets at an impressive average of 18. His claim to fame came when he took 11 wickets for 24 runs at Melbourne and was the wrecker-in-chief as South Africa were dismissed for 36 and 45. That series was indeed special for him, in 4 Tests he took 31 wickets at an average of 9.67 and economy of just 1.69.

What makes his career look more illustrious is the fact that he lost the forefinger of his left hand (his bowling hand) in an industrial accident. His early life was marred by economic hardships, he was the last of 10 children of a farmer, and before pursuing a career in the sport, he had also worked as a labourer for railways in Melbourne.

#4 Don Blackie 46 years, 253 days

Don Blackie was Australia's oldest debutant

Being Australia’s oldest debutant in any form of the game, Don Blackie made his debut way back in 1923. As described in the Wisden, he was “an off-break bowler of wiry physique who flighted the ball and allied swerve to spin and accuracy of length, he varied his pace skilfully from medium to slow-medium.”

In the 3 Test matches that he played for Australia, he took 14 wickets at an average of 32. In first-class cricket, he took 211 wickets at an average of 24. For most part of his career, he played for Victoria in first-class cricket.

During the 1926/27 season, Blackie’s 2,495 was the most balls bowled by anyone in Australian first-class cricket and his 33 wickets was also the best tally for any bowler that season.

#3 Nolan Clarke 47 years, 240 days

Nolan Clarke is the oldest ODI debutant

The oldest ODI debutant is Barbados-born batsman Nolan Clarke, who made his International debut on 17th February 1996 for Netherlands against New Zealand in Vadodara, India during the 1996 World Cup. Though he did nothing of note for the Dutch, the mere fact that he played international cricket at an age when even the best are well into their post-retirement life, is an achievement in itself.

Clarke’s claim to fame came when he scored a brisk 159 for Barbados against the touring English side in 1973-74. His other notable achievement is topping the six hitting tally in Hong Kong Sixes, a tournament which also included Brian Lara.

His contributions were crucial for Netherlands cause, helping them qualify for the 1996 World Cup. At the age of 56, after a gap of almost 6 years, Clarke played for VVV Amsterdam, scoring 782 runs. He had been active as a coach in Netherlands’ youth programs since then.

#2 Miran Bakhsh 47 years, 284 days

Oldest player to debut for Pakistan, Miran Bakhsh

Yet another spinner to feature in the list is Miran Bakhsh. It was just the 12th Test match that Pakistan played since achieving independence from the British rule and coming into existence as a nation. Way back in 1955, it was against India in Lahore when Miran Bakhsh, also known as Miran Bux, was handed his Test cap, which also happened to be only his second first-class match.

He failed to impress with his off-breaks in the 2 Test matches that he played, as he could scalp only two wickets at an average of 57.50. He was 51 years old when he played his final first-class match for his home-team, Rawalpindi against Peshawar.

Unlike his Test match record, his first class statistics are impressive. In 15 matches he took 48 wickets at a healthy average of 19.83 at an economy of 1.99.

#1 James Southerton 49 years, 119 days

Oldest Cricketer to make debut, J Southerton

Born and brought up in Sussex, Southerton initially worked as a hairdresser. In 1877, Southerton made his debut in the first-ever Test match and is still the oldest cricketer to ever debut for an International team and the fifth oldest to play Tests. Considering the increasing demand of physical fitness in modern day game, it’s a record unlikely to be broken.

Starting his career in 1850s as a batsman, he later became a spin bowler. It was only in 1865 that he started rolling his arms on a regular basis. He was at the twilight of his career when he made his Test debut, and in the 2 Test matches that he featured in, he took 7 wickets at an average of 15.28 and could only score 7 runs in 2 innings. In the two-match Test series against Australia, Southerton was England’s prime weapon to run through Australia’s batting line up.

His first-class statistics are impressive and proves that his stint in Tests wasn’t a flash in the pan. In 286 matches, he took 1682 wickets at an astonishing average of 14.43. He played his last first-class match at the age of 52. He is often referred to as the greatest slow-bowler of the 1870s and perhaps the pioneer of spin bowling.