5 legendary Australian cricketers who endured poor Test debuts

#3 Jeff Thomson

Thomson was taken apart by the Pakistani batsmen at the iconic MCG

With an action resembling a javelin thrower in full tilt, Thomson terrorised numerous batting lineups across the globe with his scorching pace and intimidating bouncers. But, his introduction to Test cricket was something he would want to forget. On a batting-friendly Melbourne pitch, the 23-year old tear away was manhandled by the Pakistani batsmen.

As many as six of the visitors’ top seven crossed the 50-mark with Sadiq Mohammad and Majid Khan scoring scintillating centuries.

From 17 eight-ball overs, Thomson gave away exactly 100 runs without a wicket in the first-innings. Unbeknownst to anyone but himself, he had played the game with a broken bone in his left foot. After spending a couple of seasons in the wilderness, he came back in spectacular fashion with Mike Denness’ visiting England side bearing the brunt of his fury in the 1974/75 Ashes.

Performance on Debut – 17-1-100-0 & 2-0-10-0 against Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground (1972/73)

Overall Test Career – 200 wickets from 51 matches at an average of 28.00 with 8 five-wicket hauls