5 lesser known players who scored a century on ODI debut

Every cricketer’s ultimate dream would likely be to represent his or her nation at the International level. Adding to the exciting occasion, a century on debut in any format will be an ‘icing on the cake’ moment for the cricketers.

In the history of ODI cricket, only 14 players have achieved his remarkable feat. Dennis Amiss of England was the first player to reach this landmark against Australia. Recently, Reeza Hendricks (South Africa) joined this elusive club by smashing 102 runs from 89 runs with an impressive strike rate of 114.60 against Sri Lanka.

Scoring a century in one’s ODI debut is no small feat; particularly given how much significance is accorded to the first impression that a player makes; not only on the fans, but also (more importantly) on the selectors and peers in the cricketing world.

Given that the landscape of the sport has changed over the past several years—with the advent of a more batsman-friendly cricketing world—going out to the pitch and scoring 3-figures in an innings is still no small feat, be it in the old days or in today’s game.

Let us look at five such players who scored a century on their ODI debut--

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#5 Temba Bavuma (South Africa)

Bavuma was the second South African cricketer to score a century on ODI debut

Bavuma made his ODI debut for South Africa on Sep 25, 2016, against Ireland. It was a one-off ODI series in South Africa.

Ireland won the toss and opted to bowl first. Bavuma and Quinton de Kock opened the batting for the hosts. The pair added 159 runs for the first wicket before de Kock got dismissed for 82 runs; while Bavuma scored 113 runs from 123 deliveries.

In the process, he became the second South African cricketer to score a century on ODI debut.

Behardien’s quick-fire 50 runs from 22 balls at the end helped the hosts to post a massive score of 354. In reply, Ireland could post only 148 runs as South Africa won the match by a massive margin of 206 runs.

Unfortunately, Bavuma could feature in only one more ODI for South Africa against Bangladesh on Oct 22, 2017. Though he has only two ODI caps, he is a regular in the South African Test setup.

Bavuma has featured in 31 Tests for the Proteas. In Test Cricket, he holds the record for being the first African (*of African ethnicity) cricketer to score a century for South Africa.

#4 Mark Chapman (Hong Kong)

Chapman is currently playing for New Zealand

Mark Chapman made his ODI debut for Hong Kong against United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Nov 16, 2015. It was the 13th match of the ICC World Cricket League Championship at Dubai.

Hong Kong won the toss and decided to bat first. Chapman, who came in at no. 4, scored 124 runs (not out) from 116 balls with an impressive strike rate of 106.89. Chapman became the first Hong Kong player to score an ODI century.

In the process, he also became the first player from an associate nation to score a century on ODI debut.

Chapman’s heroics helped Hong Kong to post a competitive score of 298. In reply, UAE was bundled out for 209 runs, as Hong Kong won the match by 89 runs.

Interestingly, Chapman is a New Zealand cricketer now. He is eligible to represent the Kiwis through his father. On Feb 13, 2018, he made his International debut (T20) for New Zealand against England during the Trans-Tasman tri-series. His ODI debut for the Kiwis came against England on Feb 28, 2018. With that, he became the tenth cricketer to play ODIs for two international teams.

#3 Rob Nicol (New Zealand)

Nicol had a very limited International career

Rob Nicol made his ODI debut for New Zealand against Zimbabwe on Oct 20, 2011. It was the first game of the three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat first. Taylors’ brilliant knock of 128 runs (not out) helped the hosts to post an average score of 231.

In reply, the opening duo of Nicol and Martin Guptill compiled 153 runs for the first wicket. Guptill was dismissed for a well made 74 runs. Nicol stayed until the end and won the match for the visitors with an unbeaten knock of 108 runs from 131 balls.

Despite an excellent start to his ODI career, Nicol could manage to play just a total of 22 ODIs, 21 T20Is and 2 Test for the blackcaps. In June 2018, Nicol announced his retirement from all formats of the game.

#2 Colin Ingram (South Africa)

Colin Ingram was the first South African player to score a century on ODI debut

Colin Ingram made his ODI debut for South Africa against Zimbabwe on Oct 15, 2010. It was the first game of the three-match ODI series in South Africa. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first.

Ingram, who came in at no.3, played a brilliant knock of 124 runs from 126 deliveries. In the process, he became the first South African player to score a century on ODI debut.

Besides, the South African opener Hashim Amla also scored a century. The duo's century helped the hosts to post a competitive score of 351.

In reply, Brendan Taylor, who opened the batting for Zimbabwe, played an exceptional knock of 145 runs (not out) from 136 runs. With no adequate support from the other end, his knock went in vain, as the visitors fell short of the target by 64 runs.

Ingram is currently enjoying his time as the skipper of the English county, Glamorgan in the T20 format.

#1 Phillip Hughes (Australia)

Philip Hughes passed away at the early age of 25 on Nov 27, 2014

Hughes made his ODI debut for Australia against Sri Lanka on Jan 11, 2013. It was the first game of the five-match ODI series in Australia.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Hughes, who opened the batting for the hosts, played a decent knock of 112 runs from 129 balls.

Valuable contributions from Bailey and David Hussey helped the hosts to post a competitive score of 305 runs.

Chasing a target of 306, the visitors crumbled under pressure, as they lost their last eight wickets for 88 runs. In the end, Australia won the match by a comfortable margin of 107 runs.

Unfortunately, Hughes lost his life in a tragic on-field accident. Batting at 63 (not out), he was struck in the neck by a bouncer during a domestic game. His sudden death shocked the entire cricketing fraternity.

All the five players, who featured in this list, had also received the "Man-of-the-Match" awards on their corresponding debut games.