Cricketers who scored centuries in both their first and last Tests

Reginald Duff

Duff became the first man to hit a debut century batting at the number 10 position

Better known as Reggie Duff, the Australian made his debut in the New Year Test of the 1901-02 Ashes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. After having top scored in the first innings with 32 out of a total of 112, he had helped his team gain a 51 run lead over England who were bundled out for 61.

In a bizarre match situation, the specialist opening batsman that he was, Duff was held back till number 10 in the batting order due to a pitch that had a multitude of demons enough to scare any batsman. His second innings effort of a 104 meant that he became the first man to score a debut century at that position and was more than enough for an Australian victory.

He went on to represent Australia in 22 Tests in all, his career being cut short by alcoholism which led to his death in 1911. In his last Test match at the Oval in London in 1905, he once again top-scored for his team with a 146 run knock as an opener.

He thus signed off on a high and will remain the first man to have achieved the feat of scoring a century in his first as well as the final Test match, the only two he scored in his entire career.

M: 22 | Inn: 40 | Runs: 1317 | HS: 146 | Avg: 35.59 | 100’s: 2