Kit Harris recalls the Cricketers of the Year who won the award in their debut England season.
Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, announced last month, include two players selected for their achievements during their first season in the England team: Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith. The choice of two England debutants had last happened when Colin Milburn and Basil D’Oliveira were named in 1967 – and only five times before that.
Players named among Wisden’s Five for the season of their England debut
1897 Dick Lilley and K. S. Ranjitsinhji
There were three Ashes Tests in England in 1896. Lilley, a wicketkeeper, made a duck on debut in an England victory at Lord’s, but followed it with an unbeaten 65 in defeat at Manchester, where Ranjitsinhji scored 62 and 154 not out on his first appearance. Neither excelled at The Oval, where England won the Ashes, but Lilley ended the series with seven dismissals.
What Wisden said:
“Though Lilley scored nearly a thousand runs in first-class matches, with an average of 24, it cannot be said that he batted so well as in 1895. As a wicketkeeper, Lilley has no superior at the present day against slow and medium-pace bowling. Personally, we have never seen him to better advantage than in the England match at The Oval in August. He did not on that occasion have the satisfaction of seeing his name on the scoresheet, but nothing could have been more perfect than his work, the way in which he ran out Clem Hill in the Australians’ first innings approaching the miraculous.”
“Ranjitsinhji scored more runs in first-class matches than had ever been obtained by any batsman in one season, beating Mr Grace’s remarkable aggregate of 2,739 in 1871. As a batsman, he is himself alone, being quite individual and distinctive in his style of play. He can scarcely be pointed to as a safe model for young and aspiring batsmen, his peculiar and almost unique skill depending in large measure on extreme keenness of eye, combined with great power and flexibility of wrist. For any ordinary player to attempt to turn good length balls off the middle stump as he does, would be futile and disastrous. To Ranjitsinhji on a fast wicket, however, everything seems possible.”
1925 Dick Tyldesley and Jack MacBryan
South Africa visited for five Tests in 1924, and were 3–0 down before rain ruined the matches at Manchester and The Oval. Tyldesley, a leg-spinner, debuted at Lord’s in the Second Test, taking three wickets in each innings. He added another three in the second innings at Leeds, and three more in the drawn games, to finish with 12 at 20 for the series. MacBryan’s Test debut, at Old Trafford, was unparalleled. There were only 165 minutes of play, during which he didn’t bat, bowl, or take a catch – and he was never selected again.
What Wisden said:
“On the third day at Lord’s it was Tyldesley’s impeccable length, more than anything else, that prevented the South Africans saving the single innings defeat when – as the result of a premature declaration – the English bowlers had to be so desperately economical of runs. In the course of the season he did many brilliant things, best of all being his six wickets for 18 runs, when he and Parkin got Yorkshire out for 33 in the last innings of the Whitsuntide match at Leeds, and his seven wickets for 27 against the South Africans at Old Trafford. Tyldesley as a slow bowler is quite individual in style. Length is his sovereign merit. The leg-break he manages so cleverly is not in itself anything alarming, but it is enough to beat the bat and it is under thorough control. He never seems to tire, and it is remarkable what a number of wickets he gets with balls that do not turn an inch.”
“MacBryan is essentially a steady batsman. He is neat and finished in style, without being in any way spectacular and, so far from being obsessed, like many of the moderns, by on side play, he gets a good proportion of his runs by cutting – this alone making him good to look at. He was at the top of his form all last season, and was a strong candidate for a place in the MCC’s team for Australia. Not being chosen for that trip, he went out to South Africa with Mr Joel’s Eleven.”
1930 K. S. Duleepsinhji, Walter Robins and Ted Bowley
South Africa’s next tour of England, in 1929, was a closer affair, which England won 2–0. Duleepsinhji was picked only for the First Test, at Edgbaston, making 12 and one. Leg-spinner Walter Robins played only the Second, at Lord’s – his home ground – where he picked up five wickets. Both matches were drawn. Ted Bowley, an opening batsman, lasted two games: 31 and 46 at Leeds, then 13 at Manchester. Jack Hobbs returned to partner Herbert Sutcliffe at The Oval.
What Wisden said:
“Duleepsinhji was in brilliant form, seven times exceeding the hundred, and with an aggregate of 2,028 in 36 innings. His most startling performance was in the match against Kent at Hastings in August, when he followed 115 in the first innings with 246 in the second. He took part in the First Test match against the South Africans at Birmingham but failed and, unwisely as many people thought, the selection committee did not pick him again.”
“Robins played in his first Test match for England, accomplished nothing in batting, and not until he was put on at the Pavilion End in the second innings of South Africa was he very effective as a bowler. Still, as always, he fielded splendidly at cover point. For his success he relies on his very powerful finger-spin which enables him to make the ball turn quickly and at a sharp angle. On his day, he is likely to run through any side, but much of his good work is spoiled by erratic length.”
“Having regard to the consistently good work he had done for his county, it is surprising that Bowley did not receive recognition for a representative engagement earlier in his career. It is quite likely that he would have been an even better batsman but for the fact that so much depended on him in county matches. Repeatedly, if he failed, the batting broke down. Consequently, in the earlier years after the war, he had to exercise pronounced restraint. During the last three or four seasons, however, he played his natural game, attacking the bowling directly he went in, and this enterprise paid him.”
1938 Len Hutton and Jim Parks snr
New Zealand avoided being crushed in a three-match series in 1937, thanks to doughty batting in the First Test, and wet weather in the Second. Len Hutton played throughout, scoring nought and one at Lord’s, 100 and 14 at Manchester, and 12 at The Oval. Opener Jim Parks, standing in for Charlie Barnett at Lord’s, played the only Test of his career, making 22 and seven. His son would go on to play 46 Tests for England.
What Wisden said:
“Last season, Hutton attracted widespread notice by his wonderful batting feats. He hit eight hundreds for Yorkshire, another in the Test Trial match and one for England against New Zealand. Blessed with the right temperament for the big occasion, Hutton, given good health, should… furnish England with one of the opening batsmen so badly needed since the breaking of the Hobbs–Sutcliffe partnership.”
“Consistency is Parks’s forte; he rarely puts together huge innings… A little below medium-height and sturdily built, he is among the best exponents of the cut. He is also particularly strong in off-side strokes, scores many runs by skilful placing of the ball and is eminently sound in defence. Normally a steady opening batsman, he can, when the occasion demands, force the game well.”
1947 Alec Bedser and Peter Smith
England hosted India for three Tests in 1946, both teams’ first since the war. Alec Bedser took the new ball, and harvested 24 wickets at 12 in his debut series. Peter Smith, a leg-spinner, was brought in at The Oval, but conditions were damp, and he took only one wicket in a draw which gave the hosts a 1–0 series win.
What Wisden said:
“Few people knew much about Bedser until last summer, when he stormed the cricket world with his magnificent bowling for England in the first two Tests against India, breaking all bowling records by taking 11 wickets in each match. Bedser’s figures were seven for 49 and four for 90 at Lord’s, so he accomplished the best bowling performance by anyone in his first innings of a Test debut. Before the end of July, he took his 100th wicket in his first county season, and no one was surprised when his name came out among the first batch chosen for Australia.”
“With a torn muscle in the lumbar region, an injury which also delayed his Test debut, Smith was chosen for the Manchester match, but could not play. Previous to that mishap, he struck his best form with both bat and ball, but had to wait until the extra trial at Canterbury before he received a chance to prove his worth. On figures he accomplished nothing out of the ordinary, but he impressed the selectors by his steady length and flight, with the result that his ambition was realised when he received invitations to go to Australia and play in the final match against India at The Oval.”
1967 Colin Milburn and Basil D’Oliveira
West Indies came to England for five Tests in 1966, winning 3–1. Milburn was picked for all but the last, hitting 94 in the second innings of his debut, at Manchester, and an unbeaten hundred in the next game, at Lord’s. D’Oliveira made 27 at Lords, then 76, 54 and 88.
What Wisden said:
“Milburn’s average in an England team not famous for its batting strength was 52, second only to Tom Graveney, but he did not share in the final triumph at The Oval. His disappointment could be well tempered by the knowledge that the best of Milburn is still to come. He is also sensible enough to understand that his weight problems will be a handicap unless controlled. His level of performance must be that much better because of his size. ‘I just try and hit the ball’ is his over-simplified explanation of his technique. ‘It is my way of playing the game, and I want it to stay that way.’ Words to shock and offend many a coach, but it is the essential Milburn.”
“Undoubtedly the most memorable year of D’Oliveira’s life was 1966, by which time he had become a British citizen. Although he had shown every promise in MCC matches at Lord’s, to be selected for England against the West Indies was beyond his wildest dreams. It was D’Oliveira himself who said after his Test debut at Lord’s ‘This is a fairy tale come true. Six years ago, I was playing on mudheaps. Now I have played for England and met the Queen; what more could I possibly ask?’”
2025 Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith
More than half a century later, in 2024, Atkinson and Smith made their bows to as much acclaim as any predecessor. In six Tests against Sri Lanka and West Indies, Atkinson took 34 wickets and hit a hundred at Lord’s, while Smith could also count a maiden century among his 487 runs (to which he added 23 catches as wicketkeeper).
What Wisden said:
“As James Anderson was nudged into retirement, Atkinson took over. Inside the first hour of the First Test against West Indies at Lord’s, he replaced Anderson at the Pavilion End. Two days later, he owned better match figures – 12 for 106 – than Anderson had managed in 188 Tests. It was the start of the Summer of Gus. By the end, Atkinson had more wickets, 34, than any England bowler in their first home season, and his name on all three Lord’s honours boards.”
“Rob Key, the team director, labelled Smith ‘a rare talent’, who could bat in any situation. Smith started the summer as his county’s second-choice wicketkeeper, behind Foakes, but ended it as England’s undisputed first-choice: he played all six home Tests, his temperament as impressive as his talent.”
The new edition of Wisden covers the whole of the 2024 season, including Atkinson and Smith’s wonderful feats. You can get a 50% discount if you subscribe to the Almanack.