England’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley on his debut achieved a rare feat with the first ball he bowled on Day 1 of the Hyderabad Test. Hartley became the first England spinner in 103 years to open the bowling in Test cricket on debut.
The last time it took place was in 1921 against Australia in Leeds. Jack White opened the bowling on his Test debut. Interestingly, White was a left-arm spinner as well.
Hartley was welcomed to Test cricket with a six by Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-handed batter hit another six in Hartley’s first over. He remained wicketless on Day 1 as he conceded 63 runs from nine overs.
Coincidentally, White remained wicketless in his debut innings as well. He conceded 70 runs from 25 overs. However, Hartley has a chance to pick up wickets in his debut innings on Day 2 of the series opener.
The 24-year-old was handed his debut cap as Shoaib Bashir was unavailable selection for the first Test due to visa issues which caused controversy before the series.
Earlier, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first. Hartley had to walk out to bat in the 49th over of the innings. He hit two fours and a six in his 24-ball 23 before getting bowled by Ravindra Jadeja. He shared a 38-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Stokes.
In the final session of Day 1, Stokes handed the ball to Hartley after Mark Wood bowled the first over. Stokes had gone into the match with three speciallist spinners in Jack Leach, Ahmed, and Hartley. England’s strike bowler James Anderson was rested given the nature of the pitch. Only Leach managed to take a wicket. He got skipper Rohit Sharma’s wicket for the fifth time in Test cricket.
Stokes missed the services of his pacers as the spinners were smashed all around the park by Jaiswal who adopted an aggressive approach. He remained unbeaten for 76 off 70 balls. The hosts are in a comfortable position with 119/1 from 23 overs. They still trail by 127 runs.
Despite a bad day at the office with the ball, England opener Ben Duckett backed Hartley to do well on Day 2.
"I think it was incredible the way he went and batted and the freedom he showed. He was positive. You know what Stokes is like, he will back him tomorrow and hopefully he gets a wicket," Duckett told Sky Sports.
“Our mantra is always looking to take a wicket and look to attack. Hopefully we can get a good lead and bowl them out.”
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