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Rediff.com  » Cricket » Debutant Hartley's Figures Best In 78 Years!

Debutant Hartley's Figures Best In 78 Years!

By REDIFF CRICKET
January 29, 2024 11:52 IST
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Tom Hartley ended the Test with 9/193, the best figures for an England spinner on Test debut since 1945.

IMAGE: Tom Hartley finished with figures of 9 for 193 to spin England to victory in the first Test against India in Hyderabad. Photograph: BCCI
 

Ollie Pope combined with debutant Tom Hartley to pull off a heist in Hyderabad where England humbled India in the opening Test on Sunday, displaying their entertaining brand of cricket that has injected new life into the format.

England's thrilling 28 run victory, that came in an extended final session on the penultimate day at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium, will go down as one of their finest away wins ever and set a slew of records en route.

England vice captain Pope conjured up arguably the best knock by a touring batter in India, smashing an epic 196 to propel England to 420 in the second innings.

The 26 year old scooped and swept with impunity during his six-and-a-half-hour masterclass on how to smother spin on turning tracks on the Indian sub-continent.

Pope's knock allowed England to set India a tricky target of 231 before Hartley took over.

The 6' 4" left-arm spinner spun India's batters out, toppling a few records during his match-winning spell.

He registered figures of 7/62 in the second innings and ended the Test with 9/193 which is the best figures for an England spinner on Test debut since 1945.

His tally of nine wickets is the joint-most since former English spinner Robert Berry's 9/116 against the West Indies in Manchester in 1950.

Hartley also became just the fourth England spinner to claim a five wicket haul on Test debut in this century. Adil Rashid (5/64) was the first to attain the feat in a match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

Will Jacks (6/161 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022) and Rehan Ahmed 5/48 (against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022) are the other bowlers in this club.

The first Test against India witnessed England spinners scalping 20 wickets and pacers ending up walking away without a single wicket. This is just the fourth such instance.

The first time England spinners scalped all 20 wickets was against India in Kanpur way back in 1952. Four years later, they managed to achieve the feat again, but this time it was against Australia in Manchester in 1956.

The third time before 2024, when English spinners took 20 wickets in a Test was against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2018.

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