TWIN TONS AND NEAR MISSES

ON February 19, 1972, Lawrence George Rowe carved his name deeper into history when he strolled to an unbeaten even 100 in the second innings of his debut Test for the West Indies against New Zealand at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.He had compiled a solidly stylish double-century in the first innings to become only the second man, after Reginald Foster of England, to accomplish the feat. Foster had done so 70 years before, playing against Australia in the Sydney Test of 1903-04.
However, Rowe went several tiers higher and became the first person to record separate hundreds on his first Test appearance, a record he held for 31 years.
Rowe had an insatiable appetite for huge scores and had plundered the Guyana attack for 147 in the Shell Shield competition and the New Zealand bowlers for 227-all in the space of a couple of weeks-at Sabina Park. His twin hundreds in the Test match made it four in a row-a frightening proposition for opposing bowlers.
His effort made him only the third player after the Australian Doug Walters and the Indian Sunil Gavaskar to score a double-hundred and a century in the same Test. It also ensured he had a truly enormous average of 314 at the conclusion of the Test.
Some 34 years before Rowe eased to separate hundreds on debut, an Englishman fell agonisingly close to doing so.
Paul Anthony Gibb was a right-handed batsman whose strong points were a combination of a sound defence and fluent drives. He possessed the knack for the big occasion and became the first Yorkshire amateur to score a century on debut, when he made 157 against Nottinghamshire in 1935.
In his debut Test against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1938-39, he opened the batting with William John Edrich, who departed early with only a paltry four runs on the board. Gibb proceeded to add a crucial 184 for the second wicket with Edward Paynter as England, batting first, totalled a comfortable 422.
Paynter’s innings ended with him on 117, but Gibb was not so lucky. His was the fifth wicket to fall caught by the South African captain Alan Melville off the right-arm leg-spinner, Bruce Mitchell, for 93. He had batted for 270 minutes and had struck seven fours as he played the role of anchor.
With a slender lead of 32 on first innings, England again began poorly for the second time in the match when Edrich departed early. However, Gibb and Paynter duplicated their first-innings heroics, combining to add 168 for the second wicket with Paynter reaching an even 100-his second in the match.
But it was Gibb who stole the spotlight, making sure he reached three figures on his second attempt. He eventually fell for an excellent 106 made in 192 minutes of unerring concentration as he registered a century on debut, but not the double.
In 1974-75, a young, powerfully built opener who was born in Barbados but grew up and learnt most of his cricket in England, made his debut for the West Indies against India in the first Test of a five-match series in Bangalore.
A few years earlier Gordon Greenidge was approached by the then English captain, Ray Illingworth, to consider representing England for which he was qualified. He declined the offer and returned to his native island and commenced playing Regional Shell Shield cricket in 1973.
His consistent performances earned him a place in the 1974-75 party to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but he had to compete with the stolid and dependable Guyanese left-hander, Leonard Baichan, for the second opener’s spot.
Greenidge was pretty consistent in the first-class games leading up to the first Test, but Baichan had registered 158 and 114 not out to be the leading contender. As fate would have it, Baichan was involved in a car accident in India just prior to the Test match and was consequently ruled out. His competitor grasped the opportunity with both hands.
India won the toss and elected to send the West Indies in on a damp pitch caused by rain. Greenidge, opening the batting with the established partner-the late Roy Fredericks-saw him retired hurt with the score on 38. He was having problems of his own triggered by a combination of the state of the pitch and the state of his mind.
Dropped twice at four and six, the debutant weathered the storm and added a further 139 for the first wicket with the diminutive Alvin Kallicharran. On the way, he had hit the boundary ropes 13 times and had gone over them thrice as he eased into the 90s.
The luck that was on his side earlier in his innings now deserted him. On 93, he pushed the off-spinner Srinavas Venkataraghavan to midwicket but hesitated in going for the single. Gavaskar’s return to the bowler’s end found him short and Greenidge had to depart the middle, having been run out in his first Test innings just short of his century.
With Fredericks unable to bat in the second innings, Greenidge took on the role of senior partner as the vice-captain and wicketkeeper Deryck Murray accompanied him at the top of the order. Murray went early for his second duck of the match, putting even more pressure on Greenidge to see off the new ball and lay a foundation for a winning total.
He did not disappoint, although early wickets fell at the other end. In company with his captain Clive Lloyd, he added a blistering 207 for the fourth wicket with Lloyd blasting his way to a magnificent 163.
For his part, Greenidge compiled 107 before he was dismissed trying to push the score along.
In 2003, a youthful Pakistani, finally joined Rowe as the only player to fashion twin hundreds on his Test match debut.
Yasser Hameed, playing in his first Test match against Bangladesh in Karachi and batting at the critical number three position, dominated in both innings. In reply to Bangladesh’s respectful 288, Pakistan reached 346 with Hameed constructing a serene 170, stroking 25 effortless fours in the process.
He faced 253 deliveries and spent over five hours at the crease engaging in a solid partnership with Mohammed Yusuf worth 131 runs for the fourth wicket.
Habibul Bashar’s responsible century ensured that Pakistan were set a decent target of 217 runs for victory. Hameed made certain that there were no hiccups as he calmly inched his way to his second 100 of the match, getting to 105 before he was bowled by the spinner Mohammed Rafique.
Slimly built, Hameed depended on timing and was extremely elegant when set. He possessed a sound technique, but a tendency of wasting good starts when seemingly well set finally cost him his place in the team.
Of recent players, there is one who came pretty close to joining Rowe and Hameed. Andrew Strauss of England made 112 in his first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s in 2004. In the second innings he was confidently heading towards his goal when he was unfortunately run out for 83 in a mix-up with Nasser Hussain.
From all reports, Hussain was at fault, but he compensated by eking out his own 100 and carrying England to victory. He promptly retired after the game.