ONE TEST WONDERS PART IV

Its been scripted in Cricket history that the entire Test batting career of the 1st OTW after the World War II, Dr. Roy Park of Australia, was missed by his wife when she bent down to pickup her fallen knitting while her husband was clean bowled the first and only ball he has faced in his test career in the 2nd test of the 1920/21 Ashes played at Melbourne.

At the same venue in 4th Test of that series, Arthur Dolphin, who kept wickets for England in his only Test match appearance, became the 100th OTW. He made just 1 & 0 and held just one catch behind the wickets. In the 5th and final test match of the same series played at Sydney, next OTW Eric Wilson of England was dismissed for 5 runs in both the innings. He took 2 wickets in the first innings that of
Charles Kelleway and Arthur Mailey. Incidentally Kelleway and Mailey dismissed Eric Wilson by having him stumped and caught in each of the innings. Wilson took the only wicket to fall in Australia’s 2nd innings that of Herbie Collins as Australia cruised to victory by 9 wickets and completed a whitewash of Ashes by winning the 5 test series by 5-0 margin. Never before or never after, was a 5 test Ashes series decided by that margin.

In the 1st Test of the 1921 Ashes played at Trent Bridge, which Australia won by 10 wickets, out of the seven debutants, only Tom Richmond started and ended his test career in the same match. He made 4 & 2 took the wickets of Herbie Collins and Jack Gregory in the only innings that Australia lost wickets.
In the 2nd test at Lord’s AE Dipper, FJ Durston and AJ Evans joined the OTW club. Dipper made 11 & 40 and Durston 6* & 2. Durston also had figures of 4/58 and 1/34. John Evans who made 4 & 14 achieved more fame with his book 'The Escaping Club' about his escape from a Prisoner of War camp during the First World War, than with his batting exploits in the only Test he ever played.

The next OTW Andy Ducat, who appeared for England in his only Test at Leeds in the 3rd Test of the same series, made just 3 & 2. Ducat also played football in the FA Cup. When he was 56, while playing for Surrey Home Guard Team against Sussex Home Guard at Lord’s in 1942, he suddenly collapsed and died of stroke while still batting at 29. Wally Hardinge, who too debuted along with Ducat in this test bid adieu to test cricket in the same match with scores of 25 & 5.

Charlie Parker of England became the next OTW in the 4th Test of the same series played at Manchester. He took two wickets in the only innings that Australia batted and remained unbeaten on 3 when he batted in the 2nd innings in this rain ruined drawn encounter.

Neville Lindsay of SA recorded scores of 6 & 29 playing against Australia in the 2nd Test of the 1921/22 Series at Johannesburg and became the next OTW. His nephew JD Lindsay and great nephew Denis Lindsay both kept wickets for South Africa later and had longer careers than Neville. In the next test played at Cape Town, Norman Reid was capped as the 100th Test player for South Africa and little did he know that it would be his only Test appearance. He scored 11 & 6 and took 2 wickets.

One year later in the following season Izak Buys of South Africa , who made his test debut along with 4 other springboks and 5 Englishmen in the 1st Test of the 1922/23 series played at Johannesburg, scored 0 & 4* and did not take any wicket in his only outing in Test Cricket. George Street who kept wickets for England in the 3rd test of the same series played at Durban made just 4 runs and affected one stumping in his only Test appearance. In the 5th and final Test of the same series played at Durban, South Africa’s Dalton Conyngham who became next OTW, remained unbeaten with 3 in both the innings and took a wicket in each of Australia’s innings.

Jack MacBryan of England became the ultimate OTW in the 4th Test of the 1924 Ashes as in the rain curtailed match in which only 66 overs of play was possible. MacBryan’s place in Test history is secured as the only player to have played in a test and did nothing. He neither bowled nor took a catch in SA’s innings and England never got a chance to bat.

Albert Hartkopf of Australia in the 2nd test of the 1924/25 Ashes at Melbourne made 80 & 0 in his only test appearance. He shared in a 6th wicket stand with Victor Richardson (Grandfather of Chappell brothers), who hit his only test century of his career in this test. Hartkopf also took a wicket conceding 120 runs in England’s 1st innings.

AW Palm of South Africa joined the OTW club 2 years later when he made his single test appearance in the 2nd Test of the 1927/28 series against England. He scored 2 & 13 and took one catch to dismiss Wally Hammond.

In West Indies’ inaugural test match played at Lord’s in 1928, though all of the eleven West Indian players were making their test debut, it was England’s Harry Smith, who became an OTW. Harry Smith kept wickets for England and took just one catch. He did not make any significant contribution with the bat as he was clean bowled by Learie Constantine for 7 runs in the only innings England batted.