FACTS

 AUSTRALIA

Greg Chappell hit a century on debut and his last match.

Allan Border’s Australian team was the first team to score over 400 runs in 8 successive first innings of a Test.

Don Bradman was never out in nineties. His highest double figure score was 89.

Allan Border appeared consecutively in a record 106 Tests.

Frederick Spofforth a tall right hand fast medium bowler from Australia claimed 13/110 at Melbourne in1879 making him the first to take 10 wickets or more in a Test.

William Murdoch of Australia became the first substitute fielder to take a catch in Tests. The interesting thing is that he did so while fielding for the opposition.

Percy McDonnell the former captain of Australia was the first to score two 100`s successively.

Charlie Turner and John Ferris of Australia were the first pair of bowlers to dismiss the opposition on their own.

William Murdoch of Australia became the first to score a double ton in Tests.

Australian Frederick Spofforth recorded the first ever hat-trick in Tests. His victims were Royle , MacKinnon & Emmett- the first 2 clean bowled and the latter caught.

Umpire James Philips of Australia was the first to officiate in more than one country.

The bowler/wicket keeper combination of Dennis Lillee & Rod Marsh realized a record 88 dismissals.

Don Bradman was the youngest to score a triple century in Tests.

Don Bradman`s scores in his first and final Tests were 18,1 & 0 respectively.

Don Bradman in his first three innings as captain made 38, 0, 0 vs England.

Former Australian wicket-keeper Tim Zoehrer was the first night-watchman in both innings of a Test.

Joe Darling of Australia was the first left handed batsman to make a century in Tests, thus ending a sequence of 43 tons by right handers.

The first bowler to be no-balled for throwing was Australia`s Ernest Jones and the umpire to call him was James Philips.

William Oldfield of Australia was the first wicket-keeper to effect 5 dismissals in an innings of which 4 were stumpings.

Australian all-rounder Jack Gregory lived up to his name in the 1920-21 Ashes series against England by taking 23 wickets, averaging over 70 with the bat and taking 15 catches.

The first left-handed batsman to score a Test century was Joe Darling of Australia in 1897-98.

Australia's Jack Ryder was the first batsman to score 50-plus scores in six successive Tests.

Prior to the 1979 tournament Kerry Packer and his 'circus' had torn cricket apart. A 'peace' agreement was signed shortly before the World Cup but England and Australia chose not to field their Packer players, whereas other teams were all at full strength.

Australia’s Allan Border played in more Test innings than any other batsman (265).

The first brothers to play Test cricket were Charlie (1877) and Alec (1879) Bannerman of Australia.

The first player to score 100 runs and take 10 wickets in the same Test was Australia’s Alan Davidson in 1960.

The first bowler to take 5 wickets in a Test innings was Australia’s Billy Midwinter in 1877.

The first century in Test cricket was scored by Charlie Bannerman of Australia in 1877.

Mark Waugh was run out 4 times in five innings in One day International matches in 1992.

Steve Waugh made 87 consecutive ODI appearances for Australia, and was then dropped, only to be replaced by his twin brother Mark Waugh.

Greg Chappell was Australia's finest fieldsman- and cricket's record books prove it. His tally of 61 catches in 35 Tests is unmatched in Anglo-Australian Tests. So, too, are his seven in one Test (at Perth during the 1974-75 season). Chappell's four in an innings in the same match equals the best by any player of either side. And his 14 victims in that series is bettered only by Jack Gregory's 15 half-a-century before.

When they retired , Western Australian pair Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee both held the record for the most dismissals in Test cricket. Wicketkeeper Marsh accounted for 355 opposition batsmen ( 342 catches and 13 stumpings ) . Fast Bowler Lillee snared 355 wickets too. Some 95 of the dismissals were caught Marsh Bowled Lillee.

During his first class career Don Bradman opened the innings only 9 times - with an average of 104.50 !!!! The new ball is a fearsome thing indeed !

The fastest first-class century by an Australian cricketer was one by South Australian David Hookes who , on October 25, 1982, hit his ton in 43 minutes off 35 balls.

Neil Hawke, best known as a test cricket all-rounder, was an all-rounder in every sense of the word . He is the only man to represent both South Australia and Western Australia in cricket and Australian Rules football. He also played cricket for Tasmania.

Former Australian captain and Channel 9 TV expert Richie Benaud reportedly played a major role in framing the controversial playing conditions of the 1992 World Cup which robbed South Africa of a place in the final when playing against England in the semi-final at Sydney.

Burly Australian batsman David Boon, scorer of over 7400 Test runs which included 21 hundreds, from 107 matches hit just one six in his Test career.

Australian great Greg Chappell scored a ton in his first Test innings, making 108 against England in 1970-71, and in his late Test innings, scoring 182 against Pakistan in 1983-84.

Matthew Hayden scored just 25 runs in his first four Test innings.

Percy McDonnell of Australia was the first batsman in Test history to score a century in each of two consecutive Test innings. The feat was performed in 1884 against England.

 SOUTH AFRICA

Andrew Hudson who was South Africa’s 238th player in Tests was the 1st South African batsman to hit a century on debut.

John Traicos who initially played Tests for South Africa before their ban had to wait for 22 years & 222 days for his next Test which he did so for Zimbabwe.

Eiulf Peter Nupen a former South African captain born of Norwegian parents was totally blind in one eye since the age of four.

Herbert Wade was the captain in all 10 Tests he played for South Africa.

The first 30 Tests played from 1877-88 were only between England and Australia. The 31st Test in 1889 saw the advent of South Africa being the third nation to play Test Matches.

William Milton played in the first three Tests for South Africa between 1889 and 1892 after having represented England at rugby.

Former South African Test cricketer Anton Murray was a schoolmaster who later became the first headmaster of St. Alban's College in Pretoria.

 Source: cric8.com (Did You Know?) Click here for the link
              cricket.123india.com (Interesting Facts) Click here for the link