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Frank de Caires was the first West Indies batter to score twin fifties on Test debut. He made scores of 80 and 70 in the January 1930 Test against England in Bridgetown.
Kevin Wickham scores twin 50s for West Indies on Test debut. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Kevin Wickham entered his name in the record books on Sunday (November 8) by becoming the first West Indies batter in 48 years to score two half-centuries on Test debut.
The 23-year-old right-handed batter from Barbados is playing his maiden Test for the Caribbean team against Bangladesh in Sylhet from November 5 and he scored 61 runs in the first innings before playing a knock of 78 runs off 107 balls in the second innings on Sunday.
The last West Indies batter to score two 50-plus scores on Test debut was Sew Shivnarine. Shivnarine made his Test debut for the West Indies against Australia in Georgetown on March 31, 1978, and scored 53 and 63.
Frank de Caires was the first West Indies batter to score twin fifties on Test debut. He made scores of 80 and 70 in the January 1930 Test against England in Bridgetown.
Jackie Grant, Bryan Davis, Clive Lloyd, Lawrence Rowe, Gordon Greenidge and Sew Shivnarine are the other West Indies stars to score twin half-centuries on Test debut for the Caribbean team.
West Indies batters to score two 50-plus scores on Test debut
| PLAYER | 1st INNINGS | 2nd INNINGS | TOTAL RUNS | AGAINST | VENUE | START DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank de Caires | 80 | 70 | 150 | England | Bridgetown | January 11, 1930 |
| Jackie Grant | 53* | 71* | 124 | Australia | Adelaide | December 12, 1930 |
| Bryan Davis | 54 | 58 | 112 | Australia | Port of Spain | March 26, 1965 |
| Clive Lloyd | 82 | 78* | 160 | India | Brabourne | December 13, 1966 |
| Lawrence Rowe | 214 | 100* | 314 | New Zealand | Kingston | February 16, 1972 |
| Gordon Greenidge | 93 | 107 | 200 | India | Bengaluru | November 22, 1974 |
| Sew Shivnarine | 53 | 63 | 116 | Australia | Georgetown | March 31, 1978 |
| Kevin Wickham | 61 | 78 | 139 | Bangladesh | Sylhet | November 5, 2026 |
Rowe, however, is the only player to score multiple centuries for the West Indies on Test debut. He scored 214 runs in the first innings of the Kingston Test against New Zealand, which began on February 16, 1972, and remained unbeaten on 100 in the second innings.
Rowe’s total of 314 runs in 1972 still holds the record for the most runs scored on Test debut.
Most runs on Test debut
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | 1st INNINGS | 2nd INNINGS | TOTAL RUNS | AGAINST | VENUE | START DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Rowe | West Indies | 214 | 100* | 314 | New Zealand | Kingston | February 16, 1972 |
| Tip Foster | England | 287 | 19 | 306 | Australia | Sydney | December 11, 1903 |
| Yasir Hameed | Pakistan | 170 | 105 | 275 | Bangladesh | Karachi | August 20, 2003 |
| Kyle Mayers | West Indies | 40 | 210* | 250 | Bangladesh | Chattogram | February 3, 2021 |
| Devon Conway | New Zealand | 200 | 23 | 223 | England | Lord’s | June 2, 2021 |
| Jacques Rudolph | South Africa | 222* | – | 222 | Bangladesh | Chattogram | April 24, 2003 |
| KS Ranjitsinhji | England | 62 | 154* | 216 | Australia | Manchester | July 16, 1896 |
| Mathew Sinclair | New Zealand | 214 | – | 214 | West Indies | Wellington | December 26, 1999 |
| Kepler Wessels | Australia | 162 | 46 | 208 | England | Brisbane | November 26, 1982 |
| Umar Akmal | Pakistan | 129 | 75 | 204 | New Zealand | Dunedin | November 24, 2009 |
| Brendon Kuruppu | Sri Lanka | 201* | – | 201 | New Zealand | Colombo (CCC) | April 16, 1987 |
| Archie Jackson | Australia | 164 | 36 | 200 | England | Adelaide | February 1, 1929 |
| Gordon Greenidge | West Indies | 93 | 107 | 200 | India | Bengaluru | November 22, 1974 |
In the first innings of his maiden Test for the West Indies, Wickham faced 145 balls and scored five fours. In the second innings on Sunday, he smashed seven fours and two sixes in 107 balls. Wickham added 165 runs off 221 balls for the third wicket with Kavem Hodge in the second innings to take the West Indies to 345/3 at the close of play on the fourth day.
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Ask News18Sew Shivnarine was the last West Indies player to achieve this feat, scoring 53 and 63 runs on his Test debut against Australia in Georgetown on March 31, 1978.
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Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist at CNN-News18, where he has been covering cricket, football, and major sporting events from around the world since July 1, 2024. Driven by a passion for storytelli…Read More
November 09, 2026, 07:00 IST
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