Charles Bannarman played the first Test match for Australia. (Photo-SCREENSHOT/S & G/Pa Images Via Getty Images)
Born on 3 July 1851 in Kent, England, Charles Bannarman is a name that recorded a unique record in Test cricket. Bannarman, who played for Australia despite being born in England, played the first ball in Test cricket. Apart from this, he holds a record of first run and first century in Test cricket. Charles Bannarman has played only three Test matches for Australia. Despite this, his name is recorded in golden letters in the pages of history. He played the first Test match of his career against England.
What happened in the first Test match?
The first match of Test history started on 15 March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between England and Australia. Australia captain Dave Gregory won the toss and decided to bat first. Australian openers Charles Banmanman and Nat Thomson landed to bat. Bannarman took a strike and became the batsman to play the first ball in Test history. England bowler Alfred Shaw became the first ball throwing bowler in the Test. The first run of Test cricket came out of Banmanman's bat. After this, he made many records.
First century scored in Test history
In this Test match, Bannarman made history by scoring the first century. On the first day of the match, Australia scored 166 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. Opener Bannarman remained unbeaten on 126 runs. On the second day of the match, he was playing for 165 runs and got hurt in his finger and became the first batsman to retired in the Test. With the help of his brilliant innings, Australia scored 245 runs in the first innings. Out of this, 165 runs were scored by Banmanman alone. During this, he hit 18 fours.
Bannarman had scored 165 runs out of 245 of the team i.e. about 67 percent runs alone, this record remains till date. However, Bannarman was dismissed by making only 4 in the second innings. Australia won this match by 45 runs.
Only three Test matches were able to play Banmanman
The international career of Banmanman, who scored a brilliant century in his first match, did not last long. He was able to play only 3 Test matches due to illness. During this, he scored 239 runs in 6 innings at an average of 59.75. It included a century. Apart from this, he also played 44 first class matches, in which he scored 1687 runs at an average of 21.62. This included a century and 9 half -centuries.
Charles Banmanman's brother Alek Bannarman also played Test cricket for Australia. He scored 1108 runs in 28 Tests at an average of 23.00. On 20 August 1930, Banmanman died on 79 years of age.
