Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey etched his name in record books after achieving a special milestone on his Test debut at the Gabba. In the recently concluded first Ashes Test against England in Brisbane, the South Australian became the first wicketkeeper to take eight catches (both innings combined) on his Test debut.
Carey surpassed the likes of Rishabh Pant, Chris Read, Brain Timber, Peter Nevill, Alan Knott and Chamara Dunusinghe, who had earlier accomplished a similar milestone as they had taken seven catches on their respective Test debuts.
The 30-year-old wicketkeeper attained the landmark in the opening session on Day 4 when he took the catch of Chris Woakes off Cameron Green‘s delivery.
Most catches by a wicketkeeper on Test debut:
- 8 – Alex Carey*
- 7 – Chris Read
- 7 – Brian Taber
- 7 – Chamara Dunusinghe
- 7 – Rishabh Pant
- 7 – Peter Nevill
- 7 – Alan Knott
Interestingly, South Africa keeper Quinton de Kock had also taken nine catches in his first game as a wicketkeeper, but he had already played one Test before where he didn’t keep wickets. De Kock made his debut against Australia in Port Elizabeth, where AB de Villiers played as wicketkeeper.
Meanwhile, Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon finally captured his 400th Test victim in the form of Dawid Malan and steered Australia to a stunning triumph in Brisbane on Saturday. The right-armer became only the third Australian after Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563) to complete 400 wickets in red-ball cricket.
Lyon bagged a four-wicket haul in the second innings to help Australia pack the visitors at 297 and get a paltry target of 20 runs, which the hosts chased down with nine wickets in hand.
“Really enjoyed it, a lot of things did go right probably from the toss, overcast conditions, wicket had a bit in it and to turn up on day 2 – under blue skies, someone’s smiling over me. Really proud of everyone. A really complete performance,” said the Australian captain Pat Cummins after the match.
