Charles Bannerman has played only three Test matches in his career, but that was enough for him to enter the history books. He is the first man on the planet to face a delivery first and score the first-ever run in Test cricket. If these records don’t do justice to Bannerman’s talent, he is also the first man to score a century in international cricket.
Bannerman was born on July 3, 1851, in Kent, England. His family soon migrated to New South Wales, Australia, where he took up cricket by joining the Warwick Cricket Club in Sydney. In 1871, Bannerman began playing professional cricket, making his first-class debut for New South Wales.
His first international match was against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in March 1877. Bannerman opened the innings for Australia who opted to bat first. He thus became the first player to face a delivery and score runs in Test cricket. He was dropped before reaching double figures but took advantage of it and went on to score 165 before being forced to retire with an injury on the second day.
Notably, along with the record of first-ever century, Bannerman also holds the credit for registering the highest score by an Australian batsman on debut. The Kangaroos won the match by 45 runs on the back of his scintillating knock. The right-hander played his next two matches in 1877 and 1879 respectively.
His career with Australia ended due to various reasons including ill health. Bannerman finished with 239 Test runs at an average of 59.75. He had a career first-class batting record of 1,687 runs at 21.62. Moreover, he and Nat Thomson stitched the first-ever international batting partnership.
After retiring from the game, Bannerman tried his hand at umpiring. Between 1887 and 1902, the Englishman stood as an umpire in 12 Test matches in Australia. Overall, he umpired 58 first-class matches between 1887 and 1905. On 20 August 1930, Bannerman died in Sydney at the age of 79.
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