Debut Co-Performances in Tests

Yasir Arafat (Pak) picked up 5-for in his debut match against India yesterday at Bangalore. In the next innings, Ishant Sharma (India) also picks up 5-for and I get thinking that this is an interesting stat (assuming that Ishant also made his debut in this match). However, I realize that Ishant made his debut against Bangladesh earlier this year. So, I thought about finding good co-performances by debutants in tests. So what did I get?

If you take the best performance in an Innings in Test matches and consider the best 50 performances (the list includes best performance of AE Trott, 8-43 down to U Chandana 6-179), you find three matched containing two entries. But as it happens, all three were instances where the same bowler performed well in both innings:

Innings Best Co-Performances

Player	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date
F Martin	27.0x5 *	9	50	6	England	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1890
F Martin	30.2x5 *	12	52	6	England	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1890
RAL Massie	32.5	7	84	8	Australia	v England	Lord's	Jun 22, 1972
RAL Massie	27.2	9	53	8	Australia	v England	Lord's	Jun 22, 1972
ND Hirwani	15.2	3	75	8	India	v West Indies	Chennai	Jan 11, 1988
ND Hirwani	18.3	3	61	8	India	v West Indies	Chennai	Jan 11, 1988

* 5 ball overs
But if you consider the other statistic - best performance in a Match, then you find that there have been test matches where two players have performed excellently, with both making theing debuts:

Match Best Co-Performances

Player	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date
TK Kendall	71.1x4 *	28	109	8	Australia	v England	Melbourne	Mar 15, 1877
A Shaw	89.3x4 *	50	89	8	England	v Australia	Melbourne	Mar 15, 1877
CTB Turner	62.2x4 *	33	68	8	Australia	v England	Sydney	Jan 28, 1887
JJ Ferris	78.3x4 *	37	103	9	Australia	v England	Sydney	Jan 28, 1887
AL Valentine	106	36	204	11	West Indies	v England	Manchester	Jun 8, 1950
R Berry	57.5	25	116	9	England	v West Indies	Manchester	Jun 8, 1950

* 4 ball overs

As you see that in 2 of these 3 occassions, it was debutants from opposites sides who put in a good effort.