3 Players who burst onto the scene in the Ashes 

The rivalry between England and Australia is the oldest in the history of the sport. The two teams faced each other in the year 1877 which marked the beginning of international cricket. In the year 1882, the term ‘Ashes’ came to use for the international matches between the two teams. The series has seen some exceptional performers since then. The players that perform well in the series are treated like heroes in their respective countries. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that heroes emerge from the Ashes. Here are three such heroes who burst onto the scene in the Ashes from nowhere. 

Rodney Hogg 

The right-arm quick from Victoria made his debut in 1978 and shook the Cricket world straightaway. In the very first innings of his debut Test, Hogg claimed a 6-fer at The Gabba dismissing some great batters like Graham Gooch and Geoffrey Boycott. In the second test of the series at the pacy WACA, Hogg unleashed his beast mode and terrorized the English batters. Hogg picked a fifer in both innings of the Test and registered his maiden 10-wicket haul in Tests. As if it wasn’t enough, the deadly pacer bowled another masterclass spell at the MCG, as he claimed two more fifers. In the very first year of international cricket, Hogg had five fifers in six innings.  

In the following test in Sydney, Hogg picked six wickets. In Adelaide, the quick pace of Hogg had 7 victims. The last in Sydney saw him claim a wicket. In the exceptional debut, Hogg played 6 Tests and claimed a whopping 41 wickets at an average of just 12.85, at a strike rate of 42.43, at an economy of just 1.81, including a couple of 4-fers, five fifers, and two 10-wicket hauls. 41 wickets claimed by him were the second most for a bowler in an Ashes series till that point in time. It’s arguably the greatest debut series for a bowler in the history of Ashes. 

Mark Taylor 

Having debuted against the incredible West Indies side, Mark Taylor was to play his maiden Ashes series, which was away from home. Mark Taylor had struggled against the deadly pace trio of Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, and Courtney Walsh in his debut series at home. England saw a completely different player in Taylor. In the very first innings on English soil, Taylor scored a marathon 136(315) and scored 60(112) in the second innings at Headingley. The second Test at Lord’s saw Taylor scoring 62(162) and 27(61) respectively. 

At Edgbaston, Taylor scored 43(99) in the first innings and 51(148) in the second innings. At Old Trafford, the former Australian captain registered 85(180) in the first innings and scored an unbeaten 37*(83) in the second innings. The fifth test at Trent Bridge saw one of the best performances from Taylor. The opening batter scored 219 runs in 461 balls and impressed everyone. In the final test of the series, Mark scored 71(125) and 48(120) in the first and second innings respectively, and ended his series on a good note. Taylor scored 839 runs in 11 innings at an average of 83.90, including two hundreds and five fifty. To date, Taylor has the most runs in the debut Ashes series by a batter. 

Kevin Pietersen 

The great Australian team of the 2000s toured England in 2005. The series is considered to be one of the greatest Test series in the history of the format. Kevin Pietersen was the find of the series. In the first test of the series at the home of cricket, the swashbuckling batter scored 57(89). In the second innings, Pietersen waged a lone war with the bat and remained unbeaten on 64(79) as no batter stayed around with him. In the second test at Edgbaston, Kevin was at the bowlers yet again, with a lot more determination and aggression. The truculent batter scored 71(76) in the first innings and 20(35) in the second innings and helped England win the Test. 

The third in Manchester saw a thrilling draw. The unorthodox batter scored 21(28) in the first innings and bagged a golden duck in the second innings. The fourth test at Trent Bridge saw Pietersen scoring 45(108) in the first innings and a crucial 23(34) chasing a tricky low total. The last test of the series at The Oval witnessed an incredible performance from the young batter. In the first innings of the Test, the Natal-born cricketer scored 14(25). In the second innings, the T20 world cup winner registered his maiden Test ton and scored 158(187) which helped England to save the test. Pietersen scored 473 runs in 10 innings at an average of 52.55, including a hundred and 3 fifty in the series. To date, it’s one of the best debuts for a batter in the history of Ashes.