On this day in 1993, two players made their ODI debuts for Australia against South Africa. One of them, Glenn McGrath made his Test debut against a neighbouring team, New Zealand in a Test match. On the other hand, Michael Slater made his Test debut in the 1993 Ashes in England. Meanwhile, one of them, McGrath went on to become one of the greatest players in the ODI and Test formats.
Slater, on the other hand, had a much better record in Tests compared to ODIs. Had he translated his Test record in the 50-over format, he would have been part of any of the World Cup-winning sides in 1999, 2003, and 2007. McGrath did play in these tournaments and played massive roles in all three editions to win the coveted title. Meanwhile, talking about their debuts, the right-hander, Slater played well with 73 off 69 balls from his bat.
He was the highest run-getter in the match for the home side as they were bowled out for 189 runs. No other batter reached their individual fifties. On the other hand, McGrath, despite having to bowl with 190 runs in the bank, did well with his spell of 8.4 overs, One Maiden, 28 runs and no wickets at the economy rate of 3.23.
In the end, the Proteas won by seven wickets with their skipper Kepler Wessels (former Australia player) scoring 70. On the other hand, Late Hansie Cronje hit an unbeaten 91. Talking about the respective careers of McGrath and Slater, there has been a stark contrast in relation to matches played. While the right-arm pacer played 124 Tests and 250 ODIs.
He has taken 243 and 248 wickets respectively apart from winning the ODI WC three times and also being part of the Champions Trophy 2006, their maiden CT win. On the other hand, Slater has played 74 Tests and only 42 ODIs. While he has 5312 runs in the longest format of the game, the 53-year-old has only 987 runs to his account