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Symonds sets unique record

March 12, 2004 15:46 IST

Andrew Symonds set a world record in the Galle Test between Sri Lanka and Australia that almost went unnoticed from the eagle eyes of cricket statisticians the world over. The Aussie became the 388th player to don the 'baggy' green cap for Australia in Tests.

Andrew SymondsMore significantly, he did so after playing 94 One-Day Internationals. Symonds now holds the world record of making a Test debut after appearing in 94 ODIs.

Incidentally, the previous record was also held by an Australian. Adam Gilchrist had appeared in 76 ODI matches before making his debut in Test cricket.

The following table lists players with most ODI appearances before Test debut:

ODIs Player (Country) ODI Debut Test Debut
94 A Symonds (Aus) v Pak, Lahore - 1998 v SL, Galle - 2004
76 AC Gilchrist (Aus) v SA, Faridabad - 1996 v Pak, Brisbane - 1999
73 Yuvraj Singh (Ind) v Ken, Nairobi Gym - 2000 v NZ, Mohali - 2003
66 Shahid Afridi (Pak) v Ken, Nairobi Aga - 1996 v Aus, Karachi - 1998
60 RR Singh (Ind) v WI, Port-of-Spain - 1989 v Zim, Harare - 1998
55 GR Larsen (NZ) v Ind, Dunedin - 1990 v Eng, Nottingham - 1994
48 BB McCullum v Aus, Sydney - 2002 v SA, Hamilton - 2004
47 UDU Chandana (SL) v Aus, Sharjah - 1994 v Pak, Dhaka - 1999
45 SB Styris (NZ) v Ind, Rajkot - 1999 v WI, St George's - 2002
42 PD Collingwood (Eng) v Pak, Birmingham - 2001 v SL, Galle - 2003

Rajneesh Gupta