Do You Remember Your One-Cap Wonders?

Quiz yourself silly by distinguishing between your Mike Smiths, your Simon Browns and your Darren Pattinsons…

We all dream of an England cap, don’t we? Well this lot did it. They got there. They played for England. Elgar, jam, queues, three lions, rain, etc. Problem is, they only played once. Do you remember that game? Do you? Do you remember their one true moment of glory? You better, you swine…

  1. Which of these blokes dropped Matthew Elliott off the bowling of Mike Smith at Headingley in 1997?

    Elliott was on 29 at the time. He went on to make 199. Smith, on debut, would never play another Test.

    • Graham Thorpe
    • Mike Atherton
    • Dean Headley

    CorrectWrong

    It was Graham Thorpe!

    And Athers apparently told him not to worry, but added that he only dropped the Ashes. Sounds made up, but it’s a story, and we all love #content. Poor old Mike Smith, eh?

  2. Which of these cheery fellows is Simon Brown, a Durham seamer capped once by his country at Test level?

    Simon says ‘it’s me!’

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3

    CorrectWrong

    No.2 is Simon Brown!

    Like Mike Smith, Brown bowled some handy left-arm swing. Prolific in county cricket he may have been, but he played just one Test, against Pakistan in 1996. A wicket with his 10th ball wasn’t enough to earn him a second game.

  3. When Gavin Hamilton made his single Test appearance in 1999, he debuted alongside two other players. One was Michael Vaughan, but who was the other?

    It was a baptism of fire, and all.

    • Graeme Swann
    • Chris Adams
    • Darren Maddy

    CorrectWrong

    It was Chris ‘Grizzly’ Adams!

    Maddy debuted the summer before, against New Zealand, while Swann – who did go on the 1999 tour – wouldn’t make his Test bow until 2008.

  4. Amjad Khan took one wicket on his Test debut in 2009. Who was it?

    Khan you tell?

    • Shivnarine Chanderpaul
    • Ryan Hinds
    • Ramnaresh Sarwan

    CorrectWrong

    It was Ramnaresh Sarwan!

    Ramnaresh ‘Ronnie’ Sarwan, owner of a fine nickname and a ton of bandanas, was lbw for just 14.

  5. When Devon Malcolm did that nine-wicket thing in 1994, he somewhat overshadowed a debutant who took a four-fer in the first innings. Who was the debutant?

    The unlucky bloke, of course, didn’t make a second Test appearance.

    • Joey Benjamin
    • Peter Martin
    • Martin Bicknell

    CorrectWrong

    It was Joey Benjamin!

    Four wickets for just 42 he took – along with a wicketless second innings – meaning he left Test cricket with a bowling average of 20. You’d take it.

  6. Which of these one-cap wonders ended up with the most Test runs for England?

    It’s tricky, this.

    • John Stephenson
    • James Whitaker
    • Mark Benson

    CorrectWrong

    It was Mark Benson!

    Benson’s edges smoked it for England and he won this little competition by a fag paper. No idea if they were edges, just wanted to make a bad joke. Let us off.

  7. One of these players is Paul Parker, unlucky enough to score just 13 runs on debut in 1981. Which player is he?

    He’s made a mint in fountain pens since, mind.

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3

    CorrectWrong

    No.2 is Paul Parker!

    Parker played one Test for England, in 1981. No.1 is Alan Butcher, father of Mark, who played one Test in 1979, and No.3 is Yorkshire’s Geoff Cope, who made three appearances across 1977 and 1978.

  8. Which of these is the ground on which Darren Pattinson made his debut in 2008?

    Preferred to Tremlett, Hoggard and Harmison, amongst others.

    CorrectWrong

    It was Headingley!

    Of course it was. As Vic Marks noted at the time, the Leeds ground “can do odd things to selectors”.

  9. At 2006, in Nagpur, Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar had one other debutant alongside them. Who was it?

    Unfortunately this guy wasn’t able to enjoy Test careers like his fellow debutants.

    • Alex Loudon
    • Shaun Udal
    • Ian Blackwell

    CorrectWrong

    It was Ian Blackwell!

    The Somerset allrounder was always one of county cricket’s most entertaining players, but it didn’t quite happen at the very highest level. Still, you’d fancy a night in the pub with him.

  10. Sussex stalwart Jon Lewis played one Test match. Question is, who was his skipper?

    A wise man, obviously, shame he could only deliver one cap to everyone’s favourite right-handed, curly-haired swing merchant.

    • Michael Vaughan
    • Andrew Flintoff
    • Andrew Strauss

    CorrectWrong

    It was Andrew Flintoff!

    Fair to say Freddie wasn’t England’s greatest-ever captain – although India was pretty darn good – but his time in charge will be pretty memorable for Jon Lewis.

Do You Remember Your One-Cap Wonders?

About the author

Picture of Freddie Chatt

Freddie Chatt

Freddie is a cricket badger. Since his first experience of cricket at primary school, he's been in love with the game. Playing for his local village club, Great Baddow Cricket Club, for the past 20 years. A wicketkeeper-batsman, who has fluked his way to two scores of over 170, yet also holds the record for the most ducks for his club. When not playing, Freddie is either watching or reading about the sport he loves.