Ashton Agar's 98 against England at Trent Bridge will forever go down in cricket folklore. It was undoubtedly the greatest batting performance by a number 11 batsman making his test debut - statistically and subjectively. Even English fans were gutted when Agar fell two runs short of what would have been an equally sensational ton. Agar's initial disappointment was quickly and deservedly replaced with satisfaction and gave a beleaguered Australia a much needed boost. If he could get a couple of wickets, it would cap off quite possibly the greatest debut in cricket ever.
How does Agar's debut compare with other greatest debut performances in sport?
Ben Curtis
At the start of the 2003 British Open, Ben Curtis was a 300-1 outsider to win the Open on his debut in a major. Several days later, Ladbrokes were not happy as Curtis became the first golfer to win on his Major Championship debut. Curtis, hasn't quite managed to maintain the stellar form he showed in his debut season but his name will forever be remembered for the right reasons.
Jacques Villeneuve
1995 Indycar champion, Jacques Villeneuve, son of Ferrari legend, Giles Villeneuve, was expected to struggle when the 1996 F1 season started even with lots of miles of testing with the Williams team during the pre-season - Indycar champions have a terrible track record in F1, e.g. Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Cristiano da Matta, Sebastian Bourdais. Alas, Villeneuve took pole position in the Australian Grand Prix and was only denied victory in his maiden grand prix by an oil leak. Villeneuve would eventually take the title race with teammate, Damon Hill to the final race but missed out after crashing out. Villeneuve would become world champion in 1997 but his F1 career went downhill after that and now races in NASCAR.
Eddy Merckx
The greatest grand tour cyclist the world has ever known and what a way to make his debut - winning his first ever Tour de France in 1969. He would win 4 more times in 1970, 1971, 1972 & 1974 and remains the Tour's most successful rider ever - and this without drugs.
Andrew Strauss
Cricket is a sport where debutants can easily make star peformances. Andrew Strauss's test debut at Lord's against New Zealand may be one of the greatest ever seen at Lord's - two centuries in two innings. This performance amongst others would seal his place at the top of England's batting order for 8 years and even give him the captaincy which included two memorable Ashes series wins in 2009 and 2010/11. Strauss has now retired from all cricket and has joined the former captains club - the Sky Sports commentary box.
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