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5 English cricketers who scored a century on their Test debut

5 English cricketers who scored a century on their Test debut
© Reuters
Foakes scored 107 as England reached 342 in Sri Lanka.

Ben Foakes became the 20th Englishman to score a century on debut against Sri Lanka.

The wicketkeeper-batsman resumed his innings at the start of the day on 87 and found the boundary in the sixth over of the day to reach three figures.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at five other English cricketers who have scored a century on debut.

WG Grace, England v Australia, the Oval, 1880

Cricket – W.G. Grace
WG Grace scored 152 on his England debut in 1880 (PA Photos)

Widely considered to be one of the sport's greatest ever players, Grace made his Test debut against Australia in September 1880 and scored 152. 

Two years later was in the side which lost at the same ground to mark the birth of the Ashes.

He made his highest Test score of 170 in 1886 and scored 1098 runs in 22 Tests for England.

Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, v Australia, Sydney, 1932

Cricket – India Tour of England – Kent County Cricket Club v India – St Lawrence Ground
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi's son Mansoor (pictured) also played cricket for India. (PA)

The eighth Nawab of Pataudi hit 102 on his Test debut in Sydney as England won by 10 wickets.

But he was dropped after the second Test in Melbourne after scoring just 15 and five and did not play again in the series.

He also captained India, making him the only Test cricketer to have played for India and England, three times for both countries.

Graham Thorpe, England v Australia, Trent Bridge, 1993

South Africa v England Second Test – Kingsmead
England's Graham Thorpe made 100 Test appearances. (Matthew Fearn/PA)

A disappointing 13-ball six in his first innings hardly previewed what was to come in Thorpe's second in Nottingham.

An unbeaten 114 helped England to a draw against Australia after they declared on 422 for six.

Thorpe made 100 Test appearances for England, scoring 6744 runs with a high of 200 not out.

Matthew Prior, England v West Indies, Lord's, 2007

Cricket – Investec First Test – England v Sri Lanka – Day Two – Lord's
England's Matt Prior had a battling average of 40.18 for his country. (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Prior became one of four batsman to score a century in the first innings of the
Test series against the West Indies, when he scored 126 not out on his debut.

The wicketkeeper-batsman scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of
98.43.

Prior played 79 matches for England, and was an important part of their number one world ranking in 2011, with his average of 40.18.

Alastair Cook, India v England, Nagpur, 2006

England v India – Fifth Test – Day Five – The Kia Oval
Alastair Cook became England's all-time leading run scorer. (Adam Davy/PA)

Called into the side at just 21 to replace Marcus Trescothick, Cook made an
instant impact, with 104 not out in his second innings, after scoring 60 in his
first.

The Essex opener became England's all-time leading run scorer in 2015 and ended with 12,472 runs including 33 centuries, and captained England's first series win in India for 28 years in 2012.

Cook played for England for 12 years and in 161 Test matches – 158 of them
consecutive – with an average of 45.35.

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Ben Foakes celebrates reaching a century for England against Sri Lanka on November 7, 2018
Read Next:
Matt Prior says Ben Foakes has given England selection headache with debut ton
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