On the suggestion of a similarly sport-obsessed mate of mine from over the border, I’ve decided to embark on my biggest research task yet, to find and name teams of Ashes one-gamers.

The challenge remains the same: to name in some kind of batting order the most recent teams of Australian and English players to have only played one Ashes Test each (they may have played other Tests, but only one Ashes Test).

I have allowed myself the luxury of a little shuffling if required, just to ensure the teams have some semblance of balance (that, and it’s my article, so I can do what I want!)

The first gem returned by CricInfo’s Statsguru statistics engine is that I have a large pool of players to work through. 59 Australians and 81 Englishmen have played only one Ashes Test each. The downside of this of course, is that these numbers include players who played some of the first Test matches ever played, in the 1870’s. Fortunately, I didn’t have to stretch back that far to fill the teams.

Australia:
1. Merv Harvey: older brother of Neil, Merv Harvey played his only Test as a replacement for the injured Sid Barnes in the Fourth Test of the 1946/47 series in Adelaide. While Harvey managed 12 and 31, his opening partner Arthur Morris made 122 and 124 not out at the other end. Barnes was fit for the Fifth Test, and Harvey never wore the Baggy Green again.
2. Jack Moroney: played 7 Tests in all, but this was his only Ashes outing, in the First Test of the 1950/51 series in Brisbane. From the scorecard, I can only assume the Test must have been rain-affected, with England declaring their first innings at 7/68 from 22 overs, and Australia declaring their second innings at 7/32 in the 14th over. England were all out for 122 chasing 193, and Australia won by 70 runs. Moroney made a “pair” though, lasting only 4 balls in the first innings and 7 balls in the second.
3. Ken Eastwood: an opening bat who I’ve had to shuffle down a spot, Eastwood’s one and only Test was the Seventh (and final) Test in 1970/71, played at the SCG. Eastwood made 5 and 0 with the bat. The 70/71 series was only supposed to be a six-Test series, but the Third Test in Melbourne was abandoned without a ball being bowled. To the surprise of officials, well over 40,000 people turned up to watch a hastily arranged 40 over per side game, which would later become recognised as the first ever limited overs one-day international.
4. Michael Veletta (w/k): finally, I’ve found names that I recognise. Mike Veletta’s inclusion surprises me, because although I knew he played 8 Tests, I also thought he played several Ashes Tests. Not the case, as it turns out, his sole appearance against the Old Enemy was actually the one-off Bicentenary Test in 1987/88. So technically, not even an Ashes Test, but I needed someone to bat in the middle order and a wicket-keeper too. And Veletta played for my club while he was the captain-coach of the Canberra Comets during their brief stint in the domestic one-day competition in the late Nineties, so this is also a personal pick. (A claim to fame of mine is indirectly replacing Mike Veletta, but that’s another tale for another day.)

Anyway, Veletta’s sole outing against England returned 22 in his only innings of an otherwise forgettable drawn match. David Boon’s 184no in the second dig saved Australia’s embarrassment after following on.

5. David Sincock: probably batting higher in my team than he did in his solitary Ashes outing. In the Third Test of 1965/66 at the SCG, Sincock made 29 and 27, and bowled 20 overs of his left-arm Chinamans as England posted 488 on the way to an innings and 93 run thumping.
6. Shaun Young: now this is a tale. Young all-rounders Shaun Young and Shane Lee were both playing County cricket in England while the Australian side toured in 1997, and were rushed into the squad after Paul Reiffel returned home and Jason Gillespie was injured late in the series. After a tour game play-off, Young got the nod for the Sixth Test at The Oval, and returned 0/8 from seven overs, a 3-ball duck, 0/5 from four overs, and finally, 4n.o. as Australia were all out for 104 chasing 124.
7. Tony Dodemaide (Capt): Earns the captaincy on seniority, in that he played ten Tests in all, but only one appearance against England, coincidently being the Bicentenary Test in 1987/88. Dodemaide took 1/98 from 36 overs in England’s only innings, and made 12n.o. in his only time at the crease. Dodemaide, who after spending time with the MCC at Lord’s, is now the Chief Executive of Cricket Victoria.
8. Matthew Nicholson: in his only Test, Nicholson took 1/59 and 3/56 in the Fourth Test of the 1998/99 series, at the MCG. This Test was England’s only win of the series, and came on the back of Dean Headley’s 6/60 to roll Australia for 162, chasing 175. Nicholson was dropped for the next Test in Sydney, where Australia went in with an attack of McGrath, Colin Miller, Warne and MacGill to secure the 3-1 series win.
9. Joe Angel: Big Joe’s only Ashes appearance was the Fifth and final Test of the 1994/95 series, played at his home ground, the WACA in Perth. Angel played his part with 3/65 and 0/20, as Australia cruised to a 329 run victory and 3-1 series win.
10. Greg Campbell: the first name that came to mind when I first gave this article some thought. Campbell was picked from relative obscurity for the 1989 Tour to England, and will possibly be the benchmark by which all fellow “bolters” are judged. Campbell played three more Tests after this one, the First Test at Headingley, where he returned 1/82 and 0/42 in Australia’s 210 run win.
11. Peter McIntyre: before Stuart MacGill was Shane Warne’s number two, Peter McIntyre briefly held that mantle. McIntyre made his Test Debut in the Fourth Test of 1994/95 in Adelaide, and took 2/51 and 0/36. England went onto win the match by 106 runs, with the notable event being Greg Blewett’s century on debut. McIntyre lost his spot for the last Test in Perth, to fellow one-gamer Joe Angel.

I haven’t picked a Twelfth Man, because I couldn’t separate Dave Gilbert and Murray Bennett, who both played their sole Ashes Test in the Sixth Test on the 1985 tour to England.

England:
1. John Stephenson: described in his CricInfo profile as “one of England’s many one-cap wonders of the 1980s”, Stephenson came into the English side for the equally forgettable Martyn Moxon for the Sixth Test of the 1989 series and made 25 and 11 opening with Graham Gooch. Never wore the Three Lions cap again.
2. Roger Prideaux: the hard-luck story among these names of Ashes one-gamers. With England down 1-0 going to the Fourth Test of the 1968 series, Prideaux was brought in the England side for the Headingley Test, and made 64 and 2, including a 123 run opening stand in his Test Debut innings. Unfortunately, Prideaux was injured and missed the Fifth Test, and only played two more Tests in his career.
3. Eric Russell (Capt): Eric Russell also earns the captaincy on the weight of most career Tests among this group. Russell’s sole Ashes appearance was an unfortunate one though. Picked as a top order bat for the First Test of the 1965/66 series in Brisbane, Russell suffered the first of a string of injuries, and made 0 not out. batting at number 11 in the first innings, and wasn’t required in the second innings of a drawn match. Injuries allowed only five more Tests in the next few years, and he finished his career in the County ranks.
4. Ken Taylor: another player named higher in the order than where he actually appeared, Taylor made 9 and 15 with a broken finger in the Third Test of 1964 at Headingley. Taylor also played top level football (soccer, that is) for Huddersfield Town, and made his first team debut against Liverpool in front of 50000 people and scousers at Anfield.
5. Paul Parker: another Parker to go by the nickname “Porky”, Paul Parker played his only Test in 1981, the Sixth Test at The Oval. Parker made a duck and 13 in the drawn final match of the series, which England had already won 3-1 thanks largely to the heroics of Ian Botham.
6. James Whittaker: another one-Test wonder for England, Whittaker made 11 in his only appearance at the crease during the drawn Third Test of the 1986/87 series, played in Adelaide. Up 1-0 at the time, England would go on to win the series 2-1, which remains the last time England left these shores with The Ashes.
7. Ben Hollioake: before Andrew Flintoff – among others – was “the next Ian Botham”, Australian-born and raised Ben Hollioake shared the tag with brother Adam at different points in the late Nineties. After starring in the preceding one-day series in 1997, and with England down 2-1 and ready to gamble, both Hollioake brothers made their Test Debut in the Fifth Test at Trent Bridge. The gamble didn’t quite pay off though, with England losing the Test (and series) by 264 runs. Ben’s return, 1/57, 28, 1/26 and 2 was reasonable, but not enough to keep his spot for the final Test. He would only play one more Test in his career.

While Adam went on to captain England’s one-day side for a period, Ben was tragically killed in a car accident in Perth in 2002. Aged just 24, no English Test player has ever died so young.

8. James Foster (w/k): possibly the first English ‘keeper to suffer at the hands of the “Adam Gilchrist Syndrome” where suddenly all ‘keepers in world cricket had to be tidy behind the stumps AND average 50 with the bat. Once seen as the obvious successor to Alec Stewart, Foster has played only seven Tests, and his sole Ashes appearance came in the Boxing Day Test of the 2002/03 series, as a replacement for the injured Stewart. Foster took 3 catches for the match, along with 19 and 6 with the bat, in a match won by Australia by 5 wickets. Still one the County circuit today, Foster played in the recent Twenty20 World Cup.
9. Jimmy Ormond: was/is a big, burly medium pacer who also bowled a bit of off spin (if I’m allowed to generalise, I’ll assume that was usually toward the end of the day). Ormond came into the England side to make his Test Debut in the Fifth Test of the 2001 series at The Oval. Ormond took 1/115, being Ricky Ponting for 62 at 2/292, as Australia compiled a massive 4 declared for 641 on the way to an innings and 25 run smashing and a 4-1 series win.
10. Peter Martin: played his one and only Ashes Test in the same Test as Australia’s Shaun Young in 1997, and returned 0/38 and 0/13 in England’s win. Took 17 wickets in his seven other career Tests.
11. Chris Silverwood: a tour replacement for the injured Simon Jones, Silverwood came back into the England side for the Third Test of the 2002/03 series, in Perth. After making 10 in England’s first innings, Silverwood bowled only 4 overs in Australia’s innings of 456 before his ankle gave way, played no further part in the match, and indeed returned home himself.

Though blessed with options for the England twelfth man, I’ve selected the incomparable BBC commentator Jonathan Agnew. I was surprised to read Aggers played only three Tests in total and a single Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1985. While obviously a quality First Class fast bowler, it seems that as a Test spearhead, Aggers makes a brilliant commentator.

I can’t wait for the Ashes.