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The third logical follow-up in my series on Australia’s greatest sporting debuts and farewells, the worst debuts in sports history!
Yes some are Australians and yes the pain of writing this will terminate any prospect of a part four, I promise!
Nilesh Kulkarni – cricket
Graham Gooch only faced ten balls in his first Test in 1975. He made a pair against Australia.
Andy Lloyd fared even worse for England against the West Indies in 1984. Ten runs and 30 minutes into his first innings, Malcolm Marshall hit him on the head and he spent the rest of the match in hospital with blurred vision.
That was his only Test performance, earning him the distinction of being the only Test player to open the innings and never be out.
As unfortunate as those debuts were, at least they were short. Nilesh Kulkarni’s performance for India against Sri Lanka in 1997 was an exercise in Chinese torture.
The off-spinner had bowling figures of 70 overs, 12 maidens, 1-195, as Sri Lanka amassed a world record score of 952-6 declared.
At least his figures were not the worst in the innings. Rajesh Chauhan bowled 78 overs and ended with figures of 1-278!
Lionel Messi – football
Lionel Messi is arguably the best footballer on the planet right now. His talent was recognised quickly – he was selected to represent Argentina against Hungary at the age of 18 in 2005.
The joy of representing his country was short-lived: his very first chance on the ball saw him clash with defender Vilmos Vanczak, a tussle that Messi decided to try and end by karate chopping his opponent in the chest.
Less than two minutes after he came on, he was sent off in disgrace.
Darren Lockyer – rugby league
Darren Lockyer played a record 59 Tests for the Kangaroos, lucky his debut didn’t count against him – it was a shocker!
Against New Zealand in Auckland in 1998, Lockyer was all at sea at fullback as New Zealand upset Australia 22-16.
Two Lockyer fumbles led directly to tries and even teammate Wendell Saylor was aghast, describing Lockyer’s performance as “the worst debut of any player at any level.”
St Kilda – AFL
St Kilda was one of the foundation clubs in the VFL in 1897. They lost their first game by 25 points to Collingwood, not so bad, but their first six seasons in the league were an absolute horror show!
The Saints lost 48 games in a row until their maiden win, a one-point triumph against Melbourne in Round 1, 1900.
After that win the Saints only won one of their next 53 games!
From 1897-1902 the Saints kicked 12 of the 13 lowest scores in club history and conceded 986 goals!
In Round 17, 1899 the Saints lost 1-162 to Geelong, the Cats conceding a rushed behind!
Eric Moussambani – swimming
The swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, better known as ‘Eric the Eel’, endeared himself to sports fans at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 when he won his heat of the 100 metres freestyle due the disqualification of his competitors.
His sluggish time of 1:52.72 was more than twice that of his faster competitors, and outside even the 200 metres world record. However, he set a new personal best and Equatoguinean national record.
Not surprisingly, the cheerful and game Moussambani was not at the next Olympics.
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