Oldest ODI debutants in the history of cricket

It’s believed that cricket is a youngsters’ game who bring with them vigour and vitality to meet the demands of this physically testing sport. However, with all demands of young players all around the world, there have several occasions of older people breaching the age barrier and making their entry into international cricket. There have been numerous occasions of people aged above 40 making their debuts in ODI cricket. On that note, let’s take a look at the top three oldest players to debut in ODI cricket.

3. Rahul Sharma (43y 306d)

Hong Kong’s Rahul Sharma made his ODI debut against Bangladesh on 16th July 2004 at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo. Coincidentally, he also captained the side on his debut. He ended up scoring 10 off 21 balls with the help of one boundary.

During the Asia Cup 2004 game, Sharma won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat first. Habibul Bashar’s men ended up scoring 221/9 in their allotted 50 overs and in reply Hong Kong were bundled out for just 105. Sharma ended up playing a total of two ODIs in his career scoring 11 runs in total.

2. Norman Gifford (44y 359d)

Norman Gifford made his debut against Australia at Sharjah on March 24, 1985. Gifford failed to pick up a wicket in his first game as he finished with figures of 0/27 in 10 overs. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler played one more ODI in his career against Pakistan at the same venue of his debut where he ended up picking 4/23 in 10 overs. He ended up playing two ODIs and 15 Tests in his international career.

1. Nolan Clarke (47y 240d)

Nolan Clarke is the oldest player ever to debut in ODI cricket. The Dutch opening batter made his debut against New Zealand in Vadodara on 17th February, 1996. He didn’t have the best of the debuts as he got dismissed for just 14 off 21 balls. He ended up playing five ODIs for the Netherlands scoring 50 runs at an average of 10 with a highest score of 32.