by Abhishek Mukherjee

Rudi Webster managed Clive Lloyd's in Kerry Packer's World Series. He is often credited for instilling in them a culture of fitness training, an emphasis of fielding, and the killer instinct that turned a bunch of uber-talented cricketers into one of the greatest teams in history. Even today he is invited to mentor cricket as well as AFL teams.

Years before that, the young Bajan had made his way across The Atlantic for Edinburgh. He studied medicine, and obviously played cricket. He took 6/28, 8/53, and 7/28 in three consecutive single-innings matches for East of Scotland, which made him an automatic pick for an all-Scotland side to play MCC at Greenock. This was also his First-Class debut.

Along with Webster, Scotland featured Jimmy Allan (who later played for Kent and Warwickshire), but more significantly, a young Mike Denness.

Scotland (180 and 271) beat MCC (162 and 95) comfortably, by 194 runs, but not before Webster set a world record.

MCC captain Dickie Dodds took strike when they batted. He hit two boundaries off the first over, bowled by Arthur Dewar, before retaining his strike. Then he was yorked by Webster, who was bowling the first ball of his career. Webster finished with 7/56.

Webster got first over when MCC returned to chase 290. This time Arthur Phebey took first strike. Webster bowled full and straight to clean bowl Phebey.

Never in two centuries of First-Class cricket had a bowler taken a wicket with the first ball in each innings on debut. He finished with 4/44, a match haul of 11/100.

All this happened on 17 June 1961.

Dharmendra Mishra of Railways emulated Webster 29 years later. Playing against Madhya Pradesh, debutant Mishra trapped Suhail Ansari leg-before and bowled Kirti Patel with his first ball in the two innings.

Like Webster, he bowled the second over in the first innings and got first over next time. Unlike Webster's, his team lost.