Gus Atkinson on Wednesday (July 10) enjoyed an impressive debut as his 7-wicket haul swept West Indies away on the first day of the ongoing Test at Lord’s.

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and invited West Indies to bat first. The visitors started cautiously, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite and debutant Mikyle Louis ensuring they kept their wickets intact in the first ten overs.

After James Anderson and Chris Woakes failed to get England’s first breakthrough, Ben Stokes introduced Gus Atkinson into the attack for the 11th over and the pacer made an instant impact. In his first over, the right-arm pacer dismissed Brathwaite to give England the much-needed first breakthrough. In the 15th over, he struck again to dismiss Kirk McKenzie for 1.

He then completed a memorable 5-wicket haul on debut in style by taking 3 wickets in an over. In the 35th over, he first dismissed a well-placed Alick Athanaze for 23 before sending back Jason Holder (0) and Joshua Da Silva (0) to complete his 5-wicket haul.

The 3 wickets inside an over saw West Indies reduced from 88 to 6 for 3. He later dismissed Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph as well to end the innings with brilliant figures of 7 for 45 in 12 overs. For West Indies, no batsman could even touch the 30-run mark, with debutant Louis’ 27-run knock being the best effort as they were bowled out for 121.

The spell that equaled Gus Atkinson’s record:

The brilliant run on debut helped Gus Atkinson equal the English record for most wickets in an innings on debut. He became the fifth English bowler to take 7 wickets in an innings on Test debut.

Gus❤️ image.twitter.com/lVlaaVDAeT

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 10, 2024

The first England bowler to achieve this feat was John Ferris, who took 7 wickets on debut against South Africa in 1892. Gus Atkinson also became the first England bowler to take 7 wickets in an innings on debut this century.

The best numbers from England’s Test debut:

• 7/37 – John Ferris v South Africa, Cape Town, 1892
• 7/43 – Dominic Cork v West Indies, Lord’s, 1995
• 7/45 – Gus Atkinson vs West Indies, Lord’s, 2024
• 7/46 – John Lever vs India, Delhi, 1976
• 7/49 – Alec Bedser vs India, Lord’s, 1946

Talking about the match, England were 88 for 1 in the 19th over at the time of writing this report. Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope were batting in the middle for the hosts.