Doug Walters made 155 on his Test debut against England at the Gabba on 10 December 1965 — the tenth Australian to score a debut century against the old enemy. He followed it with 115 in his second Test at Melbourne and another in the third at Sydney, becoming the first batsman in history to score centuries in his first three Ashes innings. He was 19 years old.
Walters was a country boy from Dungog, New South Wales — short, slight, and famously laconic. He had played one full season for NSW and was 19 when he was named in the Australian XII for the first Test. Bob Simpson, the captain, batted Walters at six. Australia won the toss and batted on a flat Brisbane surface. By the time Walters arrived, Australia were 125 for 4 — still vulnerable on a fresh first-day pitch against a Trueman-Statham new-ball pair.
He scored 11 from his first thirty balls, edging the seamers through the slips and missing two off-breaks from David Allen. By tea he had 35. Then, as the bowlers tired, Walters opened up. The on-drive that became his trademark — played off the front foot with a high follow-through — drew applause from Trueman himself. He reached his hundred from 207 balls with an on-drive off Allen for four. He was bowled by Brown for 155 from 315 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes. Australia totalled 443 for 6 declared. The Test was drawn.
The second Test at Melbourne began on 30 December. Walters, now batting at five, came in at 168 for 3. He made 115 from 224 balls, again driving England's seamers off the front foot. The Test was drawn. The third Test at Sydney began on 7 January 1966. Walters again made a hundred — 115 from 226 balls. He was the first batsman in Test history to score centuries in his first three Ashes innings. The series was drawn 1-1; Australia retained the urn.
Walters's career would have its strange features. He averaged 56 at home and 26 away; he failed completely in England in 1968, 1972 and 1975. But his 1965-66 summer remains, statistically and stylistically, one of the great Test debuts.
10 Dec 1965, day 1: Walters walks out at 125/4.
10 Dec 1965, evening: Walters 35 not out at tea, accelerates after.
11 Dec 1965: Reaches 100 with an on-drive off Allen.
11 Dec 1965: Bowled by Brown for 155 from 315 balls.
30 Dec 1965: Walters 115 in second Test at Melbourne.
9 Jan 1966: Walters 115 in third Test at Sydney.
10 Dec 1965
Walters debut at Brisbane.
11 Dec 1965
Walters 155 on debut.
30 Dec 1965
Second Test, Melbourne; Walters 115.
9 Jan 1966
Third Test, Sydney; Walters 115.
“I was a 19-year-old from Dungog. Trueman was my hero. Then I was driving him over mid-off.”
The series was drawn 1-1; Australia retained the Ashes. Walters became a regular at five or six for the next decade. His 1965-66 summer (504 runs at 84) remains his best across an Australian season.
Walters's 155 on Test debut and the two centuries that followed gave Australia a middle-order replacement for the ageing Norm O'Neill at exactly the moment one was needed. His average never quite returned to its first-summer levels, but the Brisbane debut remains canonical.
Walters is the only batsman to have scored centuries in his first three Ashes innings. The footage of his Gabba debut, replayed by Channel Nine every Ashes summer for decades, made him an iconic Australian sporting figure of his generation.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.