Usman Khawaja to bid adieu at SCG! 5 Test legends with debut and retirement at same venue

Mayank

Shane Warne and Graeme Smith feature in the elite list [Source: sidhuwrites, ICC/X.com]Shane Warne and Graeme Smith feature in the elite list [Source: sidhuwrites, ICC/X.com]

On Friday morning, Usman Khawaja announced his decision to retire from all international cricket at the end of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground as Australia look to claim the Urn with a 4-1 margin, having already won the series ahead of the fourth Test in Melbourne.

Coincidentally, Khawaja will hang up his boots at the same venue as SCG, 15 years after his debut against England during the 2010/11 Ashes series, adding him to a rare list of cricketers who made their international debut and retired at the same venue.

Here's a look at five of the legendary names to have started and ended their careers at the same grounds.

Five legends who made international debut and retired at the same venue

1. Shane Warne - SCG

Widely considered the greatest spinner of all time, Australia legend Shane Warne made his international debut against India at the SCG in the New Year's Test of 1992. In the drawn match, Australia batted first, where Warne first got to show his mantle with the bat after a lower-order collapse as he added 20(67). 

With the ball, he only got to bowl in one innings, picking Ravi Shastri's wicket after his 206(477). He finished the game with 45 overs and 1/150.

In his final Test, the leg-spinner faced England in the fifth Test of the 2006/07 Ashes and picked 1/69 (22.4), dismissing Monty Panesar to get England 291 all out. He scored 71(65) before picking captain Andrew Flintoff's wicket as his solitary dismissal in the final innings. 

His figures of 1/23 (6) ended his career with a whopping 708 wickets in 145 matches. He also scored 3154 runs with 12 fifties with the bat. He took another 293 ODI wickets in 191 innings and won two World Cups.

2. Graeme Smith - Cape Town

One of the finest captains of the modern era of Test cricket, Graeme Smith, made his international debut in the second Test of Australia's tour of South Africa 2002 in Newlands, Cape Town. 

Batting, Smith made 3(9) at 3 in the first innings as the team got all out for 239 runs. In the next innings, trailing Australia's 143-run lead, the southpaw stood tall and got 68(147) with 9 fours to his name and helped the team get a hefty 330-run lead. However, the target was chased comfortably by the Aussies.

In 2014, at just 33, Smith shocked the cricketing fraternity with his early retirement to take care of his daughter, who sustained severe burns, among other personal factors.

His last Test appearance came at the same venue against the same opponent, where he scored 5 and 3 in their 245-run loss, thanks to twin centuries from David Warner.

He ended his illustrious Test career with 9265 runs in 117 Tests, while also captaining SA in 109 matches and is to date the most successful Test captain with 53 wins.

3. Ricky Ponting - W.A.C.A

The former Australia Test captain made his Test debut at the W.A.C.A against Sri Lanka in December 1995, when he impressed with a well-made 96(14) in the first innings to take the team score to 617/5 (d). Thanks to the mammoth lead, they did not need to bat again and won the match by an innings and 36 runs.

In his final Test, he faced South Africa at the W.A.C.A again, as the Aussies struggled to deal with the Proteas pace attack. He managed only 4 (7) and 8 (23) in the two innings, and they lost the match by a margin of 309 runs. Ponting ended his career with 13,378 runs in 168 matches with 41 centuries.

4. Jacques Kallis - Durban

Arguably one of the greatest all-rounders the sport has ever seen, Jacques Kallis made his Test debut against England in the home series at Kingsmead, Durban, in the third Test of the 1995/96 series and scored 1(12) in the drawn Test, where the final two days saw no play.

In contrast, his final Test match, which was played against India, went to the fifth day in 2013, as he bowled 11 overs for 0/36 and got a 115(316) in the first innings as they won the match comfortably by 10 wickets, chasing down 59 runs. He finished his career with 13289 runs in 166 matches, with 45 centuries and 292 wickets with 5 five-fers.

4. James Anderson - Lord's

The highest wicket-taking fast bowler in Tests, James Anderson, debuted at Lord's back in 2003 against Zimbabwe and picked a 5/73 (16) in his first innings to help England enforce a follow-on with a 325-run lead. He went wicketless in the second innings, but they won by an innings and 92 runs.

His last international game came against West Indies at the same venue, 21 years after his debut, and he picked 1/26 in the first innings, followed by 3/32 in the second as they clinched the match by an innings and 114 runs. His legendary career ended with 704 wickets in 188 Tests, only 4 shy of Warne.

Other notable names: Dale Steyn (Port Elizabeth), Brett Lee (MCG), Andrew Strauss (Lord's) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (Bridgetown).