It is 17 years to the day since Jacques Rudolph announced himself on the Test stage with a magnificent debut double-century for South Africa against Bangladesh.
Rudolph crafted a brilliant 222 not out on day three of a crushing innings-and-60-run win in Chittagong aged only 21.
Australia's Charles Bannerman was the first cricketer to score a century on his Test bow against England way back in 1877, while the great W.G. Grace also hit a debut hundred.
We pick out five of the best debuts in the longest format over the years.
TIP-TOP FOSTER MAKES AUSTRALIA SUFFER
Reginald Erskine Foster, or 'Tip' as he was known, grasped his opportunity with both hands after being selected for the first Ashes Test in 1903.
Business commitments prevented Foster from making his England debut earlier, but he made up for lost time in Sydney with a record-breaking innings.
He made 287 - more than Australia's first innings total - after coming in at number five in the tourists' first innings, finding the boundary on 37 occasions.
England went on to win by five wickets thanks to Foster's knock, a Test record on debut.
SWEET 16 FOR MASSIE
Bob Massie could not have dreamed of a better start to what proved to be a short Australia career.
The seamer tore through England in both innings of the second Test at Lord's in June 1972, claiming an incredible 16 wickets in the match.
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Massie took 8-84 in the first innings and 8-53 second time around, setting up an emphatic eight-wicket victory.
His match figures of 16-137 are the fourth-best in Test history, not bad for a bowler who went on to play only nine matches for his country.
ROWE THE KING OF SABINA PARK
Big things were expected of Lawrence Rowe ahead of his West Indies debut on his home ground Sabina Park against New Zealand in 1972.
The Jamaican batsman lived up to the hype in spectacular fashion, striking a flawless 214 in the first innings in Kingston.
Rowe inflicted more punishment on the tourist's attack in the second innings with 100 not out, becoming the first man to score a double-century and a hundred on his Test debut.
New Zealand salvaged a draw, but that did not take the gloss of the exploits of Rowe, who said: "This is my home ground, and I have no right to get out here."
TEENAGER HIRWANI TEARS THROUGH WINDIES
Narendra Hirwani hit the ground running with a sensational India bow against West Indies in Chennai 32 years ago.
The bespectacled leg spinner took 16 wickets in the fourth Test, with 8-61 in the first innings and 8-75 to put the seal on a 255-run thumping.
The 19-year-old claimed the scalps of greats such as Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes and Richie Richardson on a pitch that he would have loved to have rolled up and taken with him.
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Hirwani played only 17 Tests, with his staggering debut proving to be something of a false dawn but his match figures of 16-136 versus the Windies are the third-best in the longest format.
RUDOLPH TAMES TIGERS
Rudolph was just 21 when he got the chance to showcase his talents in the longest format at the M. A. Aziz Stadium.
The left-hander shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 429 with Boeta Dippenaar, a South Africa record and the 10th highest in Test history.
Rudolph hit two sixes and found the rope 29 times in a masterful innings, laying the platform for a huge victory along with Dippenaar.
Bangladesh was unable to take a wicket on day two and was eventually put out of its misery when Graeme Smith declared on the third day.
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