The very first ball of the first Test match between Pakistan and West Indies at Multan became a piece of history when the play eventually took place following a delayed start. West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie etched his name in cricket history in Multan, becoming the first-ever Caribbean spinner to open the bowling in the first innings of a Test match.
West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie’s landmark moment came when he bowled the very first delivery of the match to Pakistan captain Shan Masood. This marked the first time in West Indies cricket history that a spinner opened the bowling in the opening innings of a Test. Previously, only four instances of West Indies spinners opening the bowling in any Test innings existed, with three of them occurring as recently as 2021. Notably, none of those instances happened in the first innings.
The last spinner from any nation to achieve this feat was Pakistan’s Sajid Khan, who opened the bowling against England in Rawalpindi in October 2024.
Motie’s achievement in the first Multan Test between Pakistan and West Indies was not just a milestone for the West Indies but also a rarity in the history of Test cricket. His effort became only the 30th instance of a spinner opening the bowling in the first innings of a Test. The previous nine such instances were all by Asian bowlers, with the last non-Asian spinner to do so being South Africa’s Aubrey Faulkner back in 1912.
Below is a list of West Indian spinners who have opened the bowling in Test matches:
| Player | Innings | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gudakesh Motie | 1 | Pakistan | Multan | 17 Jan 2025 |
| Veerasammy Permaul | 3 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 29 Nov 2021 |
| Rahkeem Cornwall | 3 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 21 Nov 2021 |
| Rahkeem Cornwall | 4 | Bangladesh | Mirpur | 11 Feb 2021 |
| Sonny Ramadhin | 3 | England | The Oval | 12 Aug 1950 |
A comprehensive look at spinners who have achieved this rare feat, dating back to the 19th century, highlights the significance of Motie’s achievement in cricket’s long history.
| Player | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey Palmer (AUS) | 36 (4) | 9 | 73 | 1 | England | Melbourne | 31 Dec 1881 |
| Joey Palmer (AUS) | 58 (4) | 36 | 68 | 7 | England | Sydney | 17 Feb 1882 |
| Joey Palmer (AUS) | 45.2 (4) | 23 | 46 | 5 | England | Sydney | 3 Mar 1882 |
| Ted Peate (ENG) | 38 (4) | 24 | 31 | 4 | Australia | The Oval | 28 Aug 1882 |
| Joey Palmer (AUS) | 24 (4) | 9 | 52 | 2 | England | Sydney | 17 Feb 1883 |
| Ted Peate (ENG) | 40 (4) | 14 | 85 | 6 | Australia | Lord’s | 21 Jul 1884 |
| Ted Peate (ENG) | 63 (4) | 25 | 99 | 2 | Australia | The Oval | 11 Aug 1884 |
| Bobby Peel (ENG) | 41 (4) | 15 | 68 | 3 | Australia | Adelaide | 12 Dec 1884 |
| Bobby Peel (ENG) | 32 (4) | 13 | 51 | 0 | Australia | Sydney | 20 Feb 1885 |
| Bobby Peel (ENG) | 41 (4) | 26 | 28 | 3 | Australia | Melbourne | 21 Mar 1885 |
| Ted Peate (ENG) | 19 (4) | 7 | 30 | 0 | Australia | Manchester | 5 Jul 1886 |
| Johnny Briggs (ENG) | 37 (4) | 21 | 39 | 4 | South Africa | Gqeberha | 12 Mar 1889 |
| Bobby Peel (ENG) | 24 | 5 | 74 | 3 | Australia | Sydney | 1 Feb 1895 |
| George Rowe (SA) | 49 (5) | 9 | 115 | 5 | England | Johannesburg | 2 Mar 1896 |
| Wilfred Rhodes (ENG) | 35.2 (5) | 13 | 58 | 4 | Australia | Nottingham | 1 Jun 1899 |
| Hugh Trumble (AUS) | 65 | 23 | 124 | 3 | England | Adelaide | 17 Jan 1902 |
| Wilfred Rhodes (ENG) | 25 | 3 | 104 | 4 | Australia | Manchester | 24 Jul 1902 |
| Hugh Trumble (AUS) | 50 | 10 | 107 | 4 | England | Melbourne | 1 Jan 1904 |
| Douglas Carr (ENG) | 34 | 2 | 146 | 5 | Australia | The Oval | 9 Aug 1909 |
| Aubrey Faulkner (SA) | 16 | 2 | 55 | 0 | Australia | Manchester | 27 May 1912 |
| Polly Umrigar (IND) | 14 | 4 | 23 | 0 | Pakistan | Lahore | 29 Jan 1955 |
| ML Jaisimha (IND) | 19 | 4 | 54 | 2 | England | Kanpur | 15 Feb 1964 |
| ML Jaisimha (IND) | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | New Zealand | Hyderabad (Deccan) | 15 Oct 1969 |
| Mohammad Hafeez (PAK) | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | Bangladesh | Chattogram | 9 Dec 2011 |
| Pragyan Ojha (IND) | 28.1 | 10 | 99 | 5 | New Zealand | Bengaluru | 31 Aug 2012 |
| Sohag Gazi (BAN) | 47 | 7 | 145 | 3 | West Indies | Mirpur | 13 Nov 2012 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 13 | 0 | 54 | 0 | Sri Lanka | Mirpur | 8 Feb 2018 |
| Taijul Islam (BAN) | 41 | 5 | 116 | 4 | Afghanistan | Chattogram | 5 Sep 2019 |
| Sajid Khan (PAK) | 29.2 | 4 | 128 | 6 | England | Rawalpindi | 24 Oct 2024 |
| Gudakesh Motie (WI) | 12.1 | 1 | 34 | 1 | Pakistan | Multan | 17 Jan 2025 |
(Note: Numbers in parentheses under “Overs” indicate balls per over, where applicable.)