For a cricket playing nation, attaining full member status and taking part in a Test match remains the pinnacle of the sport. The importance of the moment can be capsulized by the heightened anticipation and excitement as well as a tinge of nervous energy that players feel when they take the field in the country's inaugural Test match. In short, the kind of passion it evokes among the players encapsulates the hold Test cricket has on the sporting psyche of the cricket fraternity. As Ireland (versus Pakistan from May 11) and Afghanistan (versus India from June 14) embark on the journey of playing their maiden Test matches, we at Cricbuzz, recount 11 stellar individual performances in the inaugural Tests of cricketing playing nations.

Aminul Islam (145 not out for Bangladesh, Dhaka, 2000)

November 10, 2000, turned out to be a red letter day in the history of Bangladesh's cricket as in front of near capacity crowd (around 40,000), Shahriar Hossain and Mehrab Hossain walked out to open the batting in the country's maiden Test. On a flat pitch, despite losing both the openers cheaply. Habibul Bashar crunched a superlative 71 off 112 balls. Aminul, who came out to bat with the score reading 44 for 2, consolidated the No. 3 batsman's good work, as he remained unbeaten on a patient 70 off 213 balls at the end of Day 1.

Aminul occasionally chipped down the track to play the lofted drive while facing Sunil Joshi, the left-arm spinner, blended with a few drives off Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan. With Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in attendance, Aminul soon reached his hundred via a paddle sweep off Murali Karthik on Day 2. A pleased and satisfied Aminul removed his helmet and kissed the badge on his helmet and then acknowledged a delirious crowd. Indian legends, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, also shook hands with the debutant centurion. His 535-minute, unbeaten 145 turned out to be the rock of Bangladesh's first innings total of 400. Unfortunately, the hosts slipped in the second innings as they were bundled out for a mere 91 to lose the game by nine wickets. Aminul later observed that he was struggling in the local games prior to Bangladesh's maiden Test but "played each ball on its merit" and succeeded.

Dave Houghton (121 and 41 not out for Zimbabwe, Harare, 1992)

By the time Zimbabwe made their Test debut at the scenic ground in Harare on October 18, 1992, versus India, the 35-year-old Dave Houghtonwas a veteran, who had already taken part in three World Cups. The Zimbabwe captain showed the value of his experience as he compiled a resolute 121 off 312 in the country's maiden Test. On a slow surface, Zimbabwe mostly collected runs at a snail's pace. Houghton, who came out to bat at 199 for 4, also based his game on a cautious approach. Houghton, known for his aggressive stroke play, was content on stout defence and the occasional pull or the lofted drive. He soon completed a chanceless hundred in 305 minutes before eventually edging one off the Indian pacer Javagal Srinath. Houghton later noted that one of his friends had said after his marathon effort, "Retire now. You're better than Donald Bradman!" He also composed a fine, unbeaten hand of 41 in the second dig as the match ended in a tame draw.

Zimbabwe's first innings score of 456 turned out to be the highest total aggregated by a country on Test debut. The hosts also had the satisfaction of earning a first innings lead of 149 against an experienced side and became the first side since Australia (in the inaugural Test match played in 1877) to avoid defeat.

John Traicos (5 for 86 for Zimbabwe, Harare, 1992)

Zimbabwe's maiden Test also witnessed an impressive performance by the 45-year-old seasoned off spinner John Traicos. The diligent off-spinner had already made his Test debut for South Africa against Australia way back in February 1970 in Durban. The gap between his first and second Test appearance - 22 years and 222 days - still stands as a record. On a slow track, he used subtle changes of pace and clever flight to keep the highly rated Indian batsmen (against spin) in check. At 45, he also displayed good agility by taking a fine return catch to dismiss the young prodigy Sachin Tendulkar. Mohammad Azharuddin, the Indian captain and another fine player of spin, was caught in the slips. He also picked up the scalps of the centurion, Sanjay Manjrekar, Venkatapathy Raju and Manoj Prabhakar, as he bagged a richly deserved five-for.

Roy Dias (77 for Sri Lanka, P Sara Oval, 1982)

On Wednesday, February 17, 1982, when Sri Lanka and England captains - Bandula Warnapura and Keith Fletcher, walked out for the toss, it signaled the entry of Sri Lanka as the eighth Test playing nation. Sri Lanka were granted full member status in July 1981 and once they were granted Test status, more than 100,000 worked day in and day out to renovate the Colombo (P Sara Oval) ground and increase the seating capacity.

Sri Lanka's first ever Test was played in a calmer atmosphere with the ground being only half full. J Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan President, also was in attendance. On a track that seemed to be excessively watered, the hosts managed 218 in their first dig, while England themselves were shot out for 223. Ashantha de Mel, the redoubtable pacer, bagged a four-fer. It was in Sri Lanka's second essay when the elegant Roy Dias took centre stage with a gritty 128-ball 77.

On a track which had started to offer more than enough assistance for spinners as the match progressed, the spin pair of John Emburey and Derek "Deadly" Underwood came across as the major threat. However, Dias handled them with aplomb. The highlight of his knock though was when he smashed the England pace spearhead Bob Willis through the on-side, with the ball rocketing past the left ear of KT Francis, the umpire standing at square leg. He reached his fifty via a flurry of shots off Ian Botham. Eventually, he was dislodged for a brave 77, edging one off Underwood. From a well-placed 152 for 3 at the end of Day 3, Sri Lanka then suffered a mind-numbing collapse as they were cleaned up for a modest 175. England hunted down the target of 171 for the loss of just three wickets.

Hanif Mohammad (51 for Pakistan, Delhi, 1952)

In the backdrop of heightened tension due to the partition that led to the division of British India into two separate countries - India and Pakistan in 1947, the two nations locked horns in Delhi in 1952. It also turned out to be Pakistan's first ever Test. Barring Hafeez Kardar and Amir Elahi, who had already played for British India, rest of Pakistan's players were making their Test debuts.

The Test match also saw a young, 17-year-old Hanif Mohammad shining brightly with a 51 in Pakistan's first essay as the visitors were bowled out for a paltry 150. The importance of that knock can be encapsulated by the fact that no other batsmen from the visiting team could amass a half-century in that Test. The captain of Pakistan, Kardar, had also reportedly told Hanif to curb his natural instincts and glue together a rather fragile batting line-up. The diligent student followed the instructions of his leader to the core.

For a 17-year-old to show the required technique and temperament to counter Vinoo Mankad's guile on his Test debut, just gave a glimpse of his immense potential. The knock also echoed the words of Alf Gover, the respected English coach, about Hanif's batting. Gover was so amazed by the diminutive batsman's technique when he attended his famous coaching school at Wandsworth in 1951 that he observed Hanif didn't need any alterations to his game.

Mohammad Nissar (5/93) and Amar Singh (2/75, 2/84 & 51) for India, Lord's, 1932

Under CK Nayudu's leadership, India took the field to play their maiden Test at the home of cricket, Lord's, in 1932. Even though there were a few issues on the eve of the Test - some of the Indian players had said to Maharajah that they won't play under Nayudu - the tourists started on a spirited note with Nissar reducing England to 11 for 2.

The great Herbert Sutcliffe was done in by a scorching inswinging yorker, with the opener only getting a faint edge onto the leg stump. On the other hand, Nissar bowled a vicious nip-backer to send Holmes's off-stump on a spectacular cartwheel. The 25,000 home fans were left stunned by the efforts of the well-built pacer from Hoshiarpur. Incidentally, the duo of Holmes and Sutcliffe had strung together an astonishing stand of 555 for Yorkshire versus Essex just nine days ago. The gritty Douglas Jardine (79), the flamboyant Wally Hammond (35) and Les Ames (65) took England to safer waters as the finished with 259 in their first essay. Nissar ended up with impressive figures of 5 for 93. He was well supported by his pace colleague, Amar Singh, who snared a couple of wickets. Hammond, who faced the fine pace duo, later said about Amar, "he came off the pitch like the crack of doom". Amar also showcased his hitting prowess in the second essay with a quickfire fifty.

Chasing an unlikely 346 for victory, the tourists were reduced to 108 for seven when Amar Singh walked out to join Lall Singh. The duo put together India's maiden 50-run partnership in Test cricket. Amar Singh went on to compile the first individual fifty for India and he was the last to be dismissed for 51. Despite India's fine show with the ball in both innings, England prevailed, winning the game by 158 runs. But the initial 20 minutes of India's first Test, where a couple of fast bowlers surprised their famed opponents with pace, soon found its place in the folklore of country's cricketing history. Interestingly, exactly 51 years after India played their maiden Test, the Asian country lifted the World Cup at Lord's.

Albert-Rose-Innes (5 for 43 for South Africa, Port Elizabeth, 1889)

Albert-Rose-Innes, the Port Elizabeth all-rounder, made an impact in South Africa's first ever Test by snaring a five-wicket haul. Innes, who also took strike to face the first ball by a South African in Tests, bowled with control and discipline to finish with noteworthy figures of 5 for 43. Incidentally, it also turned out to be his maiden first-class game. Despite bowling out England for a paltry 148 in their first innings, the hosts went on to lose the game by eight wickets. Innes played only seven first class games, including matches for Transvaal and Kimberley, but his name would be reverberated in the annals of South African history for snaring a five-wicket haul in the country's maiden Test.

Charles Bannerman (165 not out for Australia, MCG, 1877)

Charles Bannerman's name is synonymous with Test cricket as the right-handed batsman who faced the first ball in Test cricket's history. He also scored the first run in Tests - off the second ball. In front of 1500 fans at the iconic MCG stadium, he crunched an amazing, undefeated hand of 165 out of Australia's first innings total of 245. So, he accumulated 67.3% of the runs compiled by the Australian team, which still remains a record. He also holds the record for most runs by an Australian batsman on his debut Test.

Bannerman remained unbeaten on 126 at the end of Day 1 and after both teams listened to opera during the night, he resumed his innings, the next day. Unfortunately, he had to retire hurt after a throw from George Ulyett hit his middle finger. It was an innings in which he also survived a few chances, especially Tom Armitage dropping a sitter at mid-off when Bannerman hadn't even reached double figures. Noted historians believe that he was the one who ushered in "forward play" in cricket. As fate would have it, he played only two further Tests in his career though he officiated 12 Tests as umpire.

Tom Kendall (7 for 55 for Australia, MCG, 1877)

Tom Kendall, who bowled left arm slow/medium pace, played a key role in Australia's victory over England in Test cricket's inaugural game. He took seven wickets for just 55 runs as England crashed to 108 all out in their second innings, while chasing a modest target of 154. It is also remarkable to note that the two cricketers who played pivotal roles in Australia's victory - Kendall and Bannerman - were both born in England. After the completion of the Test, public made contributions to raise GBP 83 for Bannerman and GBP 23 for Kendall and wicketkeeper John Blackham. Kendall's match figures read eight for 109 and in the second Test of the series where England squared the rubber, he took six for 106.

Alfred Shaw (3/51 & 5/38 for England, MCG, 1877)

If Bannerman faced the first ball in a Test, then Shaw bowled the first ball in the longest format of the game. The Nottinghamshire-born slow/medium pacer bowled with exemplary discipline to pick up eight wickets (in a match) in the MCG Test, which included the first five-for for England. By the time Shaw bagged a five-wicket haul in the second essay, the crowd had also swelled to 12,000 and the MCG fans were treated to a fascinating Test with the hosts pulling off a hard-fought win.