In cricket, a one-Test wonder is usually a cricketer who is only selected for one Test match during his career and never represents his country again. This is not necessarily due to a poor performance and can be for numerous reasons, such as injury or strong competition from other players. The term is also used in rugby. More rarely, the term may refer to a player who has played in more than one Test, but was very successful only once. Examples include the bowlers Narendra Hirwani of India and Bob Massie of Australia, both of whom took eight wickets in each innings of their debut matches, but then failed to live up to their early promise. Spin bowler Ashton Agar of Australia played just 5 tests, taking 9 wickets, but his most notable contribution was in his first test and with the bat as he scored 98 on debut as the final Australian batsman, breaking multiple records including being the first test player to score a half-century as a number eleven batsman on debut and the highest score by any number eleven batsman.

Notable examples

As of June 2023, there have been 466 players who have only played one Test match. Some of the best performances by these players are: Other notable occurrences of players' only Test are: Instances of one-Test wonders are reasonably common: about one in eight Test cricketers are picked only once for their country. Occasionally, one-Test wonders have been recalled to Test cricket after a gap of several years. One example was Ryan Sidebottom, who was recalled for his second Test in 2007 after his debut in 2001. Coincidentally his father, Arnie Sidebottom, was a one-Test wonder. As of May 2007, fourteen one-Test wonders have also played in a single One Day International for their team.