Cricket is unquestionably a team sport, and a squad’s bowling and batting attacks must be perfectly balanced. However, nothing comes easy in cricket because there are so many unknowns to face. In cricket, the captain is responsible for making bold decisions and devising a master plan for a dazzling victory. To represent one’s nation in test cricket is a big achievement. To play the 100th game for your country is extraordinary.
The fact that only 70 players have played 100 Tests or more in over 14 decades of Test match cricket speaks volumes. There have only been nine batsmen in the history of the game who have scored a century in their 100th Test match.
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Joe Root – 218
Root, at the age of 31, is already one of England’s most prolific run-scorers. He may well become the country’s all-time leading run-scorer as well. He has scored 9600 runs in exactly 114 Tests, averaging 49.2 runs per innings. In his Test career, he has also amassed 53 fifties and 23 centuries. Root set a world record with 218 runs in his 100th test.
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Inzamam ul Haq – 184
In March 2005, Inzamam ul Haq played his 100th Test for Pakistan against India, Pakistan’s main rival. In his 100th Test, the bulky right-handed batsman scored a magical 184 for his team. He helped them to a mammoth first-inning total of 570 runs. India was bowled out for 449 runs in response. In 119 Tests, he scored 8829 runs for Pakistan, making him the third most prolific run-scorer in the country behind Younis Khan and Javed Miandad.
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Sir Gordon Greenidge – 149
During his illustrious career, Sir Gordon Greenidge annihilated several bowling attacks. The right-handed batsman appeared in 108 Test matches for his country, scoring 7558 runs at a 44.72 average. During his career, the legendary batsman amassed 19 hundred and 34 fifties. Greenidge also made a memorable 100th Test match by ripping England’s bowling attack to shreds in Antigua. He batted first and scored a quick 149 off just 207 balls to help his team thrash England by an innings and 32 runs.
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Javed Miandad – 145
Miandad ripped apart the Indian bowling attack in his 100th Test match. The right-handed batting behemoth pounced on the opposition, scoring 289 runs off 145 balls to help his side score 699 runs in response to India’s first-innings total of 509. He appeared in 124 Tests for his country, scoring 8832 runs at a 52.57 average.
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Ricky Ponting – 143*
Ponting is not only one of Australia’s greatest batsmen but also one of the game’s greatest batting legends. Ponting became the only batsman in history to score hundreds in both innings of a Test match against South Africa in Sydney in 2006. In the first innings, he scored 120 runs, and then in the second innings, he scored 143 runs off just 159 balls.
