New Zealand's Daniel Vettori reacts to a delivery against Australia. AAP Image/NZPA, Ross Setford
In the Hamilton Test against Australia starting on Saturday, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori will become the 50th cricketer, and second New Zealander, to play 100 Tests.
England’s Colin Cowdrey was the first to make 100 Test appearances (Vs Australia, Birmingham, July 1968) and celebrated the occasion by scoring a century.
Others to score centuries in their 100th Test are Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq from Pakistan, West Indian Gordon Greenidge, England’s Alec Stewart, and Australia’s Ricky Ponting.
Ponting is the only one to score centuries in both innings in his 100th Test, 120 and 143 not out against South Africa on the SCG in January 2006. Inzamam made the highest score when playing his hundredth Test, 184 against India at Bangalore in March 2005.
Allan Border was the first Australian in the 100 Test Club, but it was a Test to forget for him as he made a duck and 20 (Vs West Indies, MCG, 1988). Since then, ten Australians have played over 100 Tests each.
They are David Boon, Steve and Mark Waugh, Ian Healy, Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden.
Steve Waugh is the only Australian batsman to fare well in his 100th, hitting a splendid 85 against South Africa on the SCG in 1998.
Warne, the first spinner in the Club, had a sensational 100th as he captured 2-70 and 6-161, and scored 63 and an unbeaten 15 against South Africa at Cape Town in 2002.
“There are few fairy tales, this is as close as it gets”, he said, after Australia won the thriller by four wickets.
Since then only two bowlers – both spinners – have taken 5 wickets in an innings in their 100th Tests. They are India’s Anil Kumble (2-87 and 5-89 Vs Sri Lanka in the 2005 Ahmedabad Test) and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (3-87 and 6-54 Vs Bangladesh in the 2006 Chittagong Test).
The first Kiwi to play 100 Tests was Stephen Fleming. It was at Centurion against South Africa in April 2006.
But like Border’s, it was a forgettable landmark as he made 0 and 6, and his country lost by 128 runs. Fittingly for a Test played in Centurion, three players played their 100th Tests simultaneously, a unique occurrence.
Apart from Fleming, South Africa’s Jaques Kallis (38 and 62 runs, 1-41) and Shaun Pollock (24 and 10, 2-45) also made their 100th Test appearance in this Test.
How will Vettori, a bowling all-rounder, go in his 100th Test in Hamilton?
The more pertinent question is this: is playing 100 Tests a big deal today? The first time a cricketer achieved this was Cowdrey in 1968, 91 years after the inaugural Test in 1877. In 42 years since then, 48 have made hundred Test appearances because of the mushrooming of Test cricket since 1970s.
But with Twenty20 threatening to restrict Test cricket in years to come, will a landmark of playing 100 Tests regain its rarity?
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Sylvester said | March 24th 2010 @ 8:00am | Report comment
I still think 100 tests is a big deal, especially for a bowler (moreso a NZ bowler, with their perennial injuries). DV too has had his injury problems and I honestly thought it would end his career early.
As for performance in his 100th test, we definitely need wickets from him rather than runs. Both would be good, but wickets are much needed. Can’t see it though. The pace bowlers aren’t able to create the pressure that allows Vettori the freedom to attack.
Brett McKay said | March 24th 2010 @ 8:30am | Report comment
100 Test Matches is a massive achievement no matter how long it takes. On that topic though, how long did Cowdrey take to play his 100 Tests?
Well played to Daniel Vettori, like Stephen Fleming, he’s been the glue of the Black Caps for many years now, and since moving to No.6 in the battng order with such sccuess (despite still looking like a No.8 or 9), he’d have to be up there among the most improved players in Test cricket in the last year or so..
Kersi Meher-Homji said | March 24th 2010 @ 9:40am | Report comment
Brett,
It took Cowdrey 14 years (1954-68) to reach his 100th Test. It will take Vettori 13 (1997-2010).
I was criticised by some reviewers for including Vettori in my book “Cricket’s Great All-rounders” (2008) but the tenacious New Zealander has proved them wrong.
Brett McKay said | March 24th 2010 @ 10:04am | Report comment
thanks Kersi, that makes Cowdrey’s milestone all the more remarkable then, I don’t imagine he would have missed too many games in that time, to play 100 in only 14 years. In fact, I don’t imagine there would have been too many more than 100 Tests played by England in those 14 years?
Just thinking about how many Tests they play per year now (Michael Clarke, for eg, just played finished his 59th Test Match, after debuting in 2004 – roughly ten a year), compared to how many were played in Cowdrey’s time..
sheek said | March 24th 2010 @ 10:49am | Report comment
To think Cowdrey reached his 100 tests in the same year I started following test cricket…..
Vettori is an absolute gem. His batting has imporved to the point he is a genuine all-rounder. Hell, he needs to be. The lack of quality in NZ’s top order is very disturbing indeed. This was hardly a frightening Aussie bowling attack, yet they toyed with the Kiwis.
Hammer said | March 24th 2010 @ 11:04am | Report comment
Well by all accounts the kiwis are going to give their new young rising star a game this coming test … Kane Williamson has been included in the squad … will be interesting to see how he goes – debuting against Aussie isn’t a duanting as it was 4-5 years .. but wll still be a good test for him – and he should feel comfortable playing on his home ground turf …
Vettori should definitely be included in the top all-rounders that have played the game …. the thing about him is you know he’ll give 110% at everything he does once he steps on the ground … the best example of that was during that woeful World XI experiment a few years back … of all of the assembled stars – it was Vettori that stood head and shoulders above the rest – he gave it his all – while the other merely fronted for the cash and booze up
Kersi Meher-Homji said | March 24th 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Brett, Border played 153 Tests in a row in 15 years (from 1979 to 94, he was dropped after his first three Tests), Mark Waugh 107 consecutive Tests in 9 years from 1993 to 2002 and Gavaskar 106 consecutive Tests in 12 years from 1975 to 87.
Shows a certain pattern, doesn’t it?
Sylvester and Sheek, I share your admiration for Vettori.