A memorable hundred – Cricketers who made their 100th Test special

Representing the country in 100 Test matches is always a special achievement for any individual. But the most unique occurrence part of this milestone came when England’s Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart made their respective 100th Test appearance during the same match. The 2000 Manchester Test between England and West Indies that began on August 3rd turned out to be the 100th Test for both Atherton and Stewart.

Atherton got out scoring just one run but Stewart, batting at No.5, made his way to 105 from 168 deliveries. It turned out to be only the 4th instance of a player scoring century in his career’s 100th Test match. The first of the four players with this feat was Colin Cowdrey in 1968, who was also the first player to complete 100 Test appearances. Australia’s Ricky Ponting remains the only player who has registered twin hundreds in 100th Test.

Twin Hundreds#OnThisDay in 2000, @Athersmike and @StewieCricket played their 100th Test at the Old Trafford.

Stewart scored a hundred on the second day of the test, the fourth batsman to score a hundred in his 100th Test (after Colin Cowdrey, Javed Miandad & Gordon Greenidge). pic.twitter.com/muqA6QduYh

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) August 3, 2020

The Australian skipper made 120 and 143* during the 2006 Sydney Test against South Africa. No player thus far has managed to score a double ton in their 100th Test but the highest individual score in this milestone match is 184 by Inzamam-ul-Haq who scored it during 2005 Bangalore Test against India.

When it comes to the bowling side, only three players have achieved the feat of taking a five-wicket haul in their 100th Test – Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan. Interestingly, these three players feature in the list of top three wicket-takers in Test cricket as of today. Warne and Murali took 6-wicket hauls while Kumble scalped five wickets in an innings.

(Stats correct as on August 2, 2020)