All timing in twin centuries

	Who is who? Sometimes no one can tell between the Marshall brothers © Getty Images

Even the mother of James and Hamish Marshall has said she has trouble telling them apart on the cricket pitch. They were born within 15 minutes of each other, have the same noticeable hairstyle and, according to those who know, have very similar personalities. So it was only fitting that they both scored centuries on the same day, albeit 150 miles apart in Bristol and Chelmsford.

James said that even umpire Peter Willey and Essex fast bowler Alex Tudor didn't realise who was who when he got to the crease. "I got out there and [they] thought I was Hamish. They didn't realise that Hamish was a twin." James was the first born, but was beaten to three figures by his brother. "He got there first this time," said James.

It is an insight into the changing state of the game that one came for an international side and the other a county with the player turning out under an Irish passport. While James is preparing to take over from Stephen Fleming at No. 3 for New Zealand, Hamish has turned his back on the international game after limited chances in search of financial security through county cricket and a stint in the Indian Cricket League.

In the context of New Zealand's future it is James' innings which is most important. His team needed it, too, after they slipped to 96 for 4 against a steady Essex attack. But if the visitors had subsided against a county side, confidence would have taken a huge hit going into the final warm-up match and the Test series.

"It's nice to get a hundred early in the tour. I was just pleased with the way I constructed the innings on a surface that wasn't easy to bat on," said James. "There were a lot of shots that probably weren't on today and you had to be mentally strong not to bring those out."

"There will be a few calls home tonight," Hamish told the Press Association at Bristol. "Dad is away duck shooting at the moment so I'm not sure when he will find out what has happened, but the rest of the family will be very happy.

"Jamie and I are good mates and only wish the best for one another. He will be delighted to have got a big score so close to the first Test. I haven't managed to speak to him yet, but I will this evening. I can't recall us ever getting so many runs on the same day before at any level."

Not that James' innings means all is right for New Zealand. Far from it. The five Indian Premier League players made 65 runs between them, showing that for all the talk about being match-ready after playing Twenty20 it will take time to adjust to a chilly English spring.

"It's not easy to come straight into conditions where it is seaming around and blaze the ball," said James. "They will be working hard and maybe need to do a little bit of catch up. But they are class players and it shouldn't take them long to get used to the conditions."