Hundreds by the dozen

Kumar Sangkkara scored three, Suresh Raina and Sanath Jayasuriya made two, while six others had one each. The heat and humidity of the Pakistan summer stretched the batsmen's fitness but it didn't prevent them from taking advantage of flat pitches to add to their century tallies. There were 13 hundreds in the 2008 Asia Cup, a remarkably high number for a 13-match tournament.

This Asia Cup was the 42nd longest tournament in one-day international history in terms of matches played, but it had the fourth highest number of hundreds. Its 13 centuries are beaten only by the World Cups in 2007, 2003 and 1996, which had 21, 20 and 16 hundreds in 52, 51 and 36 matches respectively. The previous Asia Cup, in 2004 in Sri Lanka, also had 13 matches but only seven centuries.

The list of series with most hundreds is populated with multi-nation tournaments because they have more matches. The first bilateral contest is Sri Lanka's 5-0 whitewash of England in 2006. Six out of the seven hundreds in that series were by Sri Lankans. Marcus Trescothick's 121 at Headingley was England's only century. England's tour of South Africa in 2004-05 also had seven hundreds but in seven matches.

New Zealand's two-ODI series in England in 1990 has the highest ratio of hundreds per match - two - with Robin Smith and Graham Gooch scoring centuries for the hosts and Mark Greatbatch hitting two for New Zealand.

Australia's three-match series in Pakistan in 1998-99 had five hundreds in three matches and it contained the only one-day international in history with four centuries . Ijaz Ahmed and Mohammad Yousuf scored hundreds to set a target of 316, which Australia, led by centuries from Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting, chased down to equal the highest successful run-chase in ODIs at the time.

The two tournaments that had the most matches without hundreds were both in Australia. The tri-series involving Pakistan, West Indies and the hosts in 1992-93 had 14 matches with 26 half-centuries, the highest of which was Desmond Haynes' 96 at the SCG. The 1985 World Championship also had no centurions in 13 matches. Mohammad Azharuddin and Kris Srikkanth's 93s were the highest scores.

West Indies have been involved in seven of the top 13 Test series with the highest number of hundreds and in all of the top four. Australia and West Indies scored 21 hundreds between them during the 1954-55 tour. Australia scored 12 hundreds, Clyde Walcott five, and the rest of West Indies four, in a series the visitors won 3-0. Walcott's achievement remains the record for most hundreds by a batsman in a series.

Jacques Kallis came close to equalling Walcott's record during West Indies' visit to South Africa in 2003-04. He scored four out of the series total of 20 and got as far as 72 in another innings. On South Africa's tour of the Caribbean in 2004-05, the teams scored 17 hundreds in four Tests, eight of which came in the final game in Antigua, the record for most centuries in a Test . South Africa scored four in their first innings, and West Indies replied with four of their own, and Chris Gayle threw in a triple-hundred for good measure.

There has never been a series of more than three Tests without a hundred. And only six three-Test rubbers have been without centurions: England's tour of Australia in 1882-83, Australia tour of England in 1888, New Zealand tour of India in 1969-70, West Indies tour of Pakistan in 1986-87, Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan in 1993-94, New Zealand tour of India in 1995-96.

The top three series for highest ratio of hundreds per Test involve India. Sri Lanka and India scored 12 centuries in a two-Test series in 1997, the first of which produced a world record for the highest team total. India's tour of England in 1990 and their tour of Pakistan in 2005-06 were of three Tests each and both series contained 15 centuries, a ratio of five per match.

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