The century count: overseas 5, home 0

Marcus North is presently playing his 19th Test, against India in Bangalore, where he scored a potentially Ashes berth-saving century in the first innings. The career-best 128 was North's fifth Test hundred, and like this one, the previous four were also made outside Australia. There haven't been too many batsmen who've scored more hundreds away before celebrating one at home.

Ken Barrington scored his first century in England during an Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1964, nine years after his debut. He had nine hundreds in 21 away matches before that innings but had to wait until his 29th home game to reach a century in front of home support. When he finally did get to three figures in England, though, Barrington went on to score 256, his only Test double-century.

At the end of his career, Barrington's away record was significantly superior to his home one: he averaged 69 overseas with 14 hundreds, and only 50 in England with six centuries.

Most away centuries before the first one at home - Tests

Player	Opposition	Ground	Date	Scorecard		Home Mat	Away Mat	Away 100s
KF Barrington (Eng)	v Australia	Manchester	23 Jul 1964	Test 564		29	21	9
SM Gavaskar (India)	v New Zealand	Mumbai	10 Nov 1976	Test 785		8	17	8
Mushtaq Mohammad (Pak)	v England	Hyderabad (Sind)	16 Mar 1973	Test 717		11	21	5
PA de Silva (SL)	v India	Colombo (PSS)	4 Aug 1993	Test 1229		15	19	5
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	v West Indies	Rawalpindi	29 Nov 1997	Test 1389		16	26	5
R Dravid (India)	v New Zealand	Mohali	10 Oct 1999	Test 1462		14	16	5
AC MacLaren (Eng)	v Australia	Nottingham	29 May 1905	Test 83		12	15	4
JB Hobbs (Eng)	v Australia	Lord's	24 Jun 1912	Test 123		5	14	4
WR Hammond (Eng)	v South Africa	Birmingham	15 Jun 1929	Test 181		4	10	4
CL Walcott (WI)	v India	Georgetown	11 Mar 1953	Test 369		8	14	4
JR Reid (NZ)	v England	Christchurch	15 Mar 1963	Test 542		17	25	4
RB Simpson (Aus)	v England	Adelaide	28 Jan 1966	Test 600		19	24	4
CG Greenidge (WI)	v Pakistan	Kingston	15 Apr 1977	Test 803		5	12	4
SR Tendulkar (India)	v England	Chennai	11 Feb 1993	Test 1213		3	20	4
HP Tillakaratne (SL)	v Zimbabwe	Colombo (SSC)	18 Sep 1996	Test 1334		15	23	4

Two England batsmen of South African origin are in the table of players with the most hundreds at home before scoring one away. Allan Lamb made his debut in 1982 but scored his first overseas century only in his 58th Test, in 1990 - a match-winning 132 at Sabina Park. Before that match Lamb had played 31 home Tests, in which he scored nine hundreds, four of which were against West Indies. Robin Smith, who made his debut in 1988, went five years - during which he played 17 overseas Tests - before ending his away-century drought by making one at the SSC in Colombo. By that time he had scored seven hundreds in England in 24 Tests.

Most centuries at home before the first one away - Tests

Player	Opposition	Ground	Date	Scorecard		Home Mat	Home 100s	Away Mat
AJ Lamb (Eng)	v West Indies	Kingston	24 Feb 1990	Test 1140		31	9	27
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)	v England	Lord's	16 May 2002	Test 1603		28	8	14
RA Smith (Eng)	v Sri Lanka	Colombo (SSC)	13 Mar 1993	Test 1219		24	7	16
KD Walters (Aus)	v India	Chennai	24 Dec 1969	Test 669		11	6	10
M Azharuddin (India)	v Pakistan	Faisalabad	23 Nov 1989	Test 1128		18	6	14
HW Taylor (SA)	v England	The Oval	17 Aug 1929	Test 185		18	5	14
L Hutton (Eng)	v Australia	Sydney	28 Feb 1947	Test 283		12	5	9
MAK Pataudi (India)	v England	Leeds	8 Jun 1967	Test 618		18	5	4
LG Rowe (WI)	v Australia	Brisbane	28 Nov 1975	Test 764		12	5	1
Saleem Malik (Pak)	v England	The Oval	6 Aug 1987	Test 1079		20	5	21
S Chanderpaul (WI)	v India	Kolkata	30 Oct 2002	Test 1622		31	5	30
MP Vaughan (Eng)	v Australia	Adelaide	21 Nov 2002	Test 1628		13	5	12
GA Headley (WI)	v Australia	Brisbane	16 Jan 1931	Test 203		4	4	3
AR Morris (Aus)	v England	Lord's	24 Jun 1948	Test 300		9	4	2
BC Booth (Aus)	v West Indies	Port of Spain	26 Mar 1965	Test 584		10	4	13
AI Kallicharran (WI)	v India	Bangalore	22 Nov 1974	Test 745		12	4	4
Javed Miandad (Pak)	v New Zealand	Christchurch	2 Feb 1979	Test 844		9	4	8

If North plays the 2010-11 Ashes, if he does not make a century in those five Tests, and if he is dropped by Australia forever after that series, he will be one of only two players - Chris Broad being the other - to have scored all their hundreds (minimum of five) away from home. Chandu Borde and Stanley Jackson are at the other extreme, having made all their five centuries at home.

Broad made six hundreds in his 25-Test career, all of them overseas. He scored three during the 1986-87 Ashes in Australia and was England's top run-scorer on his first tour. The last century in Australia was in the bicentenary Test in 1987-88. Broad, in fact, has the highest average for a visiting batsman in Australia, among those who've played more than one Test there, and was one of the subjects of the first-ever List, way back in October 2005. Broad's two other overseas hundreds were in Faisalabad in 1987, and in Christchurch in 1988. In 13 home Tests, however, he averaged only 26 with five half-centuries and a high score of 86.

Most centuries in career scored either at home or away - Tests

Player	Span	Mat	Home Mat	Away Mat	Home 100s	Away 100s
BC Broad (Eng)	1984-1989	25	13	12	0	6
CG Borde (India)	1958-1969	55	35	20	5	0
Hon.FS Jackson (Eng)	1893-1905	20	20	0	5	0
MJ North (Aus)	2009-2010	19	6	13	0	5
WA Brown (Aus)	1934-1948	22	5	17	0	4
J Hardstaff jnr (Eng)	1935-1948	23	14	9	4	0
RS Mahanama (SL)	1986-1998	52	24	28	4	0
SV Manjrekar (India)	1987-1996	37	10	27	0	4
AF Rae (WI)	1948-1953	15	2	13	0	4
A Ranatunga (SL)	1982-2000	93	48	45	4	0
GJ Whittall (Zim)	1993-2002	46	28	18	4	0

Among bowlers, Andy Roberts took the most five-wicket hauls away before taking one at home in the West Indies - eight in his first 17 overseas Tests and none in his first eight home games. Roberts' first five-for in the Caribbean was a 5 for 56 that helped West Indies beat Australia by an innings and 106 runs at the Queen's Park Oval in 1978.

It's surprising that an Indian spinner appears at No. 4 in the table below, having taken six five-fors in 10 overseas Tests before achieving one at home. Subhash Gupte, whom Garry Sobers recently rated a better legspinner than Shane Warne, took three five-wicket hauls on the tour of West Indies in 1953 and three more in Pakistan in 1955, his first two trips outside India. His first five-for at home came in his fourth Test there - 7 for 128 against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1955. Gupte didn't take a five-for in any more overseas Tests, and took five more at home to finish with six apiece.

Most away five-wicket hauls before the first one at home - Tests

Player	Opposition	Ground	Date	Scorecard		Home Mat	Away Mat	Away 5w
AME Roberts (WI)	v Australia	Port of Spain	3 Mar 1978	Test 819		9	17	8
R Benaud (Aus)	v England	Sydney	9 Jan 1959	Test 464		13	22	7
Imran Khan (Pak)	v West Indies	Multan	30 Dec 1980	Test 892		12	21	7
SP Gupte (India)	v New Zealand	Hyderabad (Deccan)	19 Nov 1955	Test 416		4	10	6
GP Swann (Eng)	v Bangladesh	Manchester	4 Jun 2010	Test 1959		9	11	6
S Ramadhin (WI)	v India	Bridgetown	7 Feb 1953	Test 366		2	11	5
AL Valentine (WI)	v India	Georgetown	11 Mar 1953	Test 369		4	11	5
FJ Titmus (Eng)	v New Zealand	Leeds	8 Jul 1965	Test 593		16	18	5
AA Mallett (Aus)	v Pakistan	Adelaide	22 Dec 1972	Test 704		4	9	5
Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak)	v New Zealand	Lahore	21 Nov 1996	Test 1339		8	17	5
Z Khan (India)	v Australia	Bangalore	9 Oct 2008	Test 1887		19	38	5
Fazal Mahmood (Pak)	v India	Karachi	26 Feb 1955	Test 400		4	9	4
TL Goddard (SA)	v Australia	Johannesburg	23 Dec 1966	Test 611		16	18	4
EAS Prasanna (India)	v New Zealand	Hyderabad (Deccan)	15 Oct 1969	Test 661		5	12	4
TM Alderman (Aus)	v West Indies	Perth	9 Nov 1984	Test 997		7	13	4
WPUJC Vaas (SL)	v England	Colombo (SSC)	15 Mar 2001	Test 1537		22	26	4

Danny Morrison played 48 Tests for New Zealand between 1987 and 1997 and took 10 five-wicket hauls. The first nine were in New Zealand and only in the penultimate match of his international career - against West Indies at the Rec in 1996 - did Morrison take a maiden five-for away from home. He had no more opportunities to add to that because he played only one more Test, in Auckland. Morrison finished with an away average of 54, which was nearly double his home average.

Most five-wicket hauls at home before the first one away - Tests

Player	Opposition	Ground	Date	Scorecard		Home Mat	Home 5w	Away Mat
DK Morrison (NZ)	v West Indies	St John's	27 Apr 1996	Test 1326		26	9	21
Waqar Younis (Pak)	v England	Lord's	18 Jun 1992	Test 1190		11	7	5
Harbhajan Singh (India)	v West Indies	Kingston	18 May 2002	Test 1604		13	7	12
MA Noble (Aus)	v England	Sheffield	3 Jul 1902	Test 72		9	6	8
GAR Lock (Eng)	v New Zealand	Christchurch	27 Feb 1959	Test 470		19	6	11
MG Hughes (Aus)	v England	Nottingham	1 Jul 1993	Test 1225		31	6	17
AA Mailey (Aus)	v England	The Oval	14 Aug 1926	Test 167		10	5	11
FS Trueman (Eng)	v West Indies	Port of Spain	28 Jan 1960	Test 488		23	5	10
B Yardley (Aus)	v Sri Lanka	Kandy	22 Apr 1983	Test 955		19	5	14
RM Hogg (Aus)	v West Indies	Bridgetown	30 Mar 1984	Test 986		21	5	12
GE Palmer (Aus)	v England	Lord's	21 Jul 1884	Test 15		8	4	3
CTB Turner (Aus)	v England	Lord's	16 Jul 1888	Test 28		3	4	1
GOB Allen (Eng)	v Australia	Brisbane	4 Dec 1936	Test 255		10	4	8
CS Martin (NZ)	v Australia	Brisbane	18 Nov 2004	Test 1721		8	4	9

Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have had such uncommon careers that they keep appearing in our tables. Amir was in last week's column and in the one the week before that for being the youngest in the Pakistan Test and ODI teams, and this time it's Asif's turn. He's taken seven five-wicket hauls in 19 away games (including neutral matches) but none in four Tests in Pakistan, where his best performance in an innings is 4 for 78 against India in Karachi in 2006. Whether he will get an opportunity to take that first five-wicket haul in Pakistan is anybody's guess.