Making hundreds a habit

Gautam Gambhir recently scored a century in five consecutive Tests, beginning in Napier and ending in Chittagong, where Sachin Tendulkar began a streak of hundreds in four consecutive matches. Tendulkar's Chittagong ton was followed by centuries in Dhaka, and against South Africa in Nagpur and Kolkata - which was India's most recent Test. It means India have had a centurion in their last eight matches, which is part of the second longest streak of Tests a team has had where at least one batsman has made a hundred.

India's run of Tests with at least one century began in October 2008, against Australia in Mohali, where Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir celebrated hundreds. Since then, one (sometimes two) out of Gambhir, Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag have scored centuries, against Australia in Delhi and Nagpur, against England in Chennai and Mohali, and in Hamilton. That run has now been extended to 15 Tests, and the home series in October 2010 gives India the opportunity to beat the longest ever streak.

That, predictably, belongs to the Australian juggernaut of the early 2000s. Their batsmen scored hundreds in 17 successive Tests between December 2002 and March 2004. They lost only three of those games - in Sydney, where Michael Vaughan made 183; the highest ever run-chase in Antigua; and in Adelaide, where Ricky Ponting's 242 became the highest individual score in a defeat.

Most consecutive Tests with a century

Team	Mat		Start Match	Opposition	Scorecard		End Match	Opposition	Scorecard
Australia	17		Dec 26, 2002	v England	Test 1634		Mar 24, 2004	v Sri Lanka	Test 1691
India	15		Oct 17, 2008	v Australia	Test 1889		Feb 14, 2010	v South Africa	Test 1952
West Indies	14		Mar 2, 1984	v Australia	Test 979		Dec 22, 1984	v Australia	Test 1005
South Africa	14		Nov 20, 2004	v India	Test 1722		Dec 16, 2005	v Australia	Test 1777
Pakistan	14		Dec 26, 2004	v Australia	Test 1729		Mar 26, 2006	v Sri Lanka	Test 1794
South Africa	13		Aug 5, 1965	v England	Test 595		Nov 13, 1992	v India	Test 1200
Australia	10		Jun 22, 1934	v England	Test 234		Dec 4, 1936	v England	Test 255
England	10		Feb 12, 1949	v South Africa	Test 312		Aug 12, 1950	v West Indies	Test 326
England	10		Jul 23, 1964	v Australia	Test 564		Jul 8, 1965	v New Zealand	Test 593
Pakistan	10		Aug 22, 1974	v England	Test 744		Feb 18, 1977	v West Indies	Test 797
Australia	10		Dec 26, 2008	v South Africa	Test 1902		Aug 20, 2009	v England	Test 1931
Australia	9		Aug 22, 1968	v England	Test 641		Nov 28, 1969	v India	Test 667
Australia	9		Aug 28, 1975	v England	Test 763		Jan 1, 1977	v Pakistan	Test 790
Pakistan	9		Oct 16, 1978	v India	Test 831		Nov 21, 1979	v India	Test 861
South Africa	9		Nov 17, 2000	v New Zealand	Test 1514		Mar 29, 2001	v West Indies	Test 1541
India	9		Oct 8, 2003	v New Zealand	Test 1660		Apr 13, 2004	v Pakistan	Test 1697
South Africa	9		Oct 24, 2003	v Pakistan	Test 1666		Aug 4, 2004	v Sri Lanka	Test 1709

The first 10 Tests of Australia's 17 form the longest streak of matches in which at least two batsmen made centuries for a team. Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden began the run at the MCG and it continued until Ponting and Hayden scored centuries against Zimbabwe at the SCG in October 2003. The run ended when only Langer managed a century in the Brisbane Test against India.

The last seven matches of India's current streak of 15 Tests with a hundred have included two centuries from Indian batsmen. India had four centuries in two of those matches - against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad and against South Africa in Kolkata - and three in one, against Sri Lanka in Kanpur.

Australia also held the record for five-fors in most consecutive Tests - 17 between July 1905 and February 1911. That mark was beaten by Clive Lloyd's West Indian bowlers, who claimed a five-for in each of 18 matches between November 1983 and December 1984.

That one bowler was able to take a five-for in each match was remarkable considering the formidable components that made up the West Indian attack - Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Wayne Daniel and a young Courtney Walsh. It was Malcolm Marshall who was responsible for most of the five-wicket hauls, taking 11 in 10 Tests. In the games in which Marshall missed out, Garner (four five-fors), Holding (three), Daniel and Roger Harper (one each) cashed in.

Most consecutive Tests with a bowler taking five wickets in an innings

Team	Mat		Start Match	Opposition	Scorecard		End Match	Opposition	Scorecard
West Indies	18		Nov 12, 1983	v India	Test 967		Dec 22, 1984	v Australia	Test 1005
Australia	17		Jul 3, 1905	v England	Test 85		Feb 17, 1911	v South Africa	Test 114
Australia	12		Jun 18, 1981	v England	Test 903		Jan 30, 1982	v West Indies	Test 919
England	11		Aug 11, 1890	v Australia	Test 34		Jan 11, 1895	v Australia	Test 44
Australia	10		Jan 28, 1887	v England	Test 25		Jan 29, 1892	v England	Test 36
West Indies	10		Mar 7, 1962	v India	Test 526		Mar 3, 1965	v Australia	Test 580
New Zealand	10		Feb 23, 1979	v Pakistan	Test 848		Mar 13, 1981	v India	Test 899
Pakistan	10		May 1, 1993	v West Indies	Test 1222		Sep 28, 1994	v Australia	Test 1268
India	10		Nov 3, 2004	v Australia	Test 1720		Sep 20, 2005	v Zimbabwe	Test 1767
South Africa	9		Jun 18, 1998	v England	Test 1419		Jan 15, 1999	v West Indies	Test 1441
Australia	8		Dec 31, 1881	v England	Test 5		Jan 26, 1883	v England	Test 12
England	8		Mar 1, 1895	v Australia	Test 46		Dec 13, 1897	v Australia	Test 53
England	8		Feb 7, 1908	v Australia	Test 99		Jan 1, 1910	v South Africa	Test 106
India	8		Mar 28, 1953	v West Indies	Test 371		Dec 2, 1955	v New Zealand	Test 417
South Africa	8		Jan 1, 1957	v England	Test 435		Feb 7, 1958	v Australia	Test 449
England	8		Jun 20, 1957	v West Indies	Test 440		Jul 24, 1958	v New Zealand	Test 457
Australia	8		Jun 22, 1961	v England	Test 508		Jan 25, 1963	v England	Test 538
Pakistan	8		Jul 2, 1987	v England	Test 1077		Apr 14, 1988	v West Indies	Test 1096

The record for most consecutive ODIs with a century in each is six. Sri Lanka achieved it first during their 5-0 rout of England in 2006, followed by their world-record 443 against Netherlands in Amstelveen - Jayasuriya scored three hundreds, Jayawardene and Tharanga two each, and Sangakkara and Dilshan one apiece.

Their run was equalled by Australia, who began their streak of six ODIs with centuries in Auckland in Feb 2007 and carried it into the first four matches of the World Cup. They may have gone on, but Bangladesh were kept to 104 in the first innings of a match that was reduced to 22 overs a side.

Most consecutive ODIs with a century

Team	Mat		Start Match	Opposition	Scorecard		End Match	Opposition	Scorecard
Sri Lanka	6		Jun 17, 2006	v England	ODI 2384		Jul 4, 2006	v Netherlands	ODI 2390
Australia	6		Feb 18, 2007	v New Zealand	ODI 2526		Mar 27, 2007	v West Indies	ODI 2555
Pakistan	5		Jan 15, 1992	v Sri Lanka	ODI 706		Feb 27, 1992	v Zimbabwe	ODI 720
West Indies	5		Aug 22, 2008	v Canada	ODI 2749		Nov 16, 2008	v Pakistan	ODI 2776
Pakistan	4		Dec 3, 1982	v India	ODI 162		Jan 21, 1983	v India	ODI 172
Pakistan	4		Oct 30, 1993	v Sri Lanka	ODI 841		Nov 5, 1993	v West Indies	ODI 845
Sri Lanka	4		Nov 3, 1994	v Zimbabwe	ODI 945		Dec 2, 1994	v Pakistan	ODI 953
Pakistan	4		Nov 23, 2002	v Zimbabwe	ODI 1899		Nov 30, 2002	v Zimbabwe	ODI 1906
South Africa	4		Feb 4, 2005	v England	ODI 2221		Feb 11, 2005	v England	ODI 2225
Ireland	4		Jan 30, 2007	v Scotland	ODI 2492		Feb 4, 2007	v Canada	ODI 2503
West Indies	3		Apr 19, 1984	v Australia	ODI 262		May 31, 1984	v England	ODI 264
West Indies	3		Mar 18, 1987	v New Zealand	ODI 435		Mar 28, 1987	v New Zealand	ODI 441
West Indies	3		Jan 22, 1988	v India	ODI 500		Mar 12, 1988	v Pakistan	ODI 506
India	3		Nov 7, 1994	v West Indies	ODI 949		Nov 11, 1994	v West Indies	ODI 951
Australia	3		Jan 9, 1996	v Sri Lanka	ODI 1032		Jan 16, 1996	v Sri Lanka	ODI 1039
India	3		Aug 17, 1997	v Sri Lanka	ODI 1223		Aug 23, 1997	v Sri Lanka	ODI 1225
India	3		Sep 20, 1998	v Pakistan	ODI 1353		Sep 27, 1998	v Zimbabwe	ODI 1355
Australia	3		Feb 26, 2000	v New Zealand	ODI 1569		Mar 3, 2000	v New Zealand	ODI 1571
India	3		Oct 13, 2000	v South Africa	ODI 1638		Oct 20, 2000	v Sri Lanka	ODI 1640
Pakistan	3		Apr 15, 2002	v New Zealand	ODI 1831		Apr 21, 2002	v New Zealand	ODI 1833
South Africa	3		Sep 20, 2002	v Kenya	ODI 1882		Oct 3, 2002	v Bangladesh	ODI 1890
West Indies	3		Dec 13, 2006	v Pakistan	ODI 2464		Jan 21, 2007	v India	ODI 2480
England	3		Feb 2, 2007	v Australia	ODI 2497		Feb 9, 2007	v Australia	ODI 2515
South Africa	3		Aug 25, 2007	v Zimbabwe	ODI 2614		Oct 18, 2007	v Pakistan	ODI 2633
India	3		Jun 25, 2008	v Hong Kong	ODI 2716		Jun 28, 2008	v Bangladesh	ODI 2721
Australia	3		May 1, 2009	v Pakistan	ODI 2848		Aug 28, 2009	v Scotland	ODI 2879
Sri Lanka	3		Jan 4, 2010	v Bangladesh	ODI 2937		Jan 8, 2010	v Bangladesh	ODI 2940

Teams have taken four-fors in four consecutive ODIs on ten different occasions but no one has managed to do five in a row. Australia were the first, in 1979-80, and Sri Lanka were the most recent team to do it in 2008

Most consecutive ODIs with a bowler taking four wickets in an innings

Team	Mat		Start Match	Opposition	Scorecard		End Match	Opposition	Scorecard
Australia	4		Dec 11, 1979	v England	ODI 79		Jan 14, 1980	v England	ODI 83
Pakistan	4		Nov 2, 1990	v New Zealand	ODI 636		Nov 9, 1990	v West Indies	ODI 639
India	4		Jan 4, 1991	v Sri Lanka	ODI 661		Oct 22, 1991	v West Indies	ODI 683
Australia	4		Dec 12, 1993	v New Zealand	ODI 861		Jan 9, 1994	v South Africa	ODI 871
Australia	4		Sep 4, 2002	v Pakistan	ODI 1871		Sep 15, 2002	v New Zealand	ODI 1877
West Indies	4		Nov 24, 2002	v India	ODI 1900		Dec 3, 2002	v Bangladesh	ODI 1910
Sri Lanka	4		Feb 14, 2003	v Bangladesh	ODI 1950		Feb 28, 2003	v West Indies	ODI 1973
West Indies	4		Jul 1, 2007	v England	ODI 2594		Jul 10, 2007	v Netherlands	ODI 2599
Sri Lanka	4		Jul 20, 2007	v Bangladesh	ODI 2605		Oct 1, 2007	v England	ODI 2622
Sri Lanka	4		Aug 27, 2008	v India	ODI 2755		Nov 22, 2008	v Zimbabwe	ODI 2780