Razzaq's century was long overdue

When Abdul Razzaq drove Charl Langeveldt to the extra-cover boundary to get to 50 off 45 balls in the second one-day international against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, he was reaching that landmark for the first time since September 2006 - four years and 29 matches ago. When he blitzed Albie Morkel over midwicket off his 70th delivery, he went past 100 for the first time since September 2004 - six years and 74 matches ago. That's a pretty long gap, we thought, between hundreds or scores of above fifty, and so we looked at where Razzaq's wait stood in the list of long waits, in terms of matches and time, in one-dayers and Tests. It turned out that a lot of people had to wait a lot longer than Razzaq did.

Sixteen batsman have endured longer spells of ODIs without a century than Razzaq. His captain, Shahid Afridi, suffered such a lean patch twice - 81 one-dayers between September 1998 and April 2002 with no hundred, and 90 between April 2005 and his innings against Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup in June this year.

The longest wait between one-day centuries in terms of matches, however, belongs to Zimbabwe's best batsman Andy Flower. He began his career with a hundred on debut against Sri Lanka during the 1992 World Cup but then played 148 games before scoring his second - also against Sri Lanka, at Sharjah in 2000. He beat Mohammad Azharuddin's gap by two ODIs. Flower's eight-year and 241-day gap between centuries No. 1 and 2 is also the longest time a player has gone without a century in one-day internationals.

Most matches between centuries - ODIs

Player		Mat	100	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Mat	100	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Diff
A Flower (Zim)		1	1	115*	v SL	Feb 23, 1992		150	2	120*	v SL	Oct 21, 2000		149
M Azharuddin (India)		103	3	108	v SL	Apr 25, 1990		250	4	111*	v SL	Aug 17, 1997		147
JN Rhodes (SA)		85	1	121	v Pak	Sep 29, 1996		217	2	107*	v NZ	Feb 1, 2002		132
DPMD Jayawardene (SL)		93	6	106*	v WI	Dec 15, 2001		216	7	126*	v Eng	Jun 24, 2006		123
SP Fleming (NZ)		81	3	111*	v Aus	Feb 12, 1998		192	4	134*	v SA	Feb 16, 2003		111
CL Hooper (WI)		16	1	113*	v India	Jan 22, 1988		121	2	111	v NZ	Nov 1, 1994		105
M Prabhakar (India)		11	1	106	v Pak	Mar 26, 1987		111	2	102*	v WI	Oct 30, 1994		100
RS Kaluwitharana (SL)		56	1	100*	v Kenya	Sep 28, 1996		156	2	102*	v Eng	Mar 27, 2001		100
RJ Shastri (India)		30	2	102	v Eng	Dec 27, 1984		124	3	101*	v SL	Dec 1, 1990		94
S Chanderpaul (WI)		114	3	108*	v NZ	Jun 8, 2002		205	4	101	v Pak	Dec 16, 2006		91
Shahid Afridi (Pak)		204	4	102	v India	Apr 15, 2005		294	5	109	v SL	Jun 15, 2010		90
AR Border (Aus)		19	1	105*	v India	Dec 18, 1980		104	2	118*	v SL	Jan 28, 1985		85
Shahid Afridi (Pak)		65	2	109	v India	Sep 19, 1998		146	3	108*	v NZ	Apr 15, 2002		81
R Dravid (India)		105	7	153	v NZ	Nov 8, 1999		186	8	109*	v WI	Nov 15, 2002		81
SR Waugh (Aus)		187	1	102*	v SL	Jan 16, 1996		266	2	120*	v SA	Jun 13, 1999		79
M Kaif (India)		19	1	111*	v Zim	Sep 14, 2002		95	2	102*	v NZ	Sep 2, 2005		76
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)		83	4	116*	v Zim	Feb 25, 1995		158	5	116*	v SL	Apr 7, 1998		75
Abdul Razzaq (Pak)		171	2	107*	v Zim	Sep 30, 2004		245	3	109*	v SA	Oct 31, 2010		74
PV Simmons (WI)		43	4	104	v SA	Apr 12, 1992		116	5	103*	v NZ	Apr 6, 1996		73
CD McMillan (NZ)		114	2	105	v Pak	Apr 24, 2002		187	3	117	v Aus	Feb 20, 2007		73

Another player who scored a century on debut but then had to wait a while for his second one-day century was Desmond Haynes. He began his ODI career with 148 against Australia in 1978 and then played 54 ODIs over five years and 328 days without another century, until he came up against Australia again at the SCG in 1984. Haynes didn't waste time thereafter and ended his career with 17 centuries, an ODI record until Sachin Tendulkar broke it in 1998.

Manoj Prabhakar, the former India allrounder, scored his first hundred in his 11th game, against Pakistan in Jamshedpur in 1987. He then went 78 ODIs over nearly six years before making another score of more than 50 - an 89 against England in Gwalior in 1993. His next century came against West Indies in Kanpur in October 1994, 100 matches and seven years after his first. Those who watched it will remember it was no cause for celebration. Prabhakar and Nayan Monga, with India needing 63 from nine overs, defended resolutely and scored only 16. Prabhakar remained unbeaten on 102 off 154 balls but was dropped for the rest of the series.

The longest time between scores of more than 50 was endured by Netherlands' Bas Zuiderant. He scored 54 in his second ODI, against England in the 1996 World Cup, as an 18-year old, but his next half-century came only when he was 28, against Bermuda at Potchefstroom in 2006.

Most matches between scores above 50 - ODIs

Player		Mat	50+	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Mat	50+	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Diff
Wasim Akram (Pak)		93	1	86	v Aus	Feb 23, 1990		187	2	50	v India	Apr 7, 1995		94
B Lee (Aus)		34	1	51*	v SA	Feb 3, 2002		119	2	57	v SA	Jan 15, 2006		85
M Prabhakar (India)		11	1	106	v Pak	Mar 26, 1987		89	2	73	v Eng	Mar 5, 1993		78
DL Vettori (NZ)		177	3	79	v Aus	Nov 1, 2006		252	4	70	v Aus	Mar 6, 2010		75
IA Healy (Aus)		46	1	50*	v Eng	Jan 10, 1991		120	2	56	v Eng	Jan 10, 1995		74
SM Pollock (SA)		75	5	52	v Zim	May 29, 1999		149	6	69*	v NZ	Feb 1, 2002		74
NR Mongia (India)		45	1	69	v Pak	Apr 12, 1996		114	2	51	v SL	Nov 6, 1998		69
Mohammad Rafique (Ban)		10	1	77	v Kenya	May 17, 1998		73	2	72	v Zim	Jan 31, 2005		63
AC Parore (NZ)		102	14	54	v SL	Oct 26, 1998		164	15	51*	v SL	Jul 18, 2001		62
Imran Khan (Pak)		40	4	79*	v NZ	Jun 20, 1983		89	5	73	v India	Mar 24, 1987		49
TM Dilshan (SL)		16	2	50	v Ban	Aug 7, 2002		64	3	52	v India	Nov 3, 2005		48
DR Smith (WI)		28	2	68	v SL	Aug 2, 2005		75	3	59*	v Aus	Feb 14, 2010		47
PJL Dujon (WI)		81	4	57*	v Pak	Nov 4, 1986		127	5	63	v Pak	Dec 17, 1988		46
CZ Harris (NZ)		105	10	54*	v Zim	Mar 8, 1998		150	11	59*	v Aus	Feb 26, 2000		45
HH Streak (Zim)		64	1	59	v India	Nov 8, 1998		108	2	51*	v India	Dec 5, 2000		44
DD Ebrahim (Zim)		22	2	84	v Ban	Nov 26, 2001		66	3	50*	v SL	Apr 27, 2004		44
PL Symcox (SA)		27	1	61	v India	Apr 19, 1996		69	2	58	v SL	Aug 14, 1998		42
HP Tillakaratne (SL)		125	11	70*	v India	Mar 2, 1996		167	12	72*	v Zim	Nov 10, 1998		42
UDU Chandana (SL)		42	1	50	v Eng	Jan 19, 1999		84	2	64	v Pak	Apr 12, 2002		42
Mushfiqur Rahim (Ban)		12	2	56*	v India	Mar 17, 2007		54	3	98	v Zim	Aug 18, 2009		42

Adam Parore, the former New Zealand wicketkeeper, appears in the table for longest wait between one-day scores of greater than 50, and in the one for most Tests between centuries. In one-day internationals Parore made 54 in his 102nd match, against Sri Lanka in October 1998, and then made his next fifty-plus score in his 164th ODI, again against Sri Lanka, in 2001.

In Test matches, Parore possesses the record for playing the most matches between one century and the next. He made only two Test hundreds and they were separated by 57 matches. The first was in his 16th Test, in Christchurch in 1995. Parore was the first Maori to score a Test hundred, and he did it on Waitangi Day. A pair of eighties was the closest he got to three figures in his next 94 innings, until New Zealand played Australia at the WACA in 2001 - Parore's 73rd match. Parore's 110 was the fourth hundred in New Zealand's innings, the first time they had performed such a feat.

Most matches between centuries - Tests

Player		Mat	100	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Mat	100	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Diff
AC Parore (NZ)		16	1	100*	v WI	Feb 3, 1995		73	2	110	v Aus	Nov 30, 2001		57
MV Boucher (SA)		70	4	122*	v WI	Jan 2, 2004		120	5	117	v Ban	Nov 26, 2008		50
Moin Khan (Pak)		19	3	105	v Eng	Aug 8, 1996		66	4	137	v NZ	Dec 19, 2003		47
SMH Kirmani (India)		35	1	101*	v Aus	Nov 3, 1979		81	2	102	v Eng	Nov 28, 1984		46
MV Boucher (SA)		24	3	108	v Eng	Dec 26, 1999		70	4	122*	v WI	Jan 2, 2004		46
RR Lindwall (Aus)		3	1	100	v Eng	Jan 1, 1947		46	2	118	v WI	May 14, 1955		43
RJ Hadlee (NZ)		28	1	103	v WI	Feb 22, 1980		70	2	151*	v SL	Apr 16, 1987		42
RC Russell (Eng)		5	1	128*	v Aus	Jul 27, 1989		46	2	124	v India	Jun 20, 1996		41
APE Knott (Eng)		26	2	116	v Pak	Jun 3, 1971		66	3	106*	v Aus	Jan 25, 1975		40
IDS Smith (NZ)		12	1	113*	v Eng	Feb 10, 1984		52	2	173	v India	Feb 22, 1990		40
Wasim Akram (Pak)		31	1	123	v Aus	Jan 19, 1990		71	2	257*	v Zim	Oct 17, 1996		40
Wasim Raja (Pak)		10	2	117*	v WI	Feb 18, 1977		47	3	125	v India	Sep 24, 1983		37
AR Border (Aus)		96	23	113*	v Pak	Sep 23, 1988		133	24	106	v SL	Sep 8, 1992		37
ND McKenzie (SA)		9	2	103	v SL	Jan 20, 2001		44	3	226	v Ban	Feb 29, 2008		35
MS Dhoni (India)		5	1	148	v Pak	Jan 21, 2006		38	2	110	v SL	Nov 16, 2009		33
N Kapil Dev (India)		8	1	126*	v WI	Jan 24, 1979		38	2	116	v Eng	Jan 30, 1982		30
WJ Cronje (SA)		21	5	101	v NZ	Mar 4, 1995		50	6	126	v Eng	Jul 23, 1998		29
N Kapil Dev (India)		50	3	100*	v WI	Mar 11, 1983		78	4	119	v Aus	Sep 18, 1986		28
JN Rhodes (SA)		5	1	101*	v SL	Aug 25, 1993		33	2	117	v Eng	Jun 18, 1998		28
SP Fleming (NZ)		35	2	174*	v SL	May 27, 1998		63	3	105	v Aus	Nov 30, 2001		28

The majority of batsmen who endured the longest gaps in terms of time between Test centuries were those whose careers were interrupted by the World Wars. Don Bradman's in the table too, with a gap of eight years and 130 days between century No. 22 and 23 in 1938 and 1946. The longest interval, though, belongs to Warren Bardsley, an Australian who played before Bradman did. Bardsley made 164 against South Africa at Lord's in 1912 and his next century was an unbeaten 193, also at Lord's but in 1926, 13 years and 346 days after his previous one.

Anil Kumble holds a couple of records for long waits before making a landmark score. He made his first Test century in his 118th Test, against England at The Oval in 2007, the most matches played before making a maiden hundred. Earlier in his career, Kumble also went 62 Tests between half-centuries without scoring 50 or more - the longest such patch. It began after the Nagpur Test against Sri Lanka in 1997, in which Kumble made 78, and ended in Nagpur as well, against England in 2006, when he contributed a valuable 58 to India's cause.

Most matches between scores above 50 - Tests

Player		Mat	50+	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Mat	50+	Runs	Opp	Scorecard		Diff
A Kumble (India)		42	3	78	v SL	Nov 26, 1997		104	4	58	v Eng	Mar 1, 2006		62
B Lee (Aus)		13	2	61	v NZ	Nov 8, 2001		52	3	64	v SA	Mar 31, 2006		39
GD McKenzie (Aus)		11	1	76	v SA	Jan 10, 1964		48	2	59	v WI	Jan 24, 1969		37
Harbhajan Singh (India)		26	2	54	v Eng	Aug 8, 2002		62	3	63	v Aus	Jan 2, 2008		36
SK Warne (Aus)		20	1	74*	v NZ	Dec 3, 1993		55	2	53	v Eng	Jul 3, 1997		35
Wasim Akram (Pak)		40	5	54	v SL	Jan 2, 1992		71	6	257*	v Zim	Oct 17, 1996		31
TG Evans (Eng)		43	7	71	v India	Jul 17, 1952		73	8	62	v SA	Jan 1, 1957		30
HJ Tayfield (SA)		2	1	75	v Aus	Dec 31, 1949		32	2	66	v Aus	Feb 28, 1958		30
Wasim Bari (Pak)		44	5	85	v India	Oct 27, 1978		74	6	64	v India	Sep 14, 1983		30
R Illingworth (Eng)		3	1	50	v India	Aug 20, 1959		32	2	113	v WI	Jun 26, 1969		29
BL Cairns (NZ)		5	1	52*	v Pak	Oct 30, 1976		33	2	64	v Eng	Jan 20, 1984		28
JA Snow (Eng)		5	1	59*	v WI	Aug 18, 1966		32	2	73	v India	Jul 22, 1971		27
RC Russell (Eng)		10	4	55	v WI	Apr 5, 1990		36	5	62	v WI	Apr 16, 1994		26
Saqlain Mushtaq (Pak)		8	2	58	v SL	Apr 19, 1997		33	3	101*	v NZ	Mar 15, 2001		25
GF Lawson (Aus)		9	2	50	v Eng	Nov 12, 1982		33	3	53	v Eng	Aug 15, 1985		24
DL Vettori (NZ)		23	4	51	v Eng	Aug 19, 1999		46	5	55	v SL	May 3, 2003		23
Imran Khan (Pak)		7	1	59	v NZ	Oct 30, 1976		29	2	56	v Aus	Mar 18, 1980		22
IDS Smith (NZ)		23	3	53	v WI	Apr 6, 1985		45	4	54	v India	Nov 24, 1988		22
MD Marshall (WI)		54	8	72	v Eng	Jun 2, 1988		76	9	51	v Aus	Apr 27, 1991		22
SM Pollock (SA)		74	15	66*	v Eng	Sep 4, 2003		96	16	67*	v Aus	Dec 26, 2005		22