So near and yet so far

Had Mohammad Yousuf placed someone else at point during Australia's second innings in the Boxing Day Test, and had Abdur Rauf not shelled a sitter, Shane Watson would have been dismissed on 99 and would have still been searching for an elusive maiden Test century. Watson passed 50 six times in 11 innings, and seven times in all, before finally scoring an unbeaten 120 at the MCG. This week we've looked at which batsmen made the most scores between 50 and 99 before making a century.

Had Rauf taken that catch, Watson by now would have been the player dismissed most times in the nineties before a maiden Test century. The dismissal on 99 would have been his third in the nineties. (And he fell for 97 in the next Test, against Pakistan in Sydney.)

Three batsmen made scores in the nineties thrice before reaching their maiden Test hundreds: Bob Simpson, Trevor Goddard and Hashan Tillakaratne. One of Goddard's nineties was a 99 against England at The Oval in 1960. He batted for six hours and 10 minutes, was dropped off consecutive deliveries from Brian Statham before Colin Cowdrey took a sharp catch at slip. The umpires consulted before sending Goddard on his way, one short of a first Test hundred.

Goddard and Simpson also made the most scores of over 50 before scoring Test centuries - 15 each. Simpson made 60 on debut, followed by scores of 92, 85, 75, 92, 76, 51, 50, 71, 91, 71, 55*, 58, 78 and 50 spread over 50 innings before finally reaching three figures. And when he got there, he made it count, scoring 311 at Old Trafford in 1964. It was the second-highest score for a batsman making his maiden hundred.

Most scores above 50 before making first Test century

Player	Num		Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	50		Score	Opposition	Start Date	Scorecard
RB Simpson (Aus)	15		29	51	1653	92	35.93	15		311	v England	Jul 23, 1964	Test 564
TL Goddard (SA)	15		32	61	1978	99	35.32	15		112	v England	Jan 22, 1965	Test 575
RR Sarwan (WI)	14		27	48	1571	91	36.53	14		119	v Bangladesh	Dec 8, 2002	Test 1630
S Chanderpaul (WI)	13		18	29	1232	82	49.28	13		137*	v India	Mar 27, 1997	Test 1363
ADR Campbell (Zim)	13		47	83	2031	99	25.07	13		102	v India	Nov 25, 2000	Test 1517
AW Nourse (SA)	12		34	63	1639	93*	29.80	12		111	v Australia	Nov 12, 1921	Test 146
WPUJC Vaas (SL)	11		96	140	2554	74*	22.40	11		100*	v Bangladesh	Jun 25, 2007	Test 1837
IR Redpath (Aus)	10		28	48	1491	97	33.88	10		132	v West Indies	Feb 14, 1969	Test 646
JV Coney (NZ)	10		25	43	1173	84	31.70	10		174*	v England	Jan 20, 1984	Test 975
SR Waugh (Aus)	10		26	41	1099	91	30.52	10		177*	v England	Jun 8, 1989	Test 1121
SP Fleming (NZ)	10		22	38	1325	92*	36.80	10		129	v England	Jan 24, 1997	Test 1351
MW Gatting (Eng)	9		31	53	1159	81	23.65	9		136	v India	Nov 28, 1984	Test 1001
HP Tillakaratne (SL)	9		27	44	1297	93*	35.05	9		116	v Zimbabwe	Oct 26, 1994	Test 1272
M Prabhakar (India)	9		35	52	1370	95	30.44	9		120	v West Indies	Dec 10, 1994	Test 1278
HH Streak (Zim)	9		55	90	1576	87	21.01	9		127*	v West Indies	Nov 4, 2003	Test 1668
JB Hobbs (Eng)	8		11	22	786	93*	41.36	8		187	v South Africa	Mar 11, 1910	Test 110
W Rhodes (Eng)	8		34	58	1202	77	27.95	8		179	v Australia	Feb 9, 1912	Test 119
RW Barber (Eng)	8		22	35	1091	97	34.09	8		185	v Australia	Jan 7, 1966	Test 599
GA Gooch (Eng)	8		21	35	1027	99	32.09	8		123	v West Indies	Jun 19, 1980	Test 881
SM Pollock (SA)	8		50	71	1602	92	27.15	8		111	v Sri Lanka	Jan 20, 2001	Test 1529

At least the players in the table above eventually got to their Test centuries after missing out several times, unlike the lot below.

Indian opener Chetan Chauhan made 16 half-centuries in 40 Test matches but never reached a hundred - his highest, 97, came at the Adelaide Oval in 1981. He was the first batsman to score 2000 Test runs without a century. Chauhan's opening partner, however, had no trouble at all notching up hundreds - Sunil Gavaskar made 34 in all.

Chauhan's record of scoring the most runs without a Test century now belongs to Shane Warne, who finished his 145 Tests with 3154 runs. Warne passed 50 a dozen times and even entered the nineties twice. His highest of 99 came against New Zealand in Perth in 2004, and he also made 90 in a tense draw at Old Trafford in 2005.

Most scores above 50 without making a Test century

Player	Span	Num			Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	50
CPS Chauhan (India)	1969-1981	16			40	68	2084	97	31.57	16
KD Mackay (Aus)	1956-1963	13			37	52	1507	89	33.48	13
SK Warne (Aus)	1992-2007	12			145	199	3154	99	17.32	12
DL Murray (WI)	1963-1980	11			62	96	1993	91	22.90	11
BM Laird (Aus)	1979-1982	11			21	40	1341	92	35.28	11
HB Cameron (SA)	1927-1935	10			26	45	1239	90	30.21	10
FJ Titmus (Eng)	1955-1975	10			53	76	1449	84*	22.29	10
JE Emburey (Eng)	1978-1995	10			64	96	1713	75	22.53	10
MD Marshall (WI)	1978-1991	10			81	107	1810	92	18.85	10
DD Ebrahim (Zim)	2001-2005	10			29	55	1225	94	22.68	10
RF Surti (India)	1960-1969	9			26	48	1263	99	28.70	9
JM Brearley (Eng)	1976-1981	9			39	66	1442	91	22.88	9
AC Bannerman (Aus)	1879-1893	8			28	50	1108	94	23.08	8
Asif Mujtaba (Pak)	1986-1997	8			25	41	928	65*	24.42	8
UC Hathurusingha (SL)	1991-1999	8			26	44	1274	83	29.62	8
Asim Kamal (Pak)	2003-2005	8			12	20	717	99	37.73	8
TR Veivers (Aus)	1963-1967	7			21	30	813	88	31.26	7
GRJ Roope (Eng)	1973-1978	7			21	32	860	77	30.71	7
G Miller (Eng)	1976-1984	7			34	51	1213	98*	25.80	7
KS More (India)	1986-1993	7			49	64	1285	73	25.70	7
GJ Rennie (Zim)	1997-2002	7			23	46	1023	93	22.73	7
Rajin Saleh (Bang)	2003-2008	7			24	46	1141	89	25.93	7
Harbhajan Singh (India)	1998-2009	7			80	111	1525	66	16.75	7

Gavaskar, however, had some trouble scoring an ODI hundred. He scored a half-century 27 times, made over 75 on eight occasions, and entered the nineties thrice in 100 innings without reaching three figures. Finally, in his penultimate one-dayer, he led India to victory over New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup, scoring an unbeaten 103 off 88 balls.

Sachin Tendulkar, who presently has 43 one-day centuries, also took his time scoring his first. He went 78 matches, making 17 scores of over 50, before scoring 110 against Australia in 1994. He hadn't even entered the nineties until then, with 84 against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1992 being his highest score.

Most scores above 50 before making first ODI century

Player	Num		Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	50		Score	Opposition	Start Date	Scorecard
A Ranatunga (SL)	29		152	144	4100	98	34.74	29		101*	v Pakistan	Dec 2, 1994	ODI 953
SM Gavaskar (India)	27		106	100	2985	92*	34.31	27		103*	v New Zealand	Oct 31, 1987	ODI 474
MA Taylor (Aus)	27		97	94	3066	97	32.96	27		105	v India	Oct 21, 1996	ODI 1129
RG Twose (NZ)	20		74	69	2437	97	41.30	20		103	v South Africa	Nov 4, 2000	ODI 1655
SR Waugh (Aus)	19		186	166	3863	86	30.41	19		102*	v Sri Lanka	Jan 16, 1996	ODI 1039
Younis Khan (Pak)	19		102	98	2666	90	31.36	19		144	v Hong Kong	Jul 18, 2004	ODI 2147
MV Boucher (SA)	19		219	159	3183	76	26.52	19		147*	v Zimbabwe	Sep 20, 2006	ODI 2420
SR Tendulkar (India)	17		78	75	2126	84	32.70	17		110	v Australia	Sep 9, 1994	ODI 924
GW Flower (Zim)	17		66	64	2030	91	33.27	17		112	v Sri Lanka	Jan 26, 1998	ODI 1286
BRM Taylor (Zim)	17		89	88	2399	98	29.98	17		118*	v Bangladesh	Nov 5, 2009	ODI 2922
KR Rutherford (NZ)	16		102	97	2481	79	27.87	16		108	v India	Oct 28, 1994	ODI 939
HH Dippenaar (SA)	16		62	51	1810	93	42.09	16		110*	v Pakistan	Oct 3, 2003	ODI 2046
JG Wright (NZ)	15		104	103	2660	84	26.07	15		101	v England	Mar 16, 1988	ODI 508
PA de Silva (SL)	15		76	73	1907	96	28.46	15		104	v India	Dec 1, 1990	ODI 644
GC Smith (SA)	15		58	57	2021	99	36.74	15		105	v England	Feb 4, 2005	ODI 2221
AP Gurusinha (SL)	14		90	88	2255	90	26.52	14		117*	v New Zealand	Apr 18, 1994	ODI 909
RB Richardson (WI)	13		53	52	1521	99*	36.21	13		109	v Sri Lanka	Dec 3, 1986	ODI 405
RS Mahanama (SL)	13		71	68	1654	98	27.11	13		107	v New Zealand	Dec 13, 1992	ODI 778
N Hussain (Eng)	13		71	71	1839	95	30.14	13		115	v India	Jul 13, 2002	ODI 1856
BB McCullum (NZ)	13		133	109	2417	96	27.78	13		166	v Ireland	Jul 1, 2008	ODI 2727

How many ODI centuries do Graham Thorpe, Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan have between them in 256 matches? One. Hussain made 115 in the NatWest Series final against India in 2003 - his 71st match. Thorpe averaged over 37 and made 21 fifties, but never got past 89 in ODIs, while Vaughan's unbeaten 90 in Bulawayo in 2004 was his best effort out of 16 half-centuries in 86 matches.

Most scores above 50 without making an ODI century

Player	Span	Num			Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	50
AH Jones (NZ)	1987-1995	25			87	87	2784	93	35.69	25
GP Thorpe (Eng)	1993-2002	21			82	77	2380	89	37.18	21
KJ Hughes (Aus)	1977-1985	17			97	88	1968	98	24.00	17
Mudassar Nazar (Pak)	1977-1989	16			122	115	2653	95	25.26	16
MP Vaughan (Eng)	2001-2007	16			86	83	1982	90*	27.15	16
JC Adams (WI)	1992-2001	14			127	105	2204	82	28.62	14
Habibul Bashar (Ban)	1995-2007	14			111	105	2168	78	21.68	14
Aftab Ahmed (Ban)	2004-2008	14			80	80	1874	92	25.32	14
HH Streak (Zim)	1993-2005	13			189	159	2943	79*	28.29	13
S Matsikenyeri (Zim)	2002-2009	13			105	102	2177	90	23.15	13
Moin Khan (Pak)	1990-2004	12			219	183	3266	72*	23.00	12
E Chigumbura (Zim)	2004-2009	12			103	96	2093	79	24.05	12
GJ Whittall (Zim)	1993-2003	11			147	142	2705	83	22.54	11
MO Odumbe (Kenya)	1996-2003	11			61	59	1409	83	26.09	11
TM Moody (Aus)	1987-1999	10			76	64	1211	89	23.28	10
Javed Omar (Ban)	1995-2007	10			59	59	1312	85*	23.85	10
SC Williams (Zim)	2005-2009	10			41	40	983	75	29.78	10