Worth the wait

As many as 81 batsmen have scored a century in their debut Test. Two - Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed - have even managed a hundred in each innings on debut. And then there are those who've had to wait years, some even more than a decade, to go past hundred for the first time. This week's List takes a look at players who've played the most Tests before scoring their maiden century.

The record stood at an unspectacular 56 Tests in 2003, the number Heath Streak needed to score his first century - 127 from No. 8 against West Indies in Harare . That mark has been smashed three times since, each instance seemingly unbeatable until the next one came along.

Playing his 71st Test in April 2006, Jason Gillespie became the first night-watchman to score a double-century . His unbeaten 201 against Bangladesh was such an improbable feat that Mathew Hayden had wagered he'd do a nude lap if Gillespie got there. Undermining his own abilities, Gillespie said he'd do one as well if he reached 200.

Gillespie 71-Test wait was beaten in June 2007 by Chaminda Vaas, who also cashed in against Bangladesh to score his first century in his 97th match . Only two players had played enough Tests to beat Vaas if they scored a hundred and Anil Kumble did it less than two months after Vaas' century. He scored an unbeaten 110 against England at The Oval in his 118th Test. Kumble's record is likely to stand for a while, unless Muttiah Muralitharan, who has played 120 Tests, decides to produce magic with his bat instead of the ball.

Most Tests before a player's first century

Player	Mat		Opposition	Ground	Date	Scorecard
A Kumble (India)	118		v England	The Oval	9 Aug 2007	Test 1842
WPUJC Vaas (SL)	97		v Bangladesh	Colombo (SSC)	25 Jun 2007	Test 1837
JN Gillespie (Aus)	71		v Bangladesh	Chittagong (CDS)	16 Apr 2006	Test 1799
HH Streak (Zim)	56		v West Indies	Harare	4 Nov 2003	Test 1668
SM Pollock (SA)	51		v Sri Lanka	Centurion	20 Jan 2001	Test 1529
DL Vettori (NZ)	49		v Pakistan	Hamilton	19 Dec 2003	Test 1676
IA Healy (Aus)	48		v England	Manchester	3 Jun 1993	Test 1223
ADR Campbell (Zim)	47		v India	Nagpur	25 Nov 2000	Test 1517
Intikhab Alam (Pak)	37		v England	Hyderabad (Sind)	16 Mar 1973	Test 717
M Prabhakar (India)	36		v West Indies	Mohali	10 Dec 1994	Test 1278
W Rhodes (Eng)	35		v Australia	Melbourne	9 Feb 1912	Test 119
SMH Kirmani (India)	35		v Australia	Mumbai	3 Nov 1979	Test 860
AW Nourse (SA)	34		v Australia	Johannesburg	12 Nov 1921	Test 146
Saqlain Mushtaq (Pak)	33		v New Zealand	Christchurch	15 Mar 2001	Test 1536
TL Goddard (SA)	32		v England	Johannesburg	22 Jan 1965	Test 575

Dave Nourse, the South African batsman, was the oldest player to score a century when he made 111, his maiden hundred, against Australia in 1921, at the age of 42 years and 291 days. He still is the oldest player to score a maiden hundred.

The large difference between Ken Barrington's home and away averages - 50.71 compared to 69.18 - was largely because he scored only six of his 20 hundreds in England. The gulf was even wider during the first half of Barrington's career. His first century at home came in his 50th Test, during the 1964 Ashes, when he scored 256 - his only double-hundred - at Old Trafford. Before that innings, Barrington had played 28 home Tests with an average of 36.80, while he averaged nearly 71 with nine centuries in 21 away games.

Allan Lamb, on the other hand, scored nine hundreds in England before scoring his first century away from home - 132 at Sabina Park in 1990 - in his 58th Test. He finished with only three overseas hundreds, compared to his 11 at home.

The list of bowlers who've played the most Tests before taking their maiden five-wicket haul is dominated by part-timers and allrounders. Allan Border's best bowling figures over his first 100 Tests were 3 for 20, before he took 7 for 46 against West Indies in his 101st at the SCG in 1989-90. He finished the match with 11 for 96 - a bizarre performance, for Border had never taken more than four wickets in a first-class match before then. During Australia's tour of the Caribbean in 1991, Border took 5 for 68 in Guyana in his 52nd overseas Test, the most matches for a player before taking a five-for away from home.

Most Tests before a player's first five-wicket haul

Player	Mat		Opposition	Ground	Date	Scorecard
AR Border (Aus)	101		v West Indies	Sydney	26 Jan 1989	Test 1113
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	69		v Zimbabwe	Galle	12 Jan 2002	Test 1585
BE Congdon (NZ)	51		v India	Auckland	24 Jan 1976	Test 769
CH Gayle (WI)	45		v England	Birmingham	29 Jul 2004	Test 1708
JR Reid (NZ)	44		v South Africa	Dunedin	28 Feb 1964	Test 559
ME Waugh (Aus)	43		v England	Adelaide	26 Jan 1995	Test 1284
KD Walters (Aus)	40		v West Indies	Georgetown	6 Apr 1973	Test 720
GS Sobers (WI)	37		v Australia	Melbourne	10 Feb 1961	Test 506
CL Hooper (WI)	37		v Pakistan	Port of Spain	16 Apr 1993	Test 1220
BF Butcher (WI)	32		v England	Port of Spain	14 Mar 1968	Test 635
A Flintoff (Eng)	32		v West Indies	Bridgetown	1 Apr 2004	Test 1694
DCS Compton (Eng)	30		v South Africa	Cape Town	1 Jan 1949	Test 309
Abdul Razzaq (Pak)	30		v Sri Lanka	Karachi	28 Oct 2004	Test 1719
CG Borde (India)	29		v England	Chennai	10 Jan 1964	Test 551
Mushtaq Mohammad (Pak)	29		v New Zealand	Dunedin	7 Feb 1973	Test 712