Most Test centuries in a calendar year
Test cricket has featured some great batters over the years who have performed tremendously in the longest format of the game. A Test century is one of the most cherished possessions of a batter as it doesn’t come around often. But every now and then a batter gets on a hot streak where he starts scoring centuries for fun and looks invincible at the crease.
Here are the players with the most centuries in Tests in a calendar year:
Viv Richards(West Indies), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Aravinda de Silva (Sri Lanka), Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 7
Everyone who saw Vivian Richards bat during the 70s and 80s acknowledged his greatness. One of the greatest showmen in the game, the West Indian was at his alluring best in 1976, scoring a mind-boggling 1710 runs along with seven centuries in 11 Tests. He registered two double centuries that year, including an iconic 291 against England at The Oval.
Ricky Ponting was on a completely different level from 2002-2006 as he scored in excess of 1000 runs in Tests in four out of those five years. The second-highest run-getter in Test cricket scored 1333 runs in 10 Tests and registered seven tons in the process.
One of Sri Lanka’s finest batters of all time, Aravinda Silva etched his name in the record books after a match-winning century in the 1996 WC Final. The batting-allrounder once again showcased his batting prowess as he scored a monumental seven centuries in 11 Tests with 1220 runs to his name in 1997.
Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as the greatest batter of all time, and his records are a testament to that. The masterful batter is the leading run-getter in Tests and ODIs and also has the most centuries to his name in both formats. He reminded everybody of his greatness when he scored seven centuries in 14 matches and amassed a whopping 1562 runs in 2010.
Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) – 9 centuries
One of Pakistan’s finest and most diligent cricketers ever, Mohammad Yousuf went on a record-breaking streak in 2006, when he scored nine centuries in just 11 matches while registering a record-breaking 1788 runs at an astonishing average of 99.33. He broke the long-standing record of Viv Richards for most centuries and most runs in a calendar year, a record that stood for almost 30 years.
