Younis makes history, becomes first cricketer to score Test centuries in 11 countries

Published January 5, 2017
Younis Khan celebrates making 100 runs against Australia. —AP
Younis Khan celebrates making 100 runs against Australia. —AP

Younis Khan on Thursday became the first player in the history of Test cricket to score centuries in 11 countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

The veteran batsman smashed his 34th century at the Sydney Cricket Ground on a rain-affected third day of the third Test against Australia, tying him with Sunil Gavaskar, Mahela Jayawardene and Brian Lara in the all-time list at 6th place.

Rahul Dravid is the only other cricketer to score centuries in all 10 full-member Test nations, with 36 centuries under his belt. Sachin Tendulkar remains the all-time highest Test century scorer with 51 tons in 200 Test matches.

Younis Khan yells to team mates after damaging his bat. —Reuters
Younis Khan yells to team mates after damaging his bat. —Reuters

The last time a batsman older than Younis, 39, scored a century in Australia was in 1984 when Clive Lloyd hit a ton, at the age of 40 in Brisbane. Overall, Younis is the sixth oldest visiting batsman to score a century in Australia and third oldest at the SCG after Jack Hobbs and Warwick Armstrong.

Despite hospitalisation from dengue fever last year, the modern-day great of the game appears to be in the best shape of his life ─ He averages above 50 in Tests played at home, away, and at neutral venues – a record that not many batsmen can boast of.

Few batsman in the modern era score or have scored Test hundreds as frequently as Younis. His innings per Test century ratio of 6.05 is among the best in the modern world.

Steven Smith congratulates Younis Khan at the end of the day's play. —AP
Steven Smith congratulates Younis Khan at the end of the day's play. —AP

His sixth double century at the Oval last year is a record that he now shares with Javed Miandad.

The ratio of Younis' centuries to fifties is 1.06, hehas converted 11 of his last 15 fifties into hundreds.

This is the second highest among 41 batsmen who have scored 20 or more centuries.

Only Don Bradman (2.23) has a better ratio than Younis. Overall, Younis has 34 centuries and 32 fifties in Test cricket.

Younis has behind him a famous double-century against India in India. As captain, he led Pakistan to victory at the 2009 world Twenty20 series.

At 39, Younis is inching closer to a milestone 10,000 runs and has currently racked up 9,789 runs in 114 matches.

There have only been 12 batsmen in cricket’s history to have scored past 10,000 runs in Tests ─ A rare feat which symbolises the temperament of a batsman in cricket’s five-day format, none from Pakistan has ever done so.

Watch the moment Younis makes history below:

Younis dedicates inning to TCF

Younis Khan dedicated his today's "special inning" to the students of The Citizens Foundation (TCF)'s school in Steel Town, Karachi.

In a video message, he said that as promised, he will donate his bat to TCF, after achieving milestone of 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

Opinion

Editorial

Paying the price
Updated 18 Apr, 2025

Paying the price

Pakistan is trapped in a relentless cycle of climate volatility.
Political solution
18 Apr, 2025

Political solution

THOUGH the BNP-M may have ended its 20-day protest sit-in outside Quetta on Wednesday, the core issues affecting...
Grave desecration
18 Apr, 2025

Grave desecration

THE desecration of 85 Muslim graves at a cemetery in Hertfordshire in the UK is a distressing act that deserves the...
Double-edged sword
Updated 17 Apr, 2025

Double-edged sword

While remittances have provided critical support to current account, they have also been a double-edged sword.
Besieged people
17 Apr, 2025

Besieged people

DESPITE all the talk about becoming a ‘hard’ state, Pakistan is still looking incredibly soft when it comes to...
Deadly zealotry
Updated 17 Apr, 2025

Deadly zealotry

Murdering people and attacking firms is indefensible and only besmirches the Palestinian cause.