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 plays a shot during the second day of the third Test at the SCG. —AFP
Younis Khan plays a shot during the second day of the third Test at the SCG. —AFP

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

IHK resolution
Updated 08 Nov, 2024

IHK resolution

If the BJP administration were to listen to Kashmiris, it could pave the way for the resumption of the political process in IHK.
Climate realities
08 Nov, 2024

Climate realities

THE Air Quality Index in Lahore once again shot past the 1,000-level mark on Wednesday morning, registering at an...
Rule by fear
08 Nov, 2024

Rule by fear

THE abduction of an opposition MNA, as claimed by PTI, is yet another grim episode in Pakistan’s ongoing crisis of...
Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...