That very special feeling - A Test century in England

There is always something very special about scoring a Test hundred in England. One supposes this is true of a player from any country, but perhaps it is more so in the case of an Indian cricketer, given the challenge of the very different - and therefore difficult - wicket and weather conditions there. I was reminded of this when Dilip Vengsarkar was recently honoured for being among the ten cricketers who have had an outstanding record at Lord's. Among the ten, the only other visiting batsmen in the list are Gordon Greenidge, Don Bradman, George Headley and Gary Sobers, each of whom got two hundreds at the game's headquarters. Vengsarkar is of course unique among non-Englishmen for scoring three hundreds at Lord's. But it must not be forgotten that he also got a fourth century in England, in the 1986 Test at Leeds. No other Indian has got to this mark, the nearest being Sachin Tendulkar with three on the 1990 and 1996 tours. Of course Tendulkar has played only six Tests in England to Vengsarkar's 13.

Indeed, the list of Indian century makers in a Test in England makes for interesting reading. And the list of batsmen from this country who did not cross the magical figure, despite ample opportunities, makes for even more interesting reading. But first let us examine the batsmen who crossed the three figure mark.

The first Indian batsman to score a Test hundred in England was Mushtaq Ali, at Manchester in 1936 and he describes that special feeling in no uncertain terms in his autobiography `Cricket Delightful.' Mushtaq Ali played a total of five Tests on two tours - 1936 and 1946 - but that remained his only hundred. His partner in many games, the more technically correct Vijay Merchant was more successful, not unexpectedly. He got two hundreds in six Tests played during two tours in 1936 and 1946.

Vinoo Mankad played six Tests on the tours of 1946 and 1952 and had one hundred - his mighty 184 at Lord's on the latter trip. Vijay Manjrekar, another technically proficient batsman, got a hundred in his first Test in England in 1952 but his highest in five other matches spread over two tours, the latter one in 1959, was 61. India's other batting stalwart of the fifties, Polly Umrigar is best remembered for his poor showing in England in 1952 and 1959 but in the last of the eight Tests that he played there, he got 118 at Manchester which did much to improve his otherwise dismal record.

Abbas Ali Baig came in as a late replacement for the injured Manjrekar on the 1959 tour of England but a century on debut gave him a freakishly high average of fifty percent - one century in two Tests. MAK Pataudi too had only one tour of England, in 1967, but got a hundred in his first Test there, the only one in three Tests.

One would have expected Sunil Gavaskar to have an outstanding record in Tests in England, but given his overall record, a tally of two hundreds in 16 Tests (or 15 since he did not bat at the Oval in 1982) is well below average for him. He got an excellent hundred in alien conditions at Manchester in 1974 and then followed his classic 221 at the Oval in 1979. But on the tours of 1971, 1982 and 1986 his highest was confined to a score of 57.

Similarly given his overall record and his technical perfection, one would have expected GR Viswanath to have a better record in Tests in England than what he has - just one hundred in 13 Tests. Another artist cast in the Viswanath mould has fared better - Md Azharuddin has hit two hundreds in nine Tests spread over tours in 1986, 1990 and 1996.

Swashbucklers Sandip Patil and Kapil Dev too have got hundreds in Tests - one each. But while Patil had limited opportunities - three Tests - Kapil Dev played 13 Tests spread over four tours in 1979, 1982, 1986 and 1990. At the other end of the line, the stodgy Ravi Shastri has got two hundreds, both in the 1990 series, but he altogether played nine Tests.

Tendulkar's record in Tests in England has already been mentioned as next only to that of Vengsarkar but the batsman with the perfect 100 percent record is the present Indian captain. Saurav Ganguly has played in only two Tests in England and has hit hundreds in both.

Now to the notable Indian batsmen who did not enjoy the honour of getting a hundred in England. And it does have some surprising names. Top of the heap would be Vijay Hazare. The great Indian batsman made two tours of England in 1946 and 1952, played seven Tests but could not go beyond 89. Chandu Borde, who regarded Hazare as his mentor, suffered a similar fate. On two tours in 1959 and 1967 he too played seven Tests but his highest was 75. Ajit Wadekar was another leading batsman not to get a Test hundred in England. He played nine Tests through three tours but could go beyond 91 though he also had scores of 85 and 70. There are other notable absentees - CK Nayudu, Lala Amarnath, Dilip Sardesai, Mohinder Amarnath - but then their opportunities were very limited.