Record for centuries in consecutive Test matches

The following is the list of players with hundreds in the most number of consecutive Tests:

1. Sir Donald Bradman (6 Matches)

The great Sir Donald Bradman has a record 6-match streak of scoring centuries. In the first match of 1937, Bradman scored 270 against England at the MCG. For a man who never seemed to be out of form, such feats would always be likely – in addition, he has twice scored centuries in 4 back-to-back matches, in a career which boasts of 29 centuries in 52 matches. This succession went on till the match on 22 July 1938.

2. Jacques Kallis (5 Matches)

The legendary South African all-rounder scored centuries in five consecutive matches from 12 December 2003 to 10 March 2004. In West Indies’ 2003-04 tour to South Africa, the Windies bowlers seemed to have no way to get through the classy batsman, and Kallis scored a century in every match of the series. He followed that up with a century against New Zealand.

Mohammad Yousuf (5 Matches)

The Pakistani middle order batsman was in a thunderous form in the second half of 2006, marauding the English and West Indian bowling attacks. In the eight innings of 5 matches, he scored 6 centuries and a half century. In November 2006, Mohammad Yousuf achieved the 10th highest-ever figure in ICC’s test batting rating. His rating of 933 gave him a personal best of 2nd place in the rankings behind Ricky Ponting and was the highest for any batsmen from Asia. During the third innings of the final Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Karachi, he surpassed Viv Richards’s thirty-year-old record and became the highest scorer in Test matches during a single calendar year.

Gautam Gambhir (5 Matches)

During the same period when he notched up fifty plus scores in 11 successive Tests, Gautam Gambhir also emulated the above feats of Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Yousuf. He built a solid opening pair with Virender Sehwag in what was probably the finest period of his Test career.

16 batsmen are tied on the third place for centuries in 4 consecutive Tests. We give here the notable mentions.

3. Sir Donald Bradman (4 Matches) (Twice)

In two separate consecutions, Donald Bradman scored centuries in 4 consecutive matches. Against South Africa in Jan 1932, he missed out his 3 triple century in Tests by a run. The statistics below give only vague glimpses into the adeptness and the unparalleled prowess of the batsman.

Kenneth Barrington (4 Matches) (Twice)

The right-handed English batsman known for “batting with bulldog determination and awesome concentration” (for he used to play long, defensive innings), twice achieved this feat. For his performances in India in 1961, he was named the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year 1962.

Matthew Hayden (4 Matches) (Twice)

The robust Australian run machine was always difficult to contain when on song, as is evident from this achievement. From 2001 to 2005, he recorded more than 1000 runs in every calendar year, the first man to achieve this feat five times.

Sir Everton Weekes (4 Matches)

One of the “Three Ws” of West Indian cricket, Sir Everton Weekes holds the record for scoring five Test centuries in consecutive innings, a record which he could have extended to six, if not for a controversial run out for 90 against India in Madras in the fourth Test of 1948-49 series in India. Also to his name is the record for seven Test half centuries in consecutive innings (along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Andy Flower).

Sir Clyde Walcott (4 Matches)

The next of the Three Ws, and the first non-English chairman of the International Cricket Council, Sir Clyde Walcott hit 5 centuries in 4 back-to-back Tests against England and Australia. In the mid-1950s, he was considered by many to be the best batsman of the world.

Jacques Kallis (4 Matches)

Featuring again on this list, Kallis scored 5 hundreds in 4 Tests in October-November 2007 against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Kumar Sangakkara (4 Matches)

The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper batsman scored close to a thousand runs in the following four matches with four scores in excess of 150, including two of his 11 double centuries. 915 runs were scored by him in the 6 innings.

Other players to have scored centuries in 4 Test matches in a row are: