There is something magical about the figure ‘100’ in cricket. In Dharamshala this week, R. Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow play their one hundredth Test match, while in Christchurch it is the turn of Kane Williamson and Tim Southee to do so, each accompanied by loyal colleagues, supportive families, enthralled media and figure-hugging statisticians.
When Colin Cowdrey became the first to the mark in 1968, it had taken him 14 years. There was little fanfare. He was cheered to the crease by the Edgbaston crowd, later played with an injury and with Geoff Boycott as his runner, remaining unbeaten on 95 at the end of the day’s play.
“Cowdrey, in spite of a hampering injury, played one of the most accomplished and felicitous innings of his career…,” wrote John Arlott.
