It is now common to reach various batting landmarks but miss out on making a century.
Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella now has a record 17 fifties without ever making a century.
Most fifties without a Test century:
The record had stood at 16 by Chetan Chauhan for 40 years.
And one can make 3000 runs without a century (though coming close with a 99):
Most runs without a Test century:
Dickwella is in second place to Shane Warne here. Chauhan is the only other one to cross 2000.
If you look carefully, most of the players in the above list are wicket-keepers or all-rounders. Laird, Brearley and Chauhan are among the exceptions.
We can also look at the
Highest batting averages without a century.
Here we consider with a minimum of 20 innings batted.
Here, the leader is the lesser-known Pakistani batsman Asim Kamal (who made 99 on debut). Current players are TD Paine and N Dickwella (again).
Finally, we look at
Highest score 95-99:
Of these, Mitchell Starc and Dickwella may yet make a century. Other current players who have a chance include AC Agar (not a Test regular), Dilruwan (MDK) Perera and DT Tiripano.
Some scored 95-99 on debut but never made a century. They include:
MDK Perera (primarily a bowler).
VH Stollmeyer (96 in his only Test innings)
Abdul Kadir
AC Agar (At no 11). But not considered a Test regular now.
Asim Kamal (one of only 3 debutants with 99s). The other two were AG Chipperfield and RJ Christiani who also had short Test careers but did make a century apiece.
And finally:
The longest wait for a maiden century:
A Kumble (118th of 132 Tests)
C Vaas (97th of 111 Tests)
SM Pollock (51st of 107 Tests)
ADR Campbell (47th of 60 Tests)
