In cricket, form is considered temporary, and the class is permanent. It is always good for a team to have its players in the right form. A player in form can play to his potential. The positivity in the mindset can make one unstoppable.
In this article, we will talk about players who have fully used their great form, achieving a successful streak that most could only dream of. If scoring a century in Test cricket is considered a sweet milestone, scoring them consistently in a row should be an irable run of success.
The Australian cricketer Warren Bardsley, the first batsman to score a century in both innings of a Test match, also became the first to score 3 consecutive hundreds by scoring a century in the first innings of the next Test match.
Bardsley did this in 1910. Since then, 43 players have managed to score 3 consecutive 100s in Test cricket.
Among the 43, four players were able to extend the streak to one more level. This article will discuss them – the batters who have 4 or more consecutive centuries in Test cricket.
Let’s see them all one by one.
Everton Weekes (West Indies) – 5
Everton Weekes is a Caribbean No. 4 batsman who took it to an extra level by scoring 5 centuries in consecutive Test innings. The first of the five centuries came against England in Sabina Park in March 1948, when Everton scored 141. He did not bat in the second innings of that drawn Test match.
Further, in his next international tour to India in 1948, the right-handed batsman scored a mighty 779 runs at an average of 111.29, starting with four centuries in a row, becoming the only player to score five centuries in a row in International Test cricket. His superlative performances in the series made him the fastest to 1000 runs in Test cricket in 12 innings. One of the top batters to aggregate the highest runs tally after the first ten Test matches.
Not stopping there, Everton added two more fifty-plus runs in his next two innings of that series, becoming the first-ever batsman to score seven 50+ scores in consecutive Test innings.
Weekes also has a streak of 3 Test centuries in a row, which he scored in a later part of his career.
Scores:
Period: March 1948 – February 1949
- 141 vs England (Home)
- 128 vs India (Away)
- 194 vs India (Away)
- 162 vs India (Away)
- 101 vs India (Away)
John Fingleton (Australia) – 4
Australia’s John Fingleton is the first player to score 4 Test centuries in a row. All four centuries came in different Test matches as he only batted once in the first three Tests during this streak.
The first three tons came in & against South Africa, whereas the final one was against England in the Ashes. He was also dismissed for a duck in the second innings of the England Test, making him the fifteenth player in Test history to score a century and a duck in a same Test.
Despite his heroic streaks, the Australian opener played only 18 Test matches in his career as he was forced to retire early due to severe injuries he took during his playing days.
Scores:
Period: January 1936 – December 1936
- 112 vs South Africa (Away)
- 108 vs South Africa (Away)
- 118 vs South Africa (Away)
- 100 vs England (Home)
Alan Melville (South Africa) – 4
The South African opener was the second player to score four consecutive Test tons. He scored them 12 years after John Fingleton’s streak in 1947, which Everton Weekes broke in the immediate next year.
Melville served the South African forces in the Second World War between the first and the remaining centuries. After the war, he returned to the side, scoring three back-to-back centuries against England at Trent Bridge and Lord’s. He was dismissed at 8 in the following innings, ending Melville’s streak.
