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Few batsmen of real talent end their international career without a century, although when it does occur it is regarded as a pity. Pointedly, several players have recorded a top score of 99 (e.g. the Kenya n-born New Zealander Dipak Patel ) or even 99 Not Out (e.g. the England Bowling All-rounder Alex Tudor ) without ever completing a century. The brilliant Australian Leg-spinner Shane Warne , normally considered an out-and-out bowler rather than an all-rounder, was Dismissed for a top score of 99 in a Test, but still plays regular Test cricket. In theory he could still reach a century in future, but in practice this seems extremely unlikely, and he will probably have to make do with having set a world record number of Test wickets with his bowling instead. Fans believe that the quality of a batsman's innings can not really be judged by whether or not it crossed over an arbitrary numerical threshold. Batting conditions, strength of the opposition bowling attack and state of the match ought to be taken into account. In particular, large scores on good pitches while facing substandard opposition are less regarded than vital battling innings in low-scoring matches in difficult conditions. Statistics may conceal as much as they convey. The number of centuries, supposedly the most prestigious of batting landmarks, scored by a batsman may be seen as far less important than the number of Home Run s hit is in assessing a Baseball Batter . No article on centuries in cricket would be complete without mentioning the record of Sir Don Bradman , the Australian almost universally regarded as the greatest batsman in the history of the game. His batting average in Test cricket was a monumental 99.94, and it would have been in three figures had he only scored four runs in his last innings. However, he fell second ball without scoring, which has only added to his mystique. Andy Ganteaume did manage to record a three-figure Test average — he played only one match for the West Indies , and only batted in one innings, yet in that innings he struck 112 runs. The concept of the century usually has a Psychological effect on batsmen that the Captain of the Fielding side is keen to exploit. Batsmen often slow down and take less risks as they approach their century (especially as they pass through what are known as the "nervous nineties"), so their opponents may set deliberately defensive fields to slow them down further, hoping that frustration and nerves will get the better of them and they'll take on an unnecessarily risky shot in order to try to pass the landmark. A batsman's troubles do not end there — cricketers are disproportionately likely to be Dismissed shortly after making a century, presumably because they lose concentration. Considerable scorn is directed at those cricketers who consistently make this mistake (they are criticised for failing to convert their centuries into game-changing scores), but also at those cricketers who take extra defensive care when approaching their century without keeping in mind the context of the match situation, which may demand more urgent play. Such cricketers are regarded as playing for themselves (or their average) rather than the team. Critcisms of this sort have been made about batting greats such as Geoff Boycott and Jacques Kallis ; they also help to explain why Andy Ganteaume, apparently so unluckily, was never asked to play Tests for the West Indies again. |
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