Anil Kumble reaches his maiden Test century against England at The Oval in 2007 © AFP

As many as 81 batsmen have scored a century in their debut Test. Two - Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed - have even managed a hundred in each innings on debut. And then there are those who've had to wait years, some even more than a decade, to go past hundred for the first time. This week's List takes a look at players who've played the most Tests before scoring their maiden century.

The record stood at an unspectacular 56 Tests in 2003, the number Heath Streak needed to score his first century - 127 from No. 8 against West Indies in Harare . That mark has been smashed three times since, each instance seemingly unbeatable until the next one came along.

Playing his 71st Test in April 2006, Jason Gillespie became the first night-watchman to score a double-century . His unbeaten 201 against Bangladesh was such an improbable feat that Mathew Hayden had wagered he'd do a nude lap if Gillespie got there. Undermining his own abilities, Gillespie said he'd do one as well if he reached 200.

Gillespie 71-Test wait was beaten in June 2007 by Chaminda Vaas, who also cashed in against Bangladesh to score his first century in his 97th match . Only two players had played enough Tests to beat Vaas if they scored a hundred and Anil Kumble did it less than two months after Vaas' century. He scored an unbeaten 110 against England at The Oval in his 118th Test. Kumble's record is likely to stand for a while, unless Muttiah Muralitharan, who has played 120 Tests, decides to produce magic with his bat instead of the ball.

Dave Nourse, the South African batsman, was the oldest player to score a century when he made 111, his maiden hundred, against Australia in 1921, at the age of 42 years and 291 days. He still is the oldest player to score a maiden hundred.

The large difference between Ken Barrington's home and away averages - 50.71 compared to 69.18 - was largely because he scored only six of his 20 hundreds in England. The gulf was even wider during the first half of Barrington's career. His first century at home came in his 50th Test, during the 1964 Ashes, when he scored 256 - his only double-hundred - at Old Trafford. Before that innings, Barrington had played 28 home Tests with an average of 36.80, while he averaged nearly 71 with nine centuries in 21 away games.

Allan Lamb, on the other hand, scored nine hundreds in England before scoring his first century away from home - 132 at Sabina Park in 1990 - in his 58th Test. He finished with only three overseas hundreds, compared to his 11 at home.

The list of bowlers who've played the most Tests before taking their maiden five-wicket haul is dominated by part-timers and allrounders. Allan Border's best bowling figures over his first 100 Tests were 3 for 20, before he took 7 for 46 against West Indies in his 101st at the SCG in 1989-90. He finished the match with 11 for 96 - a bizarre performance, for Border had never taken more than four wickets in a first-class match before then. During Australia's tour of the Caribbean in 1991, Border took 5 for 68 in Guyana in his 52nd overseas Test, the most matches for a player before taking a five-for away from home.

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George Binoy is a staff writer at Cricinfo

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