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Playing 100 Tests is a big accomplishment for any cricketer. It means that the player has been on the field, playing Test cricket for at least 400 days, which is more than one year.
Four cricketers, namely Ravichandran Ashwin, Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow, and Tim Southee, have joined the club of 100 Tests this week. Ashwin and Bairstow are head-to-head in the 100th Test of their respective careers in Dharamsala, while Southee and Williamson are up against Australia at the Hagley Oval.
It goes without saying that all four cricketers have achieved enormous success in the longest format of the game. There's a reason why they have earned a place in the playing XI for 100 Tests. But in this article, we will compare the stats of the four players and try to determine who has had the best 100 Tests so far.
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin - 507 wickets and 3309 runs in 100 Tests so far
Starting the list with former world number one Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, the off-spinner has accounted for 507 wickets so far. His bowling average is less than 25, while he has recorded 35 five-wicket hauls and eight 10-wicket match-hauls.
With the bat, Ashwin has aggregated 3,309 runs so far. Although he got out for a duck in the first innings of his 100th Test, the veteran all-rounder has registered five centuries and 14 half-centuries for India so far.
#2 Jonny Bairstow - 6003 runs and 242 catches in 100 Tests so far
Jonny Bairstow is a wicketkeeper-batter for England. He has never bowled a single over in his Test career. Bairstow has scored 6,003 runs so far at an average of 36.38.
While the right-handed batter reinvented his Test game under Brendon McCullum's guidance in 2022, he has struggled to get going in the longest format of the game this year.
Bairstow's form has been so bad on the current tour of India that commentator Aakash Chopra compared Ashwin with Bairstow when the former got out for zero.
Overall, Bairstow has scored 12 hundreds and 26 fifties while donning the whites for England. His highest Test ranking has been seventh.
#3 Kane Williamson - 8692 runs and 30 wickets in 100 Tests so far
New Zealand batter Kane Williamson has amassed 8,692 runs in the longest format of the game so far. He has 32 hundreds, six double hundreds and 33 half-centuries to his name in this format. Besides, he has also scalped 30 wickets with the ball.
Williamson has attained the number one ranking multiple times in his career. In fact, he is also the top-ranked Test batter right now, but his biggest achievement in Test cricket has been winning the WTC trophy as New Zealand's captain in 2021.
#4 Tim Southee - 378 wickets and 2098 runs in 100 Tests so far
Tim Southee is the only player on this list, who is captaining in his team in the 100th Test of his career. The New Zealand skipper has picked up 378 wickets and scored 2098 runs in his career so far.
Southee was also a part of the WTC 2021-winning New Zealand squad. His best Test ranking has been third, and he has only managed one 10-wicket haul in his Test career so far.
Looking at the numbers, Ravichandran Ashwin and Kane Williamson emerge as the top two players. However, Williamson gets a slight edge over Ashwin because of his WTC trophy and his fixed place in the playing XI irrespective of whether New Zealand are playing at home or away from home.
