5 highlights from Walter Hammond's career

#1 Tonning up big

After Bill Bowes took six wickets on the first day of England's second Test against New Zealand at Auckland, the Test seemed to be headed for an early finish with England being expected to be rolled over for a score in proximity to New Zealand's 158 all out in just two sessions.

Hammond, however, the man who rallied against presupposition, walked out to bat at number three, the score 56 and the batsmen tentative all day long. He not only scored when everyone struggled but did it in a way that was absolutely unheard of in his day and age. 5 hours, 34 fours and 10 soaring hits to go all the way over the ropes (a record for sixes back then) later, Hammond had an unbeaten 336 against his name.

And before you call it a belter of a pitch or an undermined bowling effort, note that the 21 times other batsmen batted in that Test to amount to 353 runs. He took just 47 minutes to leapfrog from 200 to 300, and in the process became the highest individual scorer in Test history at the time.