5 Top Batsmen who never scored an away Test hundred

A Test century is one of the most special feelings for a Test batsman, even more special is scoring a Test century in alien conditions. A century in alien conditions helps a player establish himself as an all conditions cricketer.

Most of the teams who are good at home, falter in overseas conditions due to the lack of overseas specialist batsmen. A foreign Test hundred is extremely valuable for not only the player, but also for his nation since it helps the team dominate in the game.

Sachin Tendulkar leads the tally of away Test centuries with a towering number of 29 hundreds in foreign conditions. However, there have been a few top batsmen in Test cricket who failed to reach the three-figure mark despite coming very close.

Here are five top batsmen who batted well in home conditions but could not muster a century while batting on away pitches.

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#1. Farokh Engineer - India (20 Away Tests)

Farokh Engineer had better batting average while batting out of India

Synonym of ‘Flamboyance’, Parsi gentleman Farokh Engineer is rightly one of the finest wicketkeepers to have played for India. The fact that Engineer was chosen as the first-choice wicketkeeper for the Rest of the World XI in 1970 proves his credentials.

With the bat, Farokh Engineer was an aggressive and a wonderfully stylish batsman. He once came excruciatingly close to the phenomenal feat of scoring a Test century on day one before lunch when he scored 94 in a session against West Indies at Chepauk in 1966-67.

Despite averaging higher outside India (Batting average at home 29.82, away 32.67), Engineer failed to reach the century mark overseas. He was extremely close in 1967 at Adelaide against Australia where he was caught behind for 89 runs which included 14 boundaries.

#2. Roshan Mahanama - Sri Lanka (28 Away Tests)

Roshan Mahanama scored 225 against India in the famous Colombo Test

Indian fans require no introduction for this man. He remains the other part of the mammoth 576-run partnership with Sanath Jayasuriya when Sri Lanka scored 952 runs against India in Colombo Test 1997.

Roshan Mahanama spent most of his Test career while batting at the opening position for Sri Lanka. In 52 Test matches, Mahanama scored four Test centuries, all of which came while batting at home. Two of his centuries came against India and the remaining two were scored off New Zealand.

Mahanama managed six away fifties but failed to reach the elusive three-figures mark. His highest away score of 85 from 229 balls came against Australia at Hobart in Dec 1989. Mahanama fought bravely alongside Aravinda De Silva in a partnership of 128 runs to resurrect the team from a delicate situation of 18/3 but missed out on a well-deserved century.

#3. Daren Ganga - West Indies (34 Away Tests)

Daren Ganga scored 95 against New Zealand at Auckland in a losing cause

The West Indian opener had a career spanning around 10 years but played only 48 Tests. He was appointed as the national team captain as well but soon faded away from the scene owing to the dismal showing.

Daren Ganga scored three Test centuries in total, all of which came while batting in West Indies. His away record is relatively moderate. In 34 away Tests, he scored 1354 runs at an average of 22.56 with seven half-centuries. He struggled to score runs in Australia, England and South Africa.

The closest Ganga came to scoring an away ton was at Auckland against New Zealand in 2006. He scored a gutsy 95 while the Windies were chasing 291 runs to win in the fourth innings. The team collapsed after Ganga’s dismissal and lost by 27 runs.

#4. Rodney Marsh - Australia (40 Away Tests)

Rod Marsh was hit wicket for 97 against West Indies at Kingston

The Australian wicketkeeper is well renowned for his partnership with the paceman Dennis Lillee as the duo combined to effect 95 dismissals in 69 Tests. Rodney Marsh, who was selected in the national team owing to his better batting ability than other wicketkeepers, scored 3633 runs at a batting average of 26.51 in 96 Tests.

Being a wicketkeeper, Marsh had to bat in the lower middle order and hence had little opportunities to bat for longer durations. Despite the lowly batting position, Marsh scored three Test centuries and 16 fifties in his sterling career.

Although Rod Marsh could not celebrate an away Test ton, he scored 10 fifties outside Australia and twice entered the 90’s. His best opportunity was at Kingston against West Indies in 1973 where Australia prolonged their declaration for Marsh’s century. The wicketkeeper was unfortunately dismissed as hit wicket on 97.

#5. Arjuna Ranatunga - Sri Lanka (45 Away Tests)

Arjuna Ranatunga scored 16 away fifties but failed to get a century

One of the most courageous captains in the game of cricket, Arjuna Ranatunga transformed the face of Sri Lankan cricket with his belligerent leadership. The portly batsman was the vital cog in Sri Lanka’s middle-order for 18 years from 1982 to 2000.

Ranatunga appeared in 93 Tests from Sri Lanka and scored a total of 5105 runs at a healthy average of 35.69. He also has four Test centuries on his name to go alongside 38 half-centuries. His Test hundreds at home came against difficult oppositions like Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan.

Nevertheless, Ranatunga could not go on to score an away century despite going past the fifty-run mark 16 times. His best of 90 was scored against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1995, where Ranatunga shepherded the tail to end as the last man out, adding 138 runs with the tail-enders.