A tour down under has long been a tedious task for a batsman because of the quality of the Aussie pacers and the famous bounce which can derail the technique of any player. Loads of patience and the ability to put away the loose deliveries regularly are two important qualities which separate the best from the rest in Australia. In this article, we will look at five overseas players who rode the bounce with ease and scored big hundreds.
Note:- Wally Hammond and Tip Foster’s double hundreds were not considered since they played timeless tests.
5. Alastair Cook 235* at Brisbane, 2010
In the first test of the 2010 Ashes, England batted first and were bowled out for 260 on the first day. Australia scored 481 in reply and the situation looked pretty bleak for England. But conditions became much easier to bat and the famed Strauss-Cook duo blunted the Aussie bowlers and registered a 188 run opening stand. Anything that was short and wide was cut fiercely by Cook as he built another mammoth partnership with Jonathan Trott. He was scoring at a strike rate of 50-odd until he reached 150 and his next 85 runs came at a much higher rate. Cook remained unbeaten as England declared and comfortably drew the Test.
4. Sachin Tendulkar 241* at Sydney, 2004
In the 2003-04 series, the little master was repeatedly getting out while driving on the front foot and going into the last test he decided to shelve his favourite shot. Aussie’s bowlers kept tempting Tendulkar to go for the big, booming cover drive, but he controlled his ambitions for the greater good. Tendulkar registered his hundred off 212 balls, an uncharacteristically slow knock. He did not lose his concentration after bringing up his century and India registered their highest ever total in Tests until it was broken five years later.
3. Alastair Cook 244* at Melbourne, 2017
Cook had not scored a single century in his previous 16 innings in Australia before this magnificent double hundred. A dead pitch which offered nothing for the pacers or spinners did help his cause but 244 runs against a quality attack is indeed a special effort. It was a typical Cook innings as he respected the good deliveries, nonchalantly put away the bad balls and forced the Aussie bowlers to change their plans. He spent 634 minutes on the pitch, more than any overseas player in the past 30 years.
2. Brian Lara 277 at Sydney, 1993
Lara had only played 2 Tests in Australia and nobody really expected such a display of temperament and class from a youngster. This innings made people sit up and recognize Lara which makes it even more special. He came in when the score was 31-2 and by the time he get out West Indies were only 22 runs away from Australia’s first innings total of 503. He also scored at a very healthy strike rate of 74.46 and if not for an unfortunate mix up, he could have become the only overseas player to score a triple century in Australia.
1. Ross Taylor 290 at Perth, 2015
Taylor had toured Australia twice before 2015 but failed to leave his mark in any Test match. It is safe to say that he exceeded expectations as no one predicted such an innings especially against an attack comprising Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood. The highlight of this innings was his brilliant drives whenever the ball was pitched up, and he did not do anything silly until he reached the 250 mark. He got out while trying to slog Lyon in search of some quick runs and fell ten runs short of a triple century.
