Top 4 batsmen with most centuries batting at No. 8 or below in test cricket

One Indian is part of this list of the top four batters with the most centuries while batting at No. 8 or lower in test cricket.

Scoring a test century is always a special landmark for any cricketer. It becomes a more surprising event when a lower-order batter or a tailender records a ton in test cricket because they are not generally expected to reach the three-figure milestone.

Often centuries by lower-order batters come after their respective side is in trouble and has suffered a collapse. Thus, their runs become crucial.

There are very few batters in test cricket who have registered multiple test centuries while batting at No. 8 and below. This is a position where bowling all-rounders or bowlers usually bat. Apart from their own lack of batting technique and skills, these batters have to bat with the tail as well, which further reduces their chances of playing a big knock.

Nonetheless, in this article, we will talk about the top four batters with the most test hundreds while batting at No. 8 or below.

List of top four batsmen with most centuries while batting at No. 8 or below in test cricket:

4. Kamran Akmal – 3

Kamran Akmal played test cricket for Pakistan between 2002 and 2010. He played 53 tests and batted in seven different positions. He had opened the innings and also batted at numbers 8 and 9 in test cricket.

His second-best batting average was at No. 8. He played 28 innings in that position and scored 874 runs at an average of 33 with three centuries and two half-centuries, with a best of 154. Overall, he had scored six hundreds in his test career.

3. Jason Holder – 3

Only three batters have scored a double hundred from No. 8 or lower batting position, and one of them is Jason Holder. One of the finest test all-rounders of his generation, Holder played 69 tests and has three hundreds to his name.

All of his three test centuries came while batting at numbers 8 and 9. In these positions, he has played 65 innings and scored 1762 runs at an average of 33.24 with a best of 202*. Holder also has six half-centuries batting at No. 8.

2. Ravichandran Ashwin – 4

Indian spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has scored the second-most centuries while batting at No. 8 and below in test cricket. On multiple occasions, especially in Asian conditions, Ashwin has added crucial runs lower down the order, at times even bailing the team out of trouble after early hiccups.

Ashwin has six test centuries overall; four of them came while batting at number 8 and two at number 6. The veteran all-rounder has played 79 innings at numbers 8 and 9. In these positions, he has scored over 2300 runs at an average of over 27.

1. Daniel Vettori – 5 Centuries

Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was a utility cricketer who contributed regularly with the bat. Vettori retired with 4531 runs and 362 wickets in tests. He was used in as many as nine different batting positions in test cricket – from no. 3 to no. 11 and only never got to open.

At number 8 and below, Vettori played 137 innings, scoring 3502 runs at an average of 30.71 and raising five centuries and 18 half-centuries. He had hit one century while batting at number 6 as well. His career-best score of 140 came from No. 8.

(All stats updated till 20 September, 2024.)

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