10 important cricket records that were missed by a whisker

Cricket is a sport where numbers play a very important role. It is these numbers that add a whole new dimension to the game. Players feel satisfied and fans get excited when a milestone is achieved. Though many significant milestones have been achieved in cricket till date, there have been quite a few records that have been missed by agonizingly small margins.Let’s take a look at 10 such records that were missed by a whisker:(Note: The list is in no particular order)

#1 Sir Jack Hobbs: 199 first-class centuries

Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have graced the game, Sir Jack Hobbs is also considered to be the most prolific run-scorer in the history of the game. In his first-class career, the Englishman amassed close to 62,000 runs at a healthy average of 50.70. Though there was a major break in his career for 6 years owing to the first World War, he was incredibly consistent after cricketing ties resumed post the war. In fact, he just kept getting better with age as he scored half his hundreds in his forties. He also holds the record for being the oldest centurion in Test cricket, having scored a century at the age of 46.

Sir Jack used to represent Surrey in the county circuit as an opening batsman. In the 1934 county season, which was also his last, he scored 624 runs at a decent average of 36.70. What is incredible about these numbers is that he achieved them at the age of 52! In fact, his final first-class century, against Lancashire, came at this very age. These days, when we see many players retire in their early and mid-thirties, one cannot help but admire the quality of Hobbs.

When the Englishman retired from competitive cricket, he had 197 first-class centuries to his name. He decided to hang up his boots because he was no longer feeling comfortable while batting. Interestingly, a few years after his retirement, a couple of hundreds which he had scored for Vizianagaram’s XI in the 1930-31 season were granted first-class status, thereby taking his tally of first-class centuries to 199. Therefore, he fell agonizingly short of an incredible 200 first-class centuries by just a single hundred.