Cricketers with the highest percentage of boundaries in a Test century

There is no better thrill for a spectator than to watch a batsman pummel a bowling attack with a string of boundaries. Tendulkar’s blistering counter-attack vs Australia in a 1996 World Cup match is the foremost memory I have of a boundary fest. Tendulkar, batting on 12 at the start of the 9^th over, was on 56 by the end of the 13^th and had scored 34 out of the 44 runs in boundaries only.

While the ODI format is flush with instances of boundary fests, Test cricket also has its fair share of moments when batsmen chose to dictate terms without running much between the wickets.

Here is a list of the highest boundaries percentages among players who have scored a century in Tests.

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#7 Richie Richardson – 82 out of 102(80.39%)

Richie Richardson emerged as a worthy successor to Viv Richards as West Indies’ premier batsman throughout the late ‘80s and the early ‘90s.

A fierce striker of the ball, Richardson could dismantle the opposition bowling attack with a splendid array of off-side strokes(especially the Square Drive). He unleashed them one fine afternoon on a hapless England bowling attack in the 2nd Test of the Wisden Trophy 1986, when he steamrolled to 102 off 140 balls, collecting 82 runs in boundaries.

Not only did this innings set up the match for WI (which they won by 7 wickets), but also served as the precursor to what would be the second 5-0 thrashing of England in 2 years.

#6 VVS Laxman (India): 100 out of 124 (80.65%)

Laxman was all guile and finesse in his knock of 124

The fourth instance against New Zealand, and perhaps the most graceful of them all. India were 314 behind in the 3rd innings vs New Zealand at Napier. In a classical backs-to-the-wall situation, Laxman exhibited the most eye pleasing piece of batting that one could wish to see.

In an innings where Gambhir took almost 11 hours for his 137, Laxman scored his 124 runs in the most masterly manner possible. Adding two match-saving partnerships – 96 with Gambhir for the 4th wicket, and 120* for the 5th with Yuvraj Singh, Laxman outscored both of them, and quite incredibly, scored a century of runs in boundaries itself. Through his characteristic drives, flicks and pulls, Laxman stamped himself in the book of uncanny records by scoring more than 80% of his total aggregate in boundaries.

#5 Jerome Taylor (West Indies) – 86 out of 106 (81.13%)

Jerome Taylor showed the world that he was no mug with the bat

A quick, incisive bowler with both Test and ODI hat-tricks to boot, Jerome Taylor made a successful come-back into the West Indies team in 2014, taking 48 wickets in 17 Tests from then to his retirement. Taylor, nonetheless, also has a Test century to his name. Coming in at 173-6, he added 153 in 33 overs for the 7th wicket with Shiv Chanderpaul helping West Indies post a total of 340 on the board, only 25 short of New Zealand’s first innings total of 365.

Rain reduced the Test to a draw, but it gave Taylor an accomplishment that not many are aware of. His century, scored at almost a run a ball, was a boundary-studded affair which places him 5th on this list.

#4 Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) – 120 out of 145 (82.76%)

Brendon McCullum bid the world goodbye in style

If the resurgence of New Zealand since 2014 as a top quality side can be credited to one player, it would be Brendon McCullum. His smash mouth, no holds barred approach to the game transformed New Zealand into a side that could more than just compete in both Tests and ODIs.

The year 2014 was a watershed for him, he scored 1164 runs at an average of 72.75, and all of his 4 centuries in that year were scores of more than 190. He also hit 33 out of his 107 career sixes in that year. His form dipped from then until his retirement, but he ensured that he retired with a bang.

In his last Test match vs Australia at Christchurch in 2016, McCullum belted the fastest Test century of all time (54 balls) and collected 120 runs exclusively in boundaries out of his final score of 145. Quite a way to bid adieu.

#3 Boeta Dippenaar (South Africa) – 84 out of 100 (84%)

Dippenaar is a surprising name on the list

Dippenaar was never a permanent member of South Africa’s Test squad throughout the 2000s; he played 38 Tests in a career spanning 7 years and scored 1718 runs at 30.14. He was much more prolific in ODIs where he averaged 42.24 but his career never got to the heights it was expected to.

However, he did achieve one uncanny landmark in a Test vs New Zealand in 2000. En route to his 100 at Johannesburg, he scored 84 runs in boundaries (21*4). The Test ended in a draw as three days were washed out completely.

#2 Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa) – 124 out of 147 (84.35%)

Gibbs was one of the hardest hitting batsmen in world cricket

Herschelle Gibbs was a slow starter in the Test arena, taking 11 Tests to score his first century. But once he found his groove, there was no more prolific boundary hitter in world cricket than the swashbuckling right-hander.

Consider this, for batsmen with more than 5000 Test runs, only Chris Gayle (66.1%) and Virender Sehwag (63.8%) have scored a higher proportion of career runs in boundaries than Gibbs (62.1%). It is, therefore, no surprise that Gibbs appears so high on this list, when in a Test vs Zimbabwe he plundered 84% of his runs in boundaries, doing a bulk of the scoring in a 256-run opening stand with Gary Kirsten. South Africa eventually won the match by 9 wickets.

#1 Gary Gilmour (Australia) – 86 out of 101 (85.15%)

Gilmore was not known for his batting skills but he does have a record to his name

Australia’s left-arm fast bowler of the ‘70s is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the semi-final of the 1975 World Cup. He took 6-14 to rattle out England for 93, and coming in with Australia placed at a precarious 6-39, scored an unbeaten 28 to see them (from thereon) to a comfortable victory.

But Gilmour has another achievement to his name. Coming in at No.8 vs New Zealand at Christchurch in 1977, he scored a frenetic 101; adding a then Australian seventh wicket record partnership of 217 runs with the double-centurion Doug Walters.

On his way to that score, he scored 86 runs in boundaries (20*4, 1*6) which calculates to being the highest proportion of runs scored in boundaries in a Test century. There surely is more to celebrate about this enigmatic and somewhat unlucky cricketer than just the one World Cup performance.