Top 5 players who have played the most consecutive Tests

Test cricket is the ultimate benchmark for success at the international level and is undoubtedly the toughest format of the game, both physically and mentally.

Having the patience and technique to spend hours batting at the crease and speeding into bowl, over after over all day long, is not everyone's cup of tea.

There have been many good players who have failed to make a successful transformation from the shorter formats of the game to the 5-day format while there are some who excelled in the 5-day format better than others.

There have been very few players who have enjoyed a constant run in the Test side owing to many factors such as form, fitness, scheduling, temperament and so on. In fact, only five players have managed to feature in 100 or more consecutive Test matches for their sides.

Here we take a look at those players who has played the most consecutive Tests in the history of the game

#5 Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) - 101 Tests (2004-2016)

Brendon McCullum has been one of New Zealand's greatest players ever and someone who brought life into the game first as a swashbuckling batsman and later as an aggressive skipper who played to win.

Considering his attacking instincts, one may have assumed that McCullum was only suited to the shorter formats of the game - a reason why it took more than two years since his ODI debut in 2002 for McCullum to earn a call-up to the Test side.

The match was the first of the 3-Test series against South Africa at Hamilton and McCullum made his mark with a knock of 57 in his very first Test innings and there was no looking back since.

McCullum rarely found himself out of the New Zealand side in any format of the game, featuring in the Top 10 list for the most consecutive number of ODIs.

In Test cricket, his feat is even more remarkable as he holds the world record for the most consecutive number of Test matches since debut. He played all of his 101 Test matches on the trot before retiring from international cricket in February 2016.

#4 Sunil Gavaskar (India) - 106 Test matches (1975-1987)

Gavaskar missed out after being injured during a Ranji Trophy match

One of India's greatest ever Test players, Sunil Gavaskar is fourth in the all-time list for most consecutive Tests played with 106 matches during the period between January 1975 and February 1987.

Gavaskar made an immediate impact, scoring 774 runs in his debut series against the West Indies in 1971 - a world record for the most runs scored a player in their debut Test series.

Only when he got injured during a Ranji Trophy match in November 1974 did Gavaskar find himself out of the Test side but he made a rocking return against his most favourite opposition scoring 86 in the fifth and final match of the thrilling Test series between India and West Indies which finished 3-2 in favour of the visitors.

Gavaskar enjoyed an uninterrupted run of 106 Tests including the above-mentioned match at Mumbai amassing records as he became the first player to score more than 10000 Test runs and finished his career with the most number of Test centuries - 34.

#3 Mark Waugh (Australia) - 107 Tests (1993-2002)

Mark Waugh made his Test debut in 1991 replacing his elder brother Steve in the Australian side

Mark Waugh started off his Australian Test career with a bang, albeit on a day of mixed emotions as he was replacing his elder brother Steve Waugh in the line-up, scoring 138 on debut against arch-rivals England at Adelaide in the fourth Ashes Test in January 1991.

Though he continued to get good starts, Mark Waugh failed to convert those into big totals more often than not. He was dropped from the side for the final match during India's tour of Australia in 1991/92 after scoring just 83 runs in four Test matches.

He suffered further embarrassment on his recall to the side as he was dismissed without scoring on four consecutive occasions during Australia's visit to Sri Lanka in 1992.

The Australian selectors persisted with Mark though despite his poor form and he repaid the faith with a fighting display against West Indies at home in a 5-match Test series and maintained his place in the Test side till his retirement from the game in 2002 - a run that stretched to 107 Test matches.

#2 Alastair Cook (England) - 146* Test matches (2006-2017*)

Alastair Cook is only six matches behind the world record holder for most consecutive Test matches

England's Alastair Cook has been a phenomenal Test player for his side, scoring close to 12000 runs in the longest format of the game, including 31 centuries.

He is the highest run-getter in history as a Test opener and got his international career off to the best possible start scoring a century and a half-century on debut against India at Nagpur in 2006.

A stomach illness kept him out of the side in the third and final match of the Test series against India, which has been the one and only time when Cook has missed a Test for England since his remarkable debut.

His consistency in scoring meant that his spot in the side as an opener was never in doubt and he went on to led the England Test side for 59 Tests - the most by an Englishman.

Even when he was dropped as skipper of the side, his place in the side was never up for grabs and he is only six matches behind the world record holder for most consecutive Test matches with 146 and counting to his name.

#1 Allan Border (Australia) - 153 Tests (1979-1994)

Border also holds the record for most consecutive Test matches as captain

Number 1 in the list for most consecutive Test matches played in history is Australia's Allan Border with 153 matches over a span of 15 years and he also holds the record for most consecutive Test matches as skipper of the side (93).

Border made his Test debut for Australia during the 1978/79 Ashes series Down Under after being called into the side for the third Test. Short of star players due to the fallout from the World Series Cricket turmoil, Australia had the lost the first two Tests and were desperate for a comeback.

Though his debut was not a spectacular one, Border showed immense grit with unbeaten scores of 60 and 45 in the two innings of the Sydney Test. However, he was dropped from the side for the sixth and final Test of the series after failing to impress in the fifth Test.

He was recalled for the first Test against Pakistan at the MCG in March 1979 and Border proved his worth scoring his maiden Test century and maintained his spot in the Test side until his retirement in 1994.

He led Australia during a tough period and proved a tough yet inspirational leader of a young side that would go on to dominate international cricket.

He retired from international cricket as the highest run-getter in Test cricket and is rightly regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history.