Top 5 Batsmen With The Most Test Centuries As A Captain

Captaincy can be a boost to certain batsmen who like to take responsibilities and they tend to be more successful than others for their way of approach in handling pressure. Leaders are born and it is very hard to inject the qualities of a good leader into a normal player who doesn’t want to feel the pressure.

With the evolution of test cricket, it is even harder for batsmen to do multiple tasks. However, there are batsmen who keep scoring a ton of runs and the captaincy has just taken their game to the next level. It is a special feat and it should be acknowledged a lot more and here are the top 5 batsmen with the most test centuries as a captain.

Top 5 Batsmen With The Most Test Centuries As A Captain:

5. Steve Smith:

Steve Smith is a priceless asset in test cricket and the former captain of Australia did exceedingly well with the bat in his captaincy period. Smith scored 15 centuries in the 60 innings he captained for the nation and it is true to say that captaincy has urged him to score more. Starting his career as a leg-break bowler and lower-order batsman, Smith has fought a long way to reach the feat of the stature of being the number one test batsman at present.

Smith’s overall numbers in test cricket are by far, the best in the modern era as he has scored 7540 runs in 77 test matches at a stunning average of 61.80. He has scored 27 centuries and 31 half-centuries and he would have been the captain of Australia still if he wasn’t banned for one year for the ball-tampering scandal. He is the fifth on the list of most tests centuries as a captain.

4. Steve Waugh:

Steve Waugh should be portrayed as one of the greatest captains ever in test cricket and he had a phenomenal career in the famous Australian 1990s side in the middle order. Waugh captained Australia for a 7 year period until 2004 and his success as a captain is still unmatched. Waugh holds the record for the best win percentage among all the test captains with 41 victories at a win percentage of 72.

Steve Waugh scored 15 centuries in the 83 innings as captain of Australia and he always contributed with his medium-pace bowling too. He played 168 tests for Australia which equals the most number of tests for the nation alongside Ricky Ponting and scored 10,927 runs at an average of 51.06. He scored 32 centuries overall and 50 half-centuries in his career.

3. Ricky Ponting:

Ricky Ponting followed the footsteps of Steve Waugh while captaining Australia and he managed to do even better as he scored 19 centuries in the 140 innings he captained for Australia. The elegant right-hander was one of the most aggressive captains and the mighty Australian side was almost unbeatable in his captaincy reigns from 2004 to 2011.

Ponting is also, one of the best batsmen to have played the game, and he scored 13378 runs in 18 Tests at an average of 51.85. He scored 41 centuries and 62 half-centuries in tests and is the leading run-scorer for the nation in tests. He is currently serving as a cricket coach and commentator at times post-retirement.

2. Virat Kohli:

Virat Kohli is the most successful Indian captain in tests already and he has a long way to go still. The 32-year-old has always liked responsibilities and it has certainly boosted his performances in the longer format after taking overs captaincy reins in 2014. Kohli has scored 20 centuries in 98 innings as captain which is the second most number of centuries for a captain.

It is not a matter of time that he will get to the top of the list as he has been going through a century drought season in the last year in test cricket and it will come to an end soon. Kohli is one of the fewest batsmen to average more than 50 in all the formats and he has played 91 tests overall so far scoring 7490 runs at an average of 52.4. He is one of the best batsmen in the modern era.

1.Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith was appointed as the captain of the South African team at a very early age of 22 and he was never burdened by the responsibilities of captaincy. The left-hander was one of the best South African batsmen of all time and he managed to score 25 centuries in 193 innings as a captain which is still a record.

Starting his career in 2002, Smith played 117 tests overall scoring 9265 runs at an average of 48.25. He scored 27 centuries and 38 half-centuries with a top score of 277 against England. Smith is currently serving as the Director of Cricket for the South African cricket team and he certainly will be remembered for his captaincy.