The Longest Gaps Between Men’s International Hundreds Since World War II
The Longest Gaps Between Men’s International Hundreds Since World War II
A look at Johnson Charles, Bob Simpson, Matt Renshaw, Bert Sutcliffe and Mushtaq Mohammad — five international batters who experienced extraordinary waits between centuries
Gap Overview
| Player | Country | Gap between international hundreds |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson Charles | West Indies | 3,684 days |
| Bob Simpson | Australia | 3,639 days |
| Matt Renshaw | Australia | 3,542 days |
| Bert Sutcliffe | New Zealand | 3,367 days |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | Pakistan | 3,234 days |
These figures represent the period between successive international centuries, rather than a continuous period in which a player necessarily played international cricket every day or every year.
Scoring an international century is one of the most celebrated achievements in cricket. For most batters, however, the challenge is not only reaching three figures once, but doing it again after the first milestone has already been achieved.
Over the decades, several international cricketers have experienced remarkably long gaps between one hundred and their next. The list becomes particularly fascinating when it is viewed across generations, because the circumstances behind every drought were different: changes in format, retirement, selection, injuries, long breaks from international cricket and, in some cases, simply the unpredictable nature of batting.
A post-World War II list highlighting some of the longest gaps between men’s international hundreds includes Johnson Charles, Bob Simpson, Matt Renshaw, Bert Sutcliffe and Mushtaq Mohammad. Their stories span more than seven decades of international cricket, from the 1950s to the present day.
Johnson Charles — 3,684 days
West Indies batter Johnson Charles occupies the first place in the graphic with a gap of 3,684 days between two international hundreds.
Charles’ first major century in this sequence came in ODI cricket. On 22 February 2013, he produced a spectacular 130 from 111 balls against Zimbabwe in Grenada. It was his second consecutive ODI century after his 100 against Australia earlier that month.
His next international hundred came more than ten years later. On 26 March 2023, Charles smashed 118 from 46 balls against South Africa in the second T20I at Centurion. He reached his century from only 39 deliveries, making it the fastest T20I century by a West Indies men’s batter at that time.
Johnson Charles — International Profile
His career is particularly interesting because his international hundreds have come in two different limited-overs formats. His ODI centuries arrived in 2013, while his T20I hundred came a decade later. His 118 against South Africa also demonstrated his ability to score at an extraordinary rate in the shortest international format.
Bob Simpson — 3,639 days
Australian cricket has produced many legendary opening batters, and Bob Simpson was one of them. His international career was unusual because it contained a lengthy retirement followed by a remarkable comeback.
Simpson played 62 Tests for Australia, scoring 4,869 runs at an average of 46.81, with 10 centuries and 27 fifties. He also took 71 Test wickets with his leg-spin and was an exceptional slip fielder, taking 110 Test catches.
His international career was interrupted by a long retirement. After finishing his original Test career in the late 1960s, Simpson returned to international cricket in 1977.
During his comeback, he scored 176 against India in Perth in December 1977 and later made 100 against India in Adelaide in January 1978.
That return is an important part of the story behind his long gap between international centuries. The passage of time was not simply a conventional batting drought; Simpson had spent a decade away from Test cricket before returning to Australia’s side. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame records that his career was broken by a ten-year absence from the Test arena.
Bob Simpson — International Profile
His 311 against England at Old Trafford in 1964 was his first Test century. It was also his first Test hundred after 29 Tests without reaching three figures, and remains one of the most famous innings of his career.
Simpson’s career therefore provides an unusual example of how a long gap between centuries can be influenced by a player’s absence from international cricket itself.
Matt Renshaw — 3,542 days
The most recent name on the list is Australia’s Matt Renshaw, whose appearance in the ranking came after an important milestone in September 2026.
Renshaw scored his first international century in a Test against Pakistan at Sydney in January 2017, making 184. It remained his only international century for almost a decade.
On 15 September 2026, he finally ended that wait by scoring his maiden ODI century against Zimbabwe in Harare. Renshaw made 109 from 94 balls, helping Australia to a 59-run victory.
The dates make the gap especially striking: 3,542 days separated his Test century in January 2017 from his ODI hundred in September 2026. The ICC described the new century as Renshaw’s first international hundred in almost ten years.
Matt Renshaw — International Profile
Renshaw’s international career has crossed all three major formats. He made his Test debut in 2016, later entered Australia’s ODI setup and made his T20I debut in 2026.
His 109 against Zimbabwe was also his maiden ODI century, meaning his two international hundreds have come in different formats nearly ten years apart.
Bert Sutcliffe — 3,367 days
New Zealand’s Bert Sutcliffe represents an earlier generation of international cricket. A left-handed batter, Sutcliffe played 42 Tests for New Zealand, scoring 2,727 runs at an average of 40.10.
He scored five Test centuries, along with 15 fifties, and his highest Test score was an unbeaten 230. He also took four Test wickets with his slow left-arm bowling.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Sutcliffe’s career was his ability to return to international cricket after lengthy periods away.
His final Test century was an unbeaten 151 against India in Kolkata in March 1965. It was the fifth and final Test hundred of his career.
The earlier century involved his famous 230 not out against India in New Delhi in 1955, which was at the time a New Zealand Test record.
Bert Sutcliffe — International Profile
Sutcliffe’s international career stretched from 1947 to 1965, covering a period in which Test cricket was New Zealand’s principal international format.
His career also included the famous 1949 England tour, during which he scored his first Test century, and his later return to the New Zealand side in the 1960s added another remarkable chapter to his career.
Mushtaq Mohammad — 3,234 days
Pakistan’s Mushtaq Mohammad completes the five-player list. He was one of the most versatile cricketers of his generation, combining middle-order batting with leg-spin bowling.
Mushtaq made his Test debut as a teenager and went on to play 57 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 3,643 runs at an average of 39.17. He made 10 Test centuries and 19 fifties, while taking 79 wickets.
His first Test century was one of the most significant milestones of his early career. Against India in Delhi in February 1961, the 17-year-old Mushtaq scored 101, becoming the youngest Test centurion at the time.
His later career contained several major innings, including a 100 not out against England at Trent Bridge in July 1962 and another century against England at Edgbaston in June 1971. Those two hundreds form the gap highlighted in the graphic, amounting to 3,234 days.
Mushtaq Mohammad — International Profile
Mushtaq’s career also included a remarkable all-round achievement. He scored 201 against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1973 and took five wickets in the same Test, one of the rare instances of a player combining a double century with a five-wicket haul in a Test.
He was also an important Pakistan captain, leading the national side during the late 1970s and becoming the captain of Pakistan’s first Test victory in Australia in 1977.
Five Very Different Stories Behind Long Century Gaps
The five names in this list illustrate that a long interval between international centuries does not necessarily tell the same story for every player:
- • Johnson Charles moved between ODI and T20I cricket, with his two relevant hundreds coming ten years apart.
- • Bob Simpson had an extraordinary interruption in his career, retiring from Test cricket before returning a decade later.
- • Matt Renshaw represents the modern era, where a player can move between Tests, ODIs and T20Is while spending long periods outside the international XI.
- • Bert Sutcliffe played in a very different era, when Test cricket dominated the international calendar and opportunities were much less frequent.
- • Mushtaq Mohammad was an all-rounder whose international career lasted two decades and included periods of both regular Test cricket and long gaps between appearances.
The Numbers Behind the List
The five gaps range from 3,234 days to 3,684 days — roughly nine to ten years between successive international hundreds.
What makes the list particularly interesting is that the players belong to completely different cricketing eras. Sutcliffe’s career began in the 1940s, Simpson’s international career started in the 1950s, Mushtaq emerged in the 1960s, Charles in the modern limited-overs era, and Renshaw is a product of the three-format era.
Their records show how dramatically international cricket has changed. Yet one thing remains constant: a century is never guaranteed, no matter how experienced or talented the batter may be.
A player can score hundreds early in a career, spend years without another one, leave international cricket, return years later and still reach three figures again.
That is precisely what makes these five cases so unusual in men’s international cricket history.