Tendulkar to miss a Test for the first time

Mohandas Menon

Sachin Tendulkar, for the first time in his career, will be missing a Test match (the first Test at Galle on August 14) since his debut at Karachi in November 1989 as a 16-year-old. Since then he had appeared in a record 84 matches in row until he last against Zimbabwe, at Harare, in June this year.

Tendulkar's 84 Tests in a row is a record for the maximum Tests played by any player in Test history since debut without missing a match. The previous record was held by another Indian -- Kapil Dev, who had appeared in 66 Tests in a row since his debut Test in October 1978.

Kapil was dropped for the Calcutta Test in December 1984 against David Gower's England, for reasons still not known to anyone, including the player concerned. Incidentally, this was the only occasion in his entire Test career, spanning 131 matches (from 1978 to 1994), that Kapil missed a Test. This also means that Kapil played another 65 Test matches in a row from January 1985 to March 1994.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's John Reid and England's Tony Greig now hold the record of appearing in maximum Test matches (58) without missing even one match during their entire Test career. Zimbabwean Alistair Campbell, who has so far appeared in 54 Test matches has also not missed a single Test since his debut in 1992. Campbell now holds the record of playing in maximum Tests than any player since his country's inaugural Test match.

England's all-rounder Frank Woolley was incidentally the first player to appear in 50 or more matches in a row since debut between 1909 to 1926.

The list below lists players who have played 50 or more Test matches in a row since debut.

Players who have played 50 or more Test matches in a row
Player	Country	Matches	Span in years
Sachin Tendulkar	Ind	84	1989-90 to 2001-02
Kapil Dev	Ind	66	1978-79 to 1984-85
Ian Healy	Aus	64	1988-89 to 1994-95
Rohan Kanhai	WI	61	1957 to 1968-69
John Reid	NZ	58+	1949 to 1965
Tony Greig	Eng	58+	1972 to 1977
Alistair Campbell	Zim	54+	1992-93 to 2001-02
Gary Kirsten	SA	53	1993-94 to 1998-99
Frank Woolley	Eng	52	1909 to 1926
Rodney Marsh	Aus	52	1970-71 to 1977
Andy Flower	Zim	52	1992-93 to 2001-02
Greg Chappell	Aus	51	1970-71 to 1977
+ played entire career without missing a Test

Mail Cricket Editor