As they approach The Oval with a serious chance of winning a Test seriesoutside Asia for the first time in 16 years, the last thing India want is for their star man to be under any added pressure. But as one or two people have noted, Sachin Tendulkar, at the ripe old age of 29, is about to become the youngest of the 26 people to have played 100 Tests.

Unsurprisingly, given the mechanics of the body, most of the 26 are the batsmen. Tendulkar will be the 19th, to go with three bowlers (Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram and Shane Warne), two wicketkeepers (Ian Healy and Alec Stewart), and two allrounders (Kapil Dev and Ian Botham).

History suggests the occasion is as likely to be overwhelming as inspiring for the batters. The first man to 100 Tests, Colin Cowdrey, stroked a glorious hundred for England against Australia at Edgbaston in 1968. But he is one of only four centurions: there was Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge, and most unforgettably of all, Alec Stewart. Against West Indies at Old Trafford in 2000, Stewart strode out with England 17 for 3 to face a rampant Courtney Walsh (7-7-0-3), and slammed a majestic 105. To top it all, it was on the Queen Mother's 100th birthday. For as fierce a patriot as Stewart, nothing could have iced the cake the better.

But there have been some notable failures too: David Gower made 13 and 2, Dilip Vengsarkar 25 and 0, Allan Border 0 and 20, and Mike Atherton - in the same Test as Stewart - 1 and 28. Mind you, Atherton never was one to hog the limelight.

Then there was Atherton's predecessor as England captain, Graham Gooch, who had the most ignominious of 100th Tests. At Calcutta in 1992-93, Gooch made 17 and 18 as England lost to India by eight wickets. The ignominy came by virtue of his second-innings dismissal: Gooch inexplicably allowed his back foot to rest on the line, and he was stumped by Kiran More almost as an afterthought. It set the tone for a shambolic tour.

Others have had richer experiences. At Sydney in 1997-98, Steve Waugh had a blistering duel with Allan Donald, but weathered the storm to forge a matchwinning partnership with his brother Mark. And the last man to reach 100 Tests, Shane Warne, against South Africa at Cape Town earlier this year, clubbed 63 and then got through 70 overs in the second innings, the longest stint of his Test career. Tendulkar may have been underbowled by India in recent times, but even he wouldn't wish for that much work.

Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.

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