On the second day of the second Test against South Africa, under pressure Australia opener David Warner broke a nearly one-year century drought and joined a select group of hitters who have achieved the feat in their 100th Test match.
He has now become the 10th hitter in his 100th Test match to score a hundred runs.
Warner was under a lot of strain as he approached the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a subpar average of 20.61 in his last 10 innings. Warner last hit a hundred in January 2020. He refused to take part in a public hearing that the federation planned to hold on his request to have the lifetime ban on his captaincy lifted because he disagreed with Cricket Australia's position on it in the wake of the Sandpapergate affair.
Questions were being asked about his continued participation on the team as his runs dried up and his off-field issues received significant attention.
But the 36-year-old former vice-captain of Australia silenced his detractors on Tuesday by striking a century, aiding the home team in overcoming the early loss of his opening partner Usman Khawaja (1).
After lunch on the second day, Warner scored a century off 144 balls, hitting eight fours along the way. Together with his former captain Steve Smith, he also helped Australia recover from a precarious 75/2 in the morning session as the hosts established their innings after dismissing South Africa for 189 on the opening day with a century stand for the third wicket.
At the time of writing this story, Warner was batting on 124 off 189 deliveries while Smith was keeping him company unbeaten on 45 as Australia crossed the 200-run mark.
With this century, Warner became the 10th batsman in the world to score a century in his 100th Test match.
England's Colin Cowdrey was the first to do so by scoring 104 for England against Australia at Edgebaston in the 1968 Ashes. The others in the list are Pakistan's Javed Miandad, West Indies opener Grodon Greenidge, England's Alec Stewart, Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq, Australia's Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith of South Africa, Hashim Amla (South Africa) and Joe Root of England.
Among these elite batters, Ponting is the only one to score a century in both innings of his 100th Test. Warner will have a chance of emulating Ponting if South Africa post a big total in their second innings, making Australia chase enough runs in the fourth innings.