Younis Khan and the art of scoring hundreds

On the opening day of the Pakistan-Australia Test in Dubai, Younis Khan, already the leading run-scorer in Tests in the UAE, further increased his lead by scoring 106, thus confirming his affinity for these conditions. It was his sixth Test century in the UAE - no other batsman has more than three - but the hundred was a special one for another reason: it was his 25th in Tests, which put him level with Inzamam-ul-Haq as the leading centurions for Pakistan. Inzamam played 198 innings to get his 25, while Younis has played 163 (though Inzamam's tendency to bat down the order hurt his conversion ratio - he scored 15 from 98 innings when batting at No. 4, and nine from 77 when batting at Nos. 5 and 6). Younis turns 37 next month, but given his recent form - he averages 60.20 in his last 11 Test innings, which includes three hundreds - it's likely he will get quite a few more before he is done with Test cricket, and be sole leader in terms of Test hundreds for Pakistan.

In a country which has produced the likes of Inzamam, Mohammad Yousuf, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, Hanif and Mushtaq Mohammad, perhaps Younis hasn't always received the kind of recognition he should have. His batting style isn't as elegant and effortless as some of the other greats, and the relative lack of aesthetics has probably hurt his cause. Yet, in terms of converting starts and getting hundreds, he is surely among Pakistan's greatest.

The century in Dubai was Younis' first in Tests against Australia, and it made him the only one among Pakistan's batsmen to score a century against all nine other Test-playing nations. Both Inzamam and Yousuf failed to score hundreds against South Africa, but Younis has four against them, including one in South Africa. (Click here for Younis' career summary in Tests.)

In terms of innings per century, Younis, along with Yousuf, are clearly Pakistan's best: they both average around six-and-a-half innings per hundred, while the next-best, Ijaz Ahmed, scored one every 7.67 innings. Inzamam's average was one every 7.92 innings - though he scored one every 6.53 innings at No. 4 - while the others, including Miandad and Anwar, averaged more than eight innings per hundred.

In the overall list, though, there are 13 other batsmen who've scored 15 or more hundreds at a rate that's better than Yousuf, who has been Pakistan's best. Don Bradman is obviously on top, well clear of anyone else, while Clyde Walcott is the only other with a rate below five. Among the modern-day batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara is the only one with an average of less than six innings per hundred - he has 37 from 221 innings, a rate of one every 5.97 innings. He has been especially prolific since the beginning of 2013, scoring seven hundreds in 25 innings.

Matthew Hayden was outstanding too over a long career, scoring more hundreds than fifties, while Hashim Amla is going at the same rate as his former team-mate Jacques Kallis, though he currently has half the number of centuries. Two of India's finest are in this list too: Sunil Gavaskar scored 34 in 214 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar an average of less than six-and-a-half innings per century over an even longer period.

Out of 70 batsmen who've scored 15 or more Test hundreds, there are only five from Pakistan, which is a bit of a surprise: Younis, Inzamam, Yousuf, Miandad and Saleem Malik. On the other hand, there are 18 from England - though none have scored more than 25 - 16 from Australia, 13 from West Indies, and eight from India. Pakistan and Sri Lanka both have five each, though Sri Lanka have played 150 fewer Tests than Pakistan.

While Pakistan have only five batsmen who've scored 15 or more Test hundreds, their overall conversion rates aren't very different from those of the other top teams, which only means they've spread around the centuries among their batsmen more evenly than some of the other teams. Pakistan have averaged 19.27 innings per hundred over their entire Test history, which is similar to the averages for India (19.13) and West Indies (19.08). Australia are well ahead of the pack with an average of 17.11, while Sri Lanka are next with 18.17, thanks to the prolific century rate in the last few years. New Zealand have generally struggled to score hundreds, which is reflected in their average of 29 innings per century; they only have one batsman who has more than 15 - Martin Crowe, with 17. John Wright has 12, while Nathan Astle and Ross Taylor have 11 each, and Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum nine each.

Since 2000, though, Pakistan's rate has slipped up slightly compared to some of the other top teams during the same period. While South Africa have improved to 13.52, Australia to 12.09, and Sri Lanka, India and England are all below 15 innings per century, Pakistan average 17.15, indicating that their batsmen haven't been quite as prolific, especially in an era when batsmen have generally prospered. Younis has kept the flag flying, especially after the retirements of Inzamam and Yousuf, but it's clearly time for the younger players to step up and take over the mantle of scoring centuries. With none of the currently active Pakistan batsmen having scored more than eight hundreds, though, expect the record to stay with Younis for a significant period of time.