It is both an invidious and a beguiling task. The urge to rank things runs deep - in cricket, in sport, in life (though it is perhaps something males delight in more). Inevitably, the impulse to disagree is just as hardwired, a patellar reflex of the socialised human brain. You think that is the best...? In compiling Masterly Batting: 100 Great Test Centuries, Patrick Ferriday and Dave Wilson, assisted by an able band of co-conspirators, have struck up a pub debate liable to exercise pedants, inflame nationalists and, perhaps worst of all, provoke the Twitterati to fresh displays of mandrill pomposity. There could be broken glass.This is no back-of-a-beer-mat musing, however. The authors have come tooled up. The research has been rigorous, their soundings far and wide (former Wisden editor John Woodcock is one of the first to be credited in the acknowledgements). In setting out the projects aims, Ferriday is awake to the difficulty, both rousing and daunting. Ranking the 100 greatest Test hundreds - for that is what they have done, or attempted, despite the enigmatic subtitle - is not a matter of irrefutable fact, but rather falls into the category where no such certainty can bring the debate to a crushing and indelible conclusion. And it is precisely these latter cases that are the most stimulating; opinion is reinforced by fact, fact is questioned, opinion reinforced or, where open minds prevail, altered.The danger of having an open mind, of course, is that your brain falls out. But Masterly Batting should find the thoughtful audience it deserves. The methodology is explained in the introduction, with ten categories - size, conditions, bowling attack, percentage, chances, speed, series impact, match impact, intangibles, compatibility - weighed against each other. The precise formula is not revealed but we can assume it is quite exacting, as there are several tied positions. The prospect of sifting through over 2000 possible candidates would leave many to conclude that pure maths was the only way to go, but Ferriday and Wilson have brought humanity to the numbers by stirring in contemporaneous reportage and the wisdom of numerous cricket judges. The order is, in many ways, subordinate to the higher purpose, which is to collate great cricket writing on great cricket feats. Measuring centuries against each other was settled upon as a valid and achievable goal but the effect is to paint vivid pictures of a different kind of century - more than 100 years of Test batting. This is particularly true with regard to the top 25 innings, which are given extended treatment and take up more than half of the book.Never mind the run-making, the keystrokes are just as impressive. There are some fabulous pieces in the book by a variety of writers, including David Frith, Stephen Chalke, Telford Vice and Rob Smyth. Chalke provides a superb portrait of Herbert Sutcliffe, Daniel Harris on Gordon Greenidge fizzes and crackles with an apposite energy, while Vices essay on Jacques Kallis - He has fashioned one of the great careers with the passion he might have brought to mowing the lawn - is full of good lines. Ferriday himself worships thrice at the altar of Brian Lara, while the comic-book vitality of Kevin Pietersens 186 in Mumbai is another example of the multitudes contained within.The result is richly satisfying, a kaleidoscope of dogged rearguards, effervescent counter-attacking and dreadnought destruction. Absence is what makes the heart grow harder. Each reader will come to Masterly Batting in search of particular favourites, some of whom are bound to be disappointed. No Atherton in Johannesburg, no Dravid in Adelaide? It is the relative dearth of Asian representatives that will cause most debate: seven Indian entries, five Pakistani and three Sri Lankan, plus Mohammad Ashraful. Virender Sehwags 293 in Mumbai is the highest ranked, at No. 15, while Ashraful comes well ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, whose single worthy effort - 155 not out against Australia in Chennai - is deemed great enough to creep in at No. 100. This may seem doubly controversial in the prevailing climate of Sachinalia, although it is interesting to note that a similar exercise in 2001, the Wisden 100, found no room for Tendulkar at all.Perhaps a greater oversight is the lack of Asian voices - Rahul Bhattacharya is quoted in the opening pages, but that is as close as an Indian writer gets to the book. The subcontinent stretches far across crickets globe, however, and this might have been better reflected. On the matter of which innings did and didnt make the cut, Ferriday is happy to engage and he would doubtless provide a sound argument for the inclusion of both Kallis hundreds in Cape Town in 2011 when Tendulkars in the same match misses out.But they are still serving at the bar and argument will continue long into the night. In a publishing landscape that is dominated by turgid autobiographies and glossy compilations, Masterly Batting stands out like a Laxman cover drive. And where does Kolkata 2001 rank next to Bradman on a sticky MCG pitch or Mark Butchers Headingley heroics? Time for me to get my coat.Masterly Batting: 100 Great Test Centuries Compiled and edited by Patrick Ferriday and Dave Wilson Von Krumm Publishing 290 pages; ￡15 Bryn Forbes Jersey . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. DeMarre Carroll Jersey . 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Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. 10R Ashwin (27 wickets at 17.77, 71 runs at 23.66)Three five-fors, two 10-wicket match hauls, another Man-of-the-Series award. Now the best player in four series in a row, Ashwin exploited the conditions beautifully, bowling with daring 7-2 fields at times, giving the batsmen no breathing space with his accuracy and using his guile when the pitch went quiet. He bowled long spells even though he began with a corn on the middle finger of his right hand. Also scored an invaluable 40 and 26 when India were in strife in the first innings of the first two Tests.9Ravindra Jadeja (14 wickets at 24.07, 129 runs at 64.5)Not as effective with the ball as he was against South Africa last year, but never let the pressure off from the other end as his economy rate of 2.34 shows. Ran through the tail once, which is important. Scored a crucial 42 to push India past 300 in Kanpur, was part of an important partnership with Wriddhiman Saha in Kolkata, and was exceptional as usual in the field.Wriddhiman Saha (112 runs at 112 , two dismissals)Quietly brilliant behind the stumps; dont be misled by just two dismissals. India attacked the stumps more than the edges, but his wicketkeeping stands out in how you cant immediately think of an error on pitches that are difficult to keep on. With the bat, Saha won India the Kolkata Test, scoring fifties in two crisis situations. The quietest member in the side is beginning to make telling contributions.Cheteshwar Pujara (373 runs at 74.6)Came into the series under immense pressure after being dropped in the West Indies but re-established himself as the backbone of the side with a little support from the coach Anil Kumble. Set up all of Indias three first-innings with a lowest of 41. Would have been disappointed he didnt convert any of those into a big hundred, but managed to seal that three-figure score as India set up their declaration in the second innings in Indore.8Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6 wickets at 12.66)Part of Indias horses-for-courses plan, was picked in the second Test for a green pitch. This was a track where New Zealand could have felt at home, but he ran through their batting with nagging accuracy to end up with his first five-for at home. Unfortunately he got injured again, but India would have likely played Umesh Yadav in Indore.Mohammed Shami (8 wickets at 30.37)Numbers dont do justice to Shamis contribution. New Zealand would have looked to target the quicks for relief, especially in a four-man attack, but Shami didnt allow them that luxury. Whenever India managed to get the ball reversing he took wickets, but when it didnt reverse he asked enough questions.7.5Ajinkya Rahane (347 runs at 69.4)Once again he came back from a disappointingg first Test to correct his mistakes and make meaningful contributions.dddddddddddd On a tough first day in Kolkata he scored 77 in partnership with Pujara, and then went on to make up for the disappointment of not getting a big score there by scoring 188 in Indore where he had to struggle against the short ball. Virat Kohli (309 runs at 51.5)Disappointing first three innings in the series, but followed a counterattacking 45 in crisis in the second innings of the Kolkata Test with a double-century full of discipline and restraint in Indore. As captain he refused to let play drift when New Zealand put together partnerships. He backed his team, never minded a tough word with the umpires on behalf of them, and always kept the crowds involved.Rohit Sharma (238 runs at 79.33)This series could be a turning point in Rohits Test career. He played a disappointing shot in the first innings in Kanpur, but with the confidence that he was going to be in the XI for some time, he came back with an excellent 82, after the team was at 43 for 4, to bat New Zealand out of the Kolkata Test. He played selflessly when pushing for declaration. One of the only three batsmen in the series to score at least one fifty in each Test.6.5M Vijay (186 runs at 31)Will be disappointed he didnt convert his two half-centuries but he was dismissed off good balls. Continues to be a solid opener for India and re-established his importance in the side after he too was dropped in the West Indies. Will not like the way he got out in Indore: extravagant flick in first innings and lazy running in the second.5KL Rahul (70 runs at 35)Sparkling presence at the top of the order in Kanpur, which put New Zealand bowlers on the back foot immediately. Failed to convert those two starts. Missed the rest of the series because of injury.4.5Gautam Gambhir (79 runs at 39.50)Handed a career lifeline with injuries to two openers, Gambhir played a Rahul-like role in Indore, albeit in easier conditions, scoring a quick 29 in the first innings and a fifty in the second. Will be interesting to see what India decide if both Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are fit by the time the team for the England series is chosen.4Umesh Yadav (2 wickets at 62)Did better than the figures suggest. Wasnt quite the soft bowler you would expect as a batting side after the other three have put you under pressure. Was athletic in the field too.2Shikhar Dhawan (18 runs at 9)Played a poor shot on the first morning in Kolkata. Kept fighting with an injured hand in the second, but clearly he is not the first-choice Test opener anymore. ' ' '