The sporting week in numbers

A general view of play during day one of the Third Test match between New Zealand and England. Photo / Getty Images.

The sporting week in numbers, compiled by APNZ

34 - Seven long years after making his debut for New Zealand, Peter Fulton hit his maiden test century on the first day of the third cricket test against England today. As the age of 34, two-metre Peter (actually 1.98m tall) became the second-oldest man to score a maiden test ton since 1998.

404 - It's also been seven years since Eden Park last hosted a test match but the Black Caps looked right at home today. A win against England would clinch the series and break a 404-day drought since New Zealand last won a game at the venue, with four limited overs losses since their last triumph.

-115 - If England do lose the cricket they should at least enjoy more success in the football. The English national team play San Marino in World Cup qualifying this weekend, an opposition ranked dead last (207th) in the world rankings and with a goal difference of -115 from their previous 24 games.

2 - Before the English public take too much joy from a famous victory against the tiny Italian republic, they might need reminding of last weekend's rugby result. If the 30-3 loss to Wales wasn't bad enough, Welsh wing Alex Cuthbert today rubbed salt into the wound by revealing he scored two tries with a torn hamstring.

11 - But England are far from the worst rugby team going around. That honour might fall to the Waratahs who will head into Sunday's home match against the Blues on the back of 11 losses from their last 12 games, spanning the end of last season and the first four weeks off this campaign.

42 - Aucklanders, like the English, shouldn't be too enthused if their Blues make the Waratahs once again lose. The Warriors are doing even worse than the Waratahs, but their 10-match losing streak is still slightly short of the all-time record of 42 consecutive defeats managed by University in the 1930s.

17 - Luckily for those from the big smoke, they have the Breakers to fall back on. The defending champions will tonight gun for their 17th straight victory against Perth, knowing a win to end the regular season and two playoff sweeps would deliver a third title and equal the league record of 21 wins in a row.

24 - Even if they do end the season in record fashion, the Breakers will still fall short of the run currently enjoyed by the Miami Heat. Miami, also aiming to defend their NBA title, won their 24th consecutive contest on Wednesday and now sit only nine short of the mark set by the LA Lakers in 1972.

600 - Another man who knows a thing or two about winning runs is Rafael Nadal, who on Monday won his third tournament from four since returning from a seven-month injury lay-off. The victory at the Paribas Open gave Nadal, who is now a career-best 17-1 on the year, his 600th career match victory.

100 - To finish on another round number, two men will play their 100th Super Rugby match this weekend. The first reaching the milestone, Chiefs captain Liam Messam, is hardly surprising, but a casual fan might need a few guesses before picking Highlanders prop Chris King as the other.