Remembering the fastest Test 100 records for each country – just how big, and how quickly, did Adam Gilchrist go against England in 2006?
Every now and then, batters will walk to the crease and play knocks so brisk they transform the game.
Below, we have listed the 10 fastest centuries in Test cricket by country; the cut-off was a maximum of 100 deliveries.
This makes for interesting reading.
10. Brian Bennett (Zimbabwe) – 97 balls to reach 100 vs England, 2025
Twenty-two years passed between England and Zimbabwe’s sixth and seventh Test, and Brian Bennett made the resumption of bilateral matches between the two sides memorable for Zimbabweans in England and elsewhere in the world.
England went into the contest as favourites, and the cricketing world expected the hosts to trample on a Zimbabwe side that would just roll over and die. That is not what Zimbabwe did. The visitors put up a fight, and Brian Bennett was the embodiment of Zimbabwe’s fighting spirit.
Bennett showed his range as he raced to 50 in 56 balls, and then slightly changed his tempo, facing a further 41 deliveries to his century. The 21-year-old, who was playing in his seventh Test, finished the innings with 139 from 143 balls.
9. Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh) – 94 balls to reach 100 vs England, 2010
No Bangladesh batter had scored a Test century in England until Tamim Iqbal did so in 2010, and he did it in style. The Bangladesh opener raced to a 94-ball century in one of the most spectacular knocks at Lord’s.
Tamim Iqbal was so quick that at one point, he went from 37 to 77 in 27 deliveries. The acceleration was so spectacular that his partner, Imrul Kayes, was stuck on 49 runs, patiently waiting to reach his maiden Test half-century. Iqbal and Kayes put on 185 runs in a fighting opening stand that gave Bangladesh, in a losing cause.
Soumya Sarkar scored the joint-fastest century by a Bangladesh batter when he also reached his century in 94 deliveries against New Zealand nine years later.
8. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 80 balls to reach 100 vs Bangladesh, 2001
Marvan Atapattu retired out after reaching his fifth double century. At that point, Sri Lanka had 440 runs on the board with a 350-run lead. But if Bangladesh thought that Atapattu’s exit would bring them respite, they were mistaken. Mahela Jayawardene strode out and scorched his way to an 80-ball century.
Jayawardene gorged 26 fours and a single six on his way to a brilliant 150 off just 115 balls. The number four batter then retired out, feeling that his work was done. Nothing demonstrated his dominance more than his walking out without being dismissed.
7. Gilbert Jessop (England) – 76 balls to reach 100 vs Australia, 1902
The match looked lost. England had stumbled to 183 in their reply to Australia’s first innings score of 324. The visitors, Australia, then added a further 121 runs to grow their lead to 262. Australia’s bowlers did not waste time before they reduced England to 48/5.
That’s when Gilbert Jessop walked out to bat. The middle-order batter was so much in a rush that he almost lost his wicket to a stumping when he was on 22. However, Jessop wasn’t shaken by that; he kept his foot on the accelerator. At one point, he scored four 4’s and a single off successive balls from Jack Saunders.
Jessop reached his century in 76 balls and was dismissed for 104 from 77 balls. His innings was so crucial that it turned this around and led England to victory.
6. AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 75 balls to reach 100 vs India, 2011
India had spread the field. Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis had mounted an outstanding 230-run partnership, and South Africa’s lead had also swelled to over 200. India was now more concerned with limiting the damage as the innings meandered towards a declaration. The crowd at Centurion was being dragged along, while hoping for some excitement.
Then AB de Villiers walked to the crease. He flayed the bowlers and carved the field as he raced to an impressive 75-ball century. De Villiers kept spectators spellbound as he unleashed straight drives, cuts, reverse paddles, and all other exciting shots. His innings was so quick that when he struck the six that brought up his century, putting him on 105, Jacques Kallis had only added 47 runs on the other end.
De Villiers finished the match with 129 off 112 balls. His knock featured 12 fours and five sixes.
5. Mohammad Azharuddin (India) – 74 balls to reach 100 vs South Africa, 1997
Gary Kirsten scored twin tons, and Andrew Hudson and Daryll Cullinan also registered centuries. But none was as memorable as Mohammad Azharuddin’s masterful innings.
The India star carved five fours off Lance Klusener in a baptism of fire for the debutant. No other South African bowler was spared; Azharuddin hammered the attack that included Allan Donald, Paul Adams, Brian McMillan, Hansie Cronje, and Pat Symcox. He reached his fifty off 35 balls, his century off 74.
Azharuddin’s knock came when India had their backs against the wall. Besides him, no other top seven batter reached 40 runs. Nayan Mongia led the scoring with 35 runs, Rahul Dravid added 30, and the rest scored less than 20 runs each. Azharuddin was eventually dismissed for 109 from 77 balls.
4. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) – 57 balls to reach 100 vs England, 2006
Perth was hot in December 2006, but the WACA was hotter, thanks to a brutal blitz launched by Adam Gilchrist on the English bowling attack. The Australia wicket-keeper seemed intent on proving a point. He had scored a duck in the first innings and wanted to disprove any theories that suggested that England’s bowlers had a stranglehold on him.
In hindsight, Gilchrist reached 50 at a leisurely pace. He faced 40 balls to get there. The left-hander did not threaten to play a defensive shot after reaching the milestone. His march to a hundred only required 17 more balls.
It would have taken 16 balls had Matthew Hoggard, in a desperate attempt at self-preservation, sent in a wide delivery when Gilchrist was on 96. Gilchrist took a single off that ball. Then, he creamed the next one he faced for four. He finished the match unbeaten on 102 from 59 deliveries.
3. Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan) – 56 balls to reach 100 vs Australia, 2015
Two batters scored two centuries when Pakistan hosted Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014. Azhar Ali made 109 and an unbeaten 100 in the first and third innings. Misbah-ul-Haq matched that with 101 in the first innings and 101 not out in the third innings. Younis Khan outscored both batters with a first innings score of 213.
However, only one of those centuries made the news: Misbah-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 101. His 56-ball century was the joint-fastest 100 in Test cricket, equaling Viv Richards’ effort 18 years earlier. Many batters had come and tried, but none had matched or surpassed Richards’ record.
Misbah-ul-Haq scythed 11 fours and five sixes for his history-making century. He finished the innings unbeaten on 101 from 57 balls.
2. Viv Richards (West Indies) – 56 balls to reach 100 vs England, 1986
The world agreed that Viv Richards was the master. There was no second-guessing that assessment. He had shown time and again what he was capable of; however, all he needed was a crowning moment. An innings to put an indelible stamp on cricket.
That moment was presented to him at the Antigua Recreation Ground in 1986. He was on his home ground, locals packed the stands, the pitch was good for batting, and England’s bowlers were no match for the blitz Richards unleashed. The West Indies captain raced to a 56-ball century, the fastest hundred in the history of cricket at the time. Richards held the record for decades.
Richards was unbeaten when he declared. He had scored 110 from 58 balls in a knock that featured seven fours and as many sixes.
1. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) – 54 balls to reach 100 against Australia, 2016
Brendon McCullum would have preferred to win the toss, but he didn’t. The pitch was a bowling paradise, and he would have liked to bowl first, but he lost the toss and Australia had elected to bat first.
The visitors made good use of the conditions by reducing New Zealand to 32/3 after 20 overs. A score of 150 looked highly improbable until McCullum stepped to the crease, wielding his bat like a weapon of mass destruction. He also used it like one. The New Zealander razed down the Australian bowling attack on his way to a 54-ball century, the fastest hundred in Test cricket ever.
McCullum ran 15 ones and five twos to accompany his 21 fours and six sixes on his way to an imperious 79-ball 145 that lifted New Zealand to a first innings score of 370.
Read next: Did Chris Gayle get named in this West Indies’ best Test XI of the past 40 years?