Top Five Fastest Test Centuries Of All-Time
Published - 01 Mar 2020, 08:04 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:04 AM
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Top Five Fastest Test Centuries Of All-Time;??For years, the glory of Test cricket lied within the marathon of innings with the bat and some phenomenal bowling performances. It is believed that Test cricket is made for people with utmost resilience and patience. It is a contest of skill and technique. It is the format which requires only one attitude from the batsmen.
Test cricket is supposed to be slow and dull. It may be a stimulating contest of skills but on the surface, it is not the most entertaining. But there are exceptions. Recently, New Zealand legend Sir Richard Hadlee urged to preserve Test cricket.
Who says Test cricket cannot be fun and interesting? Meet these batsmen who poured life in Test cricket with their aggressive batting and free-flowing strokes.
Scoring a century has always been pleasing but when it comes in Test format it gives immense pleasure to any batsman. There are players at present as well as in the past who like to be ahead by the time and play with an aggressive approach.
Here, in this piece, we have a collection of the top five fastest hundreds in Tests.
Top Five fastest hundreds in Tests:
5. JM Gregory:
Born in 1895 and made his debut in 1920, still, the stylish Jack Gregory finds a place in the chart, which shows his class. The flamboyant batsman managed to score a century in just 67 deliveries to register the fastest Test hundred during those times.
The knock came against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1921/22. He started attacking right from the first ball with his peculiar strokes all across the park.
The mind-boggling stat of that knock is that Jack Gregory scored a century in just 70 minutes, which is still the quickest in terms of time. Even his century remained quickest in terms of deliveries for almost five decades.
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4. Adam Gilchrist:
Yet another left-handed batsman find a place in the chart, who also hails from Australia. The wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist finds the fourth place in the chart after his stellar century against England at Perth.
He batted in only one gear and had only one objective; to smash the bowlers. The height of his batting prowess arrived when he slammed a 57-ball century against England in 2006 at Perth.
When Gilchrist arrived at the crease, the hosts were already 400 runs ahead and were in a safe position. The left-hander inflicted further damage on the visitors by scoring quick runs.
The declaration was round the corner and hence, Gilly went after every English bowler.
Gilchrist completed his century off just 57 balls and knocked the second-fastest century of that time.
3. Misbah-ul-Haq:
Misbah-ul-Haq may have known for his solid defence and patient knocks in Test cricket for Pakistan but he has got a brutal game in his kitty as well. It was on the display when he smashed a century off just 56 balls against Australia at Abu Dhabi in 2014/2015 series.
The world witnessed some serious batting from the 40-year-old Pakistani skipper.
Having scored a century in the first innings, Misbah arrived on the ground with full confidence. The need of the hour was to score quickly and put as many runs as possible for Aussies to chase.
Misbah hit 20 runs off a single over from the leg-spinner Steve Smith to complete his 50 – the fastest ever in Tests off 21 balls.
The Aussie bowling attack which was already tired had nothing in the store to stop Misbah who made the most of the situation by scoring a 100 off just 56 balls.
Misbah played his favourite heaves on the leg-slide and was bold enough to step down the pitch when the opportunity arrived.
2. Sir Viv Richards:
The legendary West Indian takes the second place in the chart for his scintillating knock against England in 1985/86 series. He scored a 56-ball century against England at Antigua in 1986. Sir Viv Richards remained not out on 110* runs from 58 deliveries and blasted 7 sixes and 3 fours in his innings.
West Indies had won all four previous Tests and hence the final match was a dead-rubber. The hosts earned a massive first-inning lead and the fate of the Test became evident.
However, Richards decided to pour some entertainment into the game and came to bat in the second innings. Richards plundered in with seven sixes and three fours to complete his century in just 56 balls.
Viv Richards was cricket’s first flamboyant batsman who had the skill to combine style with aggression and swag. When he batted, runs flowed off the willow and the bowlers looked clueless.
1. Brendon McCullum:
We have witnessed cricketers delivering goods on debut or during the progress of their career. But, the former skipper of New Zealand Brendon McCullum finished his Test career with a stunning knock to his name. He registered fastest-ever Test century in his last game against Australia at Christchurch in 2015/16 series.
After losing the toss on a bowling friendly surface, New Zealand were three down for 32 runs in 19 overs. Australia were all over the hosts when McCullum took his guard. The Kiwi skipper batted the way he is known for and rescued his team by producing a fine counter-attacking punch.
He was batting on 68 of 44 and required 32 more in the next 12 balls to break the 30-year-old world record and surpass Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq. He completed it with a ball to spare, scoring the century in just 79 minutes – third fastest in terms of time. He went on to score 145 off 79 balls with 21 fours and 6 sixes.
New Zealand eventually lost the Test, but McCullum inked his name in the history books.
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