Travis Head smashes a century in The Ashes First Test
It was an iconic game, where the first three innings belonged solely to the bowlers. But Travis Head changed things towards the end, bringing up a century in just 69 balls. Fans would think that this has brought Travis Head in the list of players with fastest centuries in the Test format. Yes it has brought Head in this list, but he is nowhere close to the top.
Brendon McCullum holds his name in the list of batsmen with the fastest century in the Test format. He made this record possible in his final Test match, proving his worth even in his last game in this format. This match came back in 2016, when New Zealand hosted Australia for a two-match Test series.
New Zealand was batting first in this game, and McCullum utilised this opportunity to his best. The team stood at the score of 32/3 when McCullum stepped in to bat. Despite wickets falling continuously from one end, he continued to onslaught the Australian bowlers, as if he was playing a T20I game against them.
This helped McCullum to first score a half-century in 34 balls. Later, he continued to bring up a century in the next 20 balls, creating a record of the fastest century in the Test format. He ended up scoring 145 runs off just 79 balls with 21 fours and 6 sixes, which helped New Zealand to post a good total, and McCullum also to remember his last game.
However, the match didn’t go in New Zealand’s favour, despite him showing his heroics. The team ended up losing to Australia by 7 wickets, still it was McCullum who got the limelight. Even in his last game, he showed that he had much more cricket left in him to play aggressively.
Before Brendon McCullum, this record was held by a legend for three decades. And it was none other than Sir Viv Richards. He made this record in 1986, when every team was scared to face the West Indies in a Test match. It was the iconic England tour of the West Indies, as both teams faced each other in the 5th Test, which turned out to be historic.
West Indies had started this game and they went on to score 474 runs, with Desmond Haynes scoring a century. In return, England got all out at the score of 310. Now, it was time for the West Indies to bat yet again and give a target to England. Batting in the second innings, it seemed that Viv Richards was in a hurry to end the innings.
Being the captain of the team, he led them from the front to give a massive target to England. He went on to complete his test century in just 56 balls, which created a new benchmark in the game. After this, he went on to score a few more runs before declaring the team’s innings. Richards remained not out after scoring 110 runs off 58 balls with 7 fours and 7 sixes.
The West Indies declared at 246/2, and England was given a massive target of 411 runs. Chasing this target against the West Indies at their home ground was near to impossible. England fell down after scoring just 170 runs, which allowed the West Indies to win the game. Viv Richards also received the POTM award for his magnificent knock.
Former Pakistani cricketer, Misbah-ul-Haq also has his name in this list. He came out as a defining batsman in the Pakistan cricket team, taking them to new heights in the Test format. And with his knock against Australia, fans were delighted to watch him get so close to the record of Sir Viv Richards. It happened during the second Test between Pakistan and Australia in 2014 at Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan was batting first in this game, and the team ended up scoring 570 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the first innings. Misbah-ul-Haq was able to score 101 runs in this innings but it was in the typical Test match style. Following this, Australia was able to score just 261 runs, avoiding the follow-on.
And now batting once again, Misbah-ul-Haq decided to spice the game up. As the opening batsmen failed to perform, he decided to take the job in his hands and provide a massive total to Australia. He ended up bringing a century in just 56 balls, with 11 fours and 5 sixes, getting his name in this record list. Pakistan also declared their innings after scoring 293/3.
Australia had a massive target of 603 runs set against them. They tried their best to chase it down, but failed miserably against the tough bowling line-up of Pakistan. In the end, Pakistan was able to win this game by a massive margin of 356 runs, as Misbah-ul-Haq received the POTM award for his prolific tons.
The Australian legend also has his name in the list of batsmen scoring the fastest centuries in the Test format. Adam Gilchrist, who used to dominate for the team in the Test format, helped Australia to score well in the same before T20Is were truly adapted to the game. This happened in the 2006 Ashes, which were also hosted by Australia, making it a bit similar to the current Ashes.
The third match was being played at WACA, and Australia decided to bat first. The team scored just 244 runs in the first innings, as Adam Gilchrist failed to shine for them, getting out for a duck. England followed with a score of 214 runs only, as Australia decided to decimate the English bowlers in their second innings.
The team had a great innings with two batsmen scoring half-centuries, and three scoring centuries. Out of these, Adam Gilchrist remained the talk of the town for his glorious ton. Gilchrist was able to score his century in just 57 balls, which helped him to get a lot closer to the record than anyone would have thought. He finished by scoring 102 runs off 59 balls, as Australia also declared at 527/5.
England tried its best to chase, with Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, and Kevin Pietersen bringing some big knocks. But they did not get the support from the other batsmen, as the team got all out at the score of 350. Australia ended up winning this game by a huge margin of 206 runs, as Adam Gilchrist missed out on the POTM award.
The record of the fastest century in the Test format was held the longest by Jack Gregory. One of the finest batsmen produced by Australia, he also played an important role in uplifting the game within the country in its initial phases. During the Australia tour of South Africa in 1921, Gregory set the record for the fastest century in the longest format.
The second match of the Test series was being played at Johannesburg, as Australia were batting first in the game. The team stood at the score of 128/2, when Gregory stepped in to bat. He went on to smash boundaries against the Proteas at their own home ground. This allowed Gregory to smash his century in just 67 balls, marking it the fastest for several decades.
He went on to score 119 runs for the team with 19 fours and 2 sixes, which allowed Australia to gain an upper hand. The team scored 450, as South Africa responded by scoring just 243 runs. The Proteas were given a follow-on but this time they decided to dominate the Australian bowlers with their impressive batting skills.
They were able to score 472 runs for the loss of 8 wickets before declaring their innings. Australia now had the target of 266 runs to chase, but they were short of overs. They were able to score just 7 runs in the game, before it was called off for a draw. But Gregory’s innings is still remembered by the fans.