Notably, half of the top 10 fastest Test centuries have come in Perth.
The highly anticipated Ashes 2025 is off to a blazing start. If Day 1 of the Ashes 2025 opener belonged to the veteran Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, the second day of this Test would surely be remembered for the magnificent knock of Travis Head. With an explosive ton, the batter has now made it to the chart of top 10 fastest hundreds in Test cricket (by balls faced).
Let’s look at the list of the top 10 fastest hundreds in Test cricket.
The New Zealand batter achieved the feat while leading the side in the second red-ball fixture against Australia at home in February 2016. Brendon McCullum’s 54-ball ton still stands as the fastest century in Test history. He later converted the record-breaking ton to a sublime 145-run knock off 79 deliveries.
The legendary batter, Vivian Richards, is seated second in the list of fastest hundreds in Test. He had slammed a brisk 56-ball hundred in the fifth fixture of the England series in April 1986. The West Indies captain also shattered his previous record of smashing the most sixes for the side in the format with a total of seven maximums during the innings. He remained unbeaten on 110 in 58 balls.
The Pakistan skipper, Misbah-ul-Haq, had achieved this feat while notching up twin centuries against Australia in 2014. His first-innings score of 101 came in 168 balls, reflecting a gritty knock to extend the total after back-to-back hundred and a double century from Azhar Ali and Younis Khan. But in the second innings, the batter took just 56 balls to reach the milestone and remained unbeaten on 101.
Adam Gilchrist’s 57-ball ton during the Ashes 2006 is still the fastest century in the history of the prestigious tournament. Notably, this explosive knock came after registering a four-ball duck in the first innings in Perth and placed him fourth in the chart of fastest hundreds in Test.
Former Australia batter Jack Gregory had claimed the record in Johannesburg, South Africa, back in November 1921. After putting up a brisk 67-ball century, he went on to add 19 more runs to the tally in another 18 balls.
The West Indies batter, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, had scored a century off only 69 deliveries during the series opener against the Aussies in April 2003. But he could not add a single run in the tally and was dismissed on the same score three balls later.
Star Australian opener David Warner equalled Chanderpaul’s feat during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in 2012. Following a below-par total of India in the first innings, the opening pair of Warner and Ed Cowan had notched up a mammoth 214-run partnership. After reaching his ton off 69 balls, he went on to extend the domination with a remarkable 180 off 159 deliveries.
England had scripted an unexpected comeback on the Ashes 2025 opening day in Perth following the early heroics of Starc. After getting bundled out for only 172, the visitors managed a crucial 40-run lead in the first innings. But Ben Stokes and Co. could not build on the advantage, replicating a similar underwhelming show with the willow in their second innings.
While chasing a 205-run target, Head provided a smashing start to the hosts’ innings, alongside debutant Jake Weatherald. The 31-year-old also brought up his century off just 69 deliveries. The whirlwind 123-run knock off just 83 balls also became the second-fastest hundred in the Ashes history, just behind Adam Gilchrist’s near two-decade-long record of reaching the milestone in only 57 balls.
While captaining the West Indies in Australia in December 2009, the swashbuckling opener amassed a blazing hundred off 70 balls. Chris Gayle, who is known for his fireworks in the white-ball format, also etched his name in the elite Test list.
Another Caribbean opener, Roy Fredericks, had slammed a 71-ball century in Australia in December 1975. His magnificent 169 runs off 145 deliveries, followed by an 149-run knock from captain Clive Lloyd and a few other crucial contributions, had helped the West Indies to register a dominating innings defeat over the Baggy Greens on their home soil.
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| PLAYER | MATCH | BALLS FACED | VENUE | YEAR |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand vs Australia | 54 | Christchurch | 2015/16 |
| Vivian Richards | West Indies vs England | 56 | St John’s | 1985/86 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan vs Australia | 56 | Abu Dhabi | 2014/15 |
| Adam Gilchrist | Australia vs England | 57 | Perth | 2006/07 |
| Jack Gregory | Australia vs South Africa | 67 | Johannesburg | 1921/22 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul | West Indies vs Australia | 69 | Georgetown | 2002/03 |
| David Warner | Australia vs India | 69 | Perth | 2011/12 |
| Travis Head | Australia vs England | 69 | Perth | 2025/26 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies vs Australia | 70 | Perth | 2009/10 |
| Roy Fredericks | West Indies vs Australia | 71 | Perth | 1975/76 |
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