Century (cricket) facts for kids

Sachin Tendulkar from India has scored the most runs and centuries in Test Cricket.

A big screen showing Harmanpreet Kaur after she scored 150 runs and was still batting.

The Lord's honours board lists players who have scored centuries at Lord's.

In cricket, a century is when a batter scores 100 or more runs in one turn at batting, called an innings. It's a really big achievement for a batter!

When two batters work together and add 100 runs to their team's score, it's called a "century partnership."

Scoring a century is a huge milestone. Players' centuries are always counted in their career records. It's like a bowler taking five wickets in a game. People often call a century a ton or a hundred.

If a batter scores more than 200 runs, it's still a century, but it gets special names:

• Double century: 200 to 299 runs
• Triple century: 300 to 399 runs
• Quadruple century: 400 to 499 runs

If a batter scores 50 runs in an innings, it's called a half-century.

If you score a century at the famous Lord's cricket ground in London, your name gets added to the special Lord's honours boards!

First Centuries in Cricket History

Centuries were not very common a long time ago, before the late 1800s. This was because the cricket pitches were not well prepared and were open to the weather. It was much harder to bat!

The first known century was likely scored by John Minshull. He made 107 runs in a smaller match in England on August 31, 1769.

The first definite century in a major match was by John Small. He scored 136 runs for Hampshire against Surrey in July 1775.

The first time two batters definitely scored 100 runs together in a partnership was in September 1769. Tom Sueter and George Leer of the Hambledon Club made 128 runs together.

Most Centuries Scored

First-class Cricket

W. G. Grace was the first batter to score 100 centuries in first-class cricket in his career, reaching this amazing goal in 1895.

Later, Jack Hobbs broke his record. Hobbs scored an incredible 199 first-class centuries, which is still the record today!

Test Cricket

Tendulkar celebrating his 38th Test century against Australia in 2008. He scored 154 runs and was not out.

The very first century in Test cricket was scored by Charles Bannerman. He made 165 runs in the first-ever Test match between Australia and England in March 1877.

The first century partnership in Test cricket happened in 1880. W. G. Grace and A. P. Lucas teamed up for England.

Today, Sachin Tendulkar from India holds the record for the most centuries in Test cricket. He has scored 51 centuries!

One Day International Cricket

The first century in a One Day International (ODI) match was scored by Dennis Amiss. He made 103 runs for England against Australia in August 1972.

It took almost 25 years for the first double century in an ODI. Belinda Clark from Australia scored 229 runs (not out) against Denmark in 1997.

Currently, Virat Kohli holds the record for the most ODI centuries with 51. Sachin Tendulkar is second with 49 centuries.

Twenty20 International Cricket

The first century in a Twenty20 International (T20I) match was scored by Chris Gayle. He made 117 runs against South Africa in 2007.

Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell share the record for the most T20I centuries, both with 5.

Fastest Centuries

Scoring a century quickly is very exciting! Here are some of the fastest:

• Test Cricket: The fastest century in Test cricket was scored by Brendon McCullum. He reached 100 runs in just 54 balls against Australia in 2016.
• First-class Cricket: The fastest century in terms of time was by Percy Fender. He scored 100 runs in only 35 minutes in a match in 1920! The fastest in terms of balls faced was by David Hookes, who scored 102 runs from 34 balls in 1982.
• One Day International (ODI) Cricket: The fastest ODI century belongs to AB de Villiers from South Africa. He scored 100 runs in an incredible 31 balls against the West Indies in 2015.
• Twenty20 International (T20I) Cricket: Sahil Chauhan of Estonia hit the fastest T20I century on June 17, 2024. He reached 100 runs in just 27 balls against Cyprus! This also broke Chris Gayle's record for the fastest century in any Twenty20 match (30 balls).

Cricketers with Centuries in All Three International Formats

Some special cricketers have managed to score centuries in all three types of international cricket: Test, One Day International, and Twenty20 International. This shows how versatile and skilled they are!

See also

• List of cricketers by number of international centuries scored
• Nervous nineties