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Incricket, acentury is a score of 100 or moreruns in a singleinnings by abatter. The term is also included in "centurypartnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for batters and a player's number of centuries is generally recorded in theircareer statistics. Scoring a century is loosely equivalent in merit to abowler taking afive-wicket haul, and is commonly referred to as aton orhundred. Scores of more than 200 runs are still statistically counted as a century, although these scores are referred to as double (200–299 runs),triple (300–399 runs), andquadruple centuries (400–499 runs), and so on. Reaching 50 runs in an innings is known as ahalf-century.
Scoring a century atLord's cricket ground inLondon earns the batter a place on theLord's honours boards.[1]
Centuries were uncommon until the late 19th century because of the difficulties in batting on pitches that had only rudimentary preparation and were fully exposed to the elements. There is doubt about the earliest known century, but the most definite claim belongs toJohn Minshull, who scored 107 for the Duke of Dorset's XI v Wrotham atSevenoaks Vine on 31 August 1769.[2] This was a minor match.
The first definite century in a top-class match was scored byJohn Small when he made 136 for Hampshire v Surrey atBroadhalfpenny Down in July 1775.[3] The earliest known century partnership was recorded in 1767 between twoHambledon batsmen,[4] who added 192 for the first wicket against Caterham. It is believed they wereTom Sueter andEdward "Curry" Aburrow.[5]
When Hambledon played Kent at Broadhalfpenny in August 1768, theReading Mercury reported: "what is very remarkable, one Mr Small, of Petersfield, fetched above seven score notches off his own bat". It is not known if Small did this in one innings or if it was his match total.[4] Hambledon batsmen Tom Sueter andGeorge Leer are the first two players definitely known to have shared a century partnership when they made 128 for the first wicket against Surrey at Broadhalfpenny Down in September 1769.[6]
W. G. Grace was the first batsman to score 100 career centuries infirst-class cricket, reaching the milestone in 1895. His career total of 124 centuries was subsequently passed byJack Hobbs, whose total of 199 first-class centuries is the current record.[7][8]
The first century inTest cricket was scored byCharles Bannerman who scored 165 before retiring hurt, in the first ever Test between Australia and England, played at theMelbourne Cricket Ground from 15 to 19 March 1877.[9] The first century partnership inTest cricket was betweenW. G. Grace andA. P. Lucas, batting for England, in the first innings of the only Test match between England and Australia on the Australians' 1880 tour of England, played at theKennington Oval (6–8 September 1880).
The current holder of the record for most centuries in Test cricket isSachin Tendulkar of India, who has scored 51 centuries.[10]
The firstOne Day International (ODI) century was scored byDennis Amiss, who made 103 forEngland againstAustralia atOld Trafford on24 August 1972.[11] It was nearly 25 years before the first ODI double century was scored byAustralianBelinda Clark, who reached 229* againstDenmark at theMiddle Income Group Club Ground,Mumbai during the1997 Women's Cricket World Cup.[12] Currently,Virat Kohli holds the record by scoring 51 ODI centuries, followed bySachin Tendulkar with 49 centuries,Rohit Sharma with 31 centuries andRicky Ponting with 30 centuries.
The firstTwenty20 International (T20I) century was scored byChris Gayle who amassed 117 runs against South Africa at Johannesburg in the first match ofICC World Twenty20 tournament in 2007.[13]Rohit Sharma andGlenn Maxwell jointly hold the record for most T20I centuries (5).
The fastest recorded century in Test cricket in terms of balls faced is held byBrendon McCullum, who scored 100 runs from 54 balls against Australia in 2016 atChristchurch, New Zealand, in his final test, beating the previous record of 56 held jointly byViv Richards andMisbah-ul-Haq. The record for the fastest century in first-class cricket in terms of time taken, in genuine match conditions rather than incontrived circumstances with deliberately weak bowling, is held byPercy Fender, who scored 100 in 35 minutes forSurrey againstNorthamptonshire in aCounty Championship match in 1920. The record for the fastest recorded century in terms of balls faced in first-class cricket is held byDavid Hookes, who scored 102 runs from 34 balls for South Australia vs. Victoria in aSheffield Shield match in 1982.
In One day International cricket (ODI), the fastest century is held by South African batsmanAB de Villiers, whose century came up in just 31 balls against the West Indies in the 2nd ODI at Johannesburg on 18 January 2015, and included 8 fours and 16 sixes.Corey Anderson (New Zealand) is second, scoring a 36-ball century against West Indies in Queenstown on 1 January 2014.Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) is third, scoring a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka in Nairobi on 4 October 1996.
Sahil Chauhan of Estonia hit the fastest century in Twenty20 international cricket against Cyprus on 17 June 2024. Chauhan brought up his century in 27 balls, going pastJan Nicol Loftie-Eaton's hundred in 33 deliveries.[14] Chauhan also brokeChris Gayle's record for the fastest century in Twenty20 cricket of 30 balls.
On 22 April 2019, Scottish cricketerGeorge Munsey scored 100 in 25 balls playing for Gloucestershire 2nd XI; his 39-ball total of 147 included 20 sixes.[15][16]
By scoring a century, taking five wickets in an innings or ten wickets in a match, a player ensures that their name is added to one of the famous Honours Boards in the Pavilion.