Fastest to 4000 Test Runs

PlayerInnings to 4000 RunsTime TakenAvg After 4000 RunsMonth & Year Achieved On
Don Bradman (AUS)488y 32d94.49January 1937
Herbert Sutcliffe (ENG)688y 241d67.10February 1933
Everton Weekes (WI)719y 185d59.70July 1957
Viv Richards (WI)717y 41d59.93January 1982
Jack Hobbs (ENG)7518y 176d59.35June 1926
Wally Hammond (ENG)767y 15d58.97January 1935
Brian Lara (WI)766y 196d54.11June 1997
Leonard Hutton (ENG)7713y 47d58.01August 1950
Garry Sobers (WI)779y 117d59.12July 1963
Matthew Hayden (AUS)779y 227d57.67October 2003

Key Insights

Don Bradman is the fastest batter to score 4000 Test runs. The former Australian batter took 48 innings to get to the landmark.

Bradman had an average of 94.49 after he crossed 4000 runs, the highest by a batter in Tests. Explore Bradman’s insane cricketing achievements here.

Kevin Pietersen beats Bradman in terms of time. The former English batter needed three years and 151 days to score 4000 Test runs after his debut. 

Joe Root (3y 242d) and David Warner (3y 347d) are the other batters to accomplish the milestone within four years of their Test debuts.

Jack Hobbs, on the other hand, took the longest time. While he reached 4000 Test runs in 75 innings, he had to wait for 18 years and 176 days due to the First World War. Hobbs, though, was the first Test batter to reach the milestone.

Notably, Herbert Sutcliffe, who is positioned fourth in the list of fastest batsmen to 3,000 Test runs, took 70 innings to aggregate 4000 runs, the fewest among all openers in Test cricket.

65 innings taken by Virat Kohli are the fewest as a captain to score 4000 runs in Test cricket.

As one of Zimbabwe’s few Test double centurions, Andy Flower took the fewest innings to 4000 runs among wicketkeepers. He needed 90 outings to reach the landmark.

Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest batter to score 4000 Test runs. The Indian legend was 24 years and 224 days old at that time.