Batting Records

Test Stats: Most Centuries in Career

Test cricket is undoubtedly the most challenging format of the three, and compared to T20I and ODI, batters need to apply themselves more to get rich rewards. It is due to the variable playing conditions the Test matches are played in and the amount of help a bowler gets out of those surfaces. These factors definitely impact a batter in his quest for scoring runs & centuries for the team.

A batter’s career profile is usually measured by the number of centuries and, in turn, the amount of runs he has scored in the Test format. Here in this article, we will celebrate the Test legends on the basis of the centuries they have scored in international red-ball cricket.

Most Centuries in Test Cricket

PlayerInningsCenturiesHighest Score
Sachin Tendulkar (IND)32951248*
Jacques Kallis (SA)28045224
Ricky Ponting (AUS)28741257
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)23338319
Steve Smith (AUS)20636239
Joe Root (ENG)27836262
Rahul Dravid (IND)28636270
Sunil Gavaskar (IND)21434236*
Mahela Jayawardene (SL)25234374
Brian Lara (WI)23234400*
More Test Career Records

Most Test Runs in Career

Most Test Wickets in Career

Most Test Centuries in Career

Most Test Sixes in Career

Most 5-Wicket Hauls in Career

Most 10-Wicket Hauls in Career

Most Matches Played in Career

Key Stats

833 different players have scored at least a single century in the longest format of the game, and legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar leads the way with the most Test tons.

The former right-handed batter piled up a whopping 51 tons in international red-ball cricket in the 329 innings he played.

Tendulkar is also the leading scorer in the Test format, having accumulated 15921 runs at an astounding average of 53.78 during his 24-year-long storied career.

17: Apart from these 10 legends of Test cricket, 7 other batters have struck 30 or more Test centuries, and they are Younis Khan (34), Alastair Cook (33), Kane Williamson (33), Steve Waugh (32), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (30), Matthew Hayden (30), & Virat Kohli (30). Similarly, the number of batters who have scored 20 or more tons is 46, and 143 have struck 10 or more tons in Test cricket.

Sir Don Bradman’s average of 99.94 is the highest among batters who have scored at least 20 Test tons, and the next best is 58.67 by Ken Barrington, who scored 20 Test centuries in his career.

Brian Lara, who had 34 Test match hundreds, has notched up the highest international Test score (400*), followed by Matthew Hayden’s 380.