The article below provides statistical insights into the record-holders for the most centuries scored by a captain in a single calendar year in Test cricket.
Most Test Centuries by a Captain in a Calendar Year
| Player | Year | 100s | Innings | 50s | High Score | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 2006 | 7 | 18 | 4 | 196 | 1333 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 2005 | 6 | 28 | 6 | 207 | 1544 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 2008 | 6 | 25 | 6 | 232 | 1656 |
| Steven Smith (AUS) | 2017 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 239 | 1305 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 2021 | 6 | 29 | 4 | 228 | 1708 |
| Don Bradman (AUS) | 1948 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 201 | 1025 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 1986 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 140 | 1000 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 2003 | 5 | 19 | 5 | 209 | 1344 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 2007 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 213* | 982 |
| Michael Clarke (AUS) | 2012 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 329* | 1595 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2017 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 243 | 1059 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2018 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 153 | 1322 |
| Shubman Gill (IND) | 2025 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 269 | 950 |
Key Insights on Test Cricket Centuries Scored by Captains in a Calendar Year
Most Test Centuries Scored by a Captain in a Single Year
Ricky Ponting holds the record for scoring the most centuries as a Test captain in a calendar year with a whopping seven centuries in 2006 while leading Australia.
Ponting bettered his own joint record of six tons that he smashed in the previous year, 2005, as captain.
Three other captains have also made six Test centuries in a year: England’s Joe Root in 2021, Australia’s Steven Smith in 2017, and South Africa’s Graeme Smith in 2008.
There are 82 instances recorded in Test cricket where a captain scored a minimum of 3 Test centuries in a calendar year.
Captains with Five or More Test Centuries in a Year
The Indian duo of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill have scored five tons each in a year as the national Test captain, apart from the captains mentioned above.
Virat Kohli is the only batter apart from Ricky Ponting to score 5 or more Test centuries as a skipper of the team in a calendar year; he scored five centuries each in the calendar years 2017 and 2018.
As captain, Virat Kohli converted three Test centuries into double hundreds in 2016, repeated the feat with three more in 2017, and added one in 2019, making him the Test captain with the most double centuries (7) in history.
Sir Don Bradman of Australia is the first Test batter to score 5 or more centuries in a year as the skipper of the team.
There are eight other instances of a captain scoring at least 5 Test centuries in a calendar year.
Regional & Run-Scoring Records by Captains
In that calendar year (2006), Ricky Ponting amassed 1333 runs in just 18 innings at an astounding average of 88.86 with the help of his 7 tons and four other fifty-plus scores. Here’s when Ponting talk about how special the Sydney Test in 2006 still is!
28 times a captain has accumulated 1000 or more runs in a single year in Test cricket, with Virat being the only one to do it in three consecutive years.
Among the captains who have scored 5 Test tons in a calendar year, only Mahela Jayawardene and Shubman Gill* are the ones who haven’t crossed the 1000-run mark in that year.
Away from home, South Africa’s Graeme Smith in 2008, India’s Virat Kohli in 2015, and Shubman Gill in 2025 have all scored 4 centuries each to lead the pack.
At home, Michael Clarke (5) has the most Test tons as captain in a year, followed by five other instances of a captain scoring 4 centuries each.
Ricky Ponting is the only captain to score 4 or more Test tons at home in a year twice.
