After the retirement of Virat Kohli and Angelo Matthews from test cricket, here are the top ten active batters with most hundreds in test cricket. Steve Smith and Joe Root lead the list.
Test cricket, mostly called the purest format of the game, has seen some of the greatest cricketers and batters showing their skills with patience, stroke-making ability and the perseverance to bat long and score. Past greats and legends like Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis and many others dominated test cricket during their time. But, with modern cricket kicking in, this time we will look at the list of active players with most hundreds in test cricket.
Players with most Test centuries in cricket history
Before we talk about the current active cricketers, we should and must take a look at all the batters who dominate the overall list. As we all know, Sachin Tendulkar is the batter with most test centuries in world cricket. In fact, his record of 100 international tons might not get broken ever in cricket history.
Before Sachin broke into the scene, there was Sir Don Bradman, who had retired as the batter with most test centuries (29) and later the little master Sunil Gavaskar broke his record and finished his career with 34 test centuries. But, do they come in the list of players with the most test centuries? Let's take a look at that.
| Player |
Span |
Mat |
Inns |
Runs |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) |
1989-2013 |
200 |
329 |
15921 |
53.78 |
51 |
68 |
| Jacques Kallis (ICC/SA) |
1995-2013 |
166 |
280 |
13289 |
55.37 |
45 |
58 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) |
1995-2012 |
168 |
287 |
13378 |
51.85 |
41 |
62 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) |
2000-2015 |
134 |
233 |
12400 |
57.40 |
38 |
52 |
| Joe Root (ENG) |
2012-2024 |
152 |
278 |
12972 |
50.87 |
36 |
65 |
| Rahul Dravid (ICC/IND) |
1996-2012 |
164 |
286 |
13288 |
52.31 |
36 |
63 |
Steve Smith (AUS)
|
2010-2024 |
113* |
201 |
9949 |
56.52 |
34 |
41 |
| Younis Khan (PAK) |
2000-2017 |
118 |
213 |
10099 |
52.05 |
34 |
33 |
| Sunil Gavaskar (IND) |
1971-1987 |
125 |
214 |
10122 |
51.12 |
34 |
45 |
| Brian Lara (ICC/WI) |
1990-2006 |
131 |
232 |
11953 |
52.88 |
34 |
48 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) |
1997-2014 |
149 |
252 |
11814 |
49.84 |
34 |
50 |
So, sadly, one of the greatest cricketers in cricket history, Sir Don Bradman, does not even come in the top 10 batters with the most test tons in cricket history. Interestingly, only Joe Root is the active cricketer on that list. Hence, you already know who the active cricketer with the most test tons is: Joe Root.
Most Test Centuries by active cricketers
#10. Ben Stokes | 13
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Regarded as one of the best test cricketers of the 2010s and 2020s, Ben Stokes is perhaps the greatest match-winner of modern cricket. The southpaw batter is as lethal with the bat in the lower middle order and can change his gear with regard to the needs of the game.
Not only that, his skill to bat with the tail and chase nearly impossible totals in the last inning is quite remarkable.
Stokes has 13 test centuries against his name in 105 test matches for the Three Lions. His 258 in just 198 balls against South Africa in Cape Town saw him make the fastest test double century by any English cricketer. That is also the highest test score by a batter batting at number six.
And, yes, who can forget his immortal innings of 135 at Edgbaston in the 2019 Ashes Test, where he single-handedly achieved England's highest successful run chase in Tests, with Jack Leach at the other end.
#9 Tom Latham | 13
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Tom Latham, the Kiwi opener, is surely one of the best top-order batters of this generation. Although he has always been in the shadow of Kane Williamson, Latham has contributed well to his country since his test debut in 2014. In the last ten years, Latham has played 81 test matches and scored 5516 test runs so far, including 13 test centuries, which places him at number nine in this list.
Latham's unbeaten 264 against Sri Lanka in Wellington in 2018 is the highest score by any opener while carrying his bat. Not only that, he is only the second Kiwi cricketer to carry his bat in test cricket.
Latham is currently the vice-captain of the test team and one of the reasons for New Zealand's success in recent years.
#8. Mominul Haque | 13
Mominul Haque, the stylish and gritty test batter from Bangladesh, is at No. 8 on this list with 13 test tons. The top-order batter started his test career with a record-breaking 181 against Sri Lanka, which is the highest debut score by any Bangladeshi batter.
Since then, he has been one of the pillars of the Bangladeshi batting lineup in tests. From 2013 to 2017, Haque averaged over 50 with the bat, which dropped to below 40 post-2022.
He is one of only six batters, including the likes of Don Bradman, Kumar Sangakkara and Jacques Kallis, to score seven test tons at a single venue; Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
#7 Usman Khawaja | 16
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Another top-order batter in the list, who has made tons of runs in the last few years for Australia. Usman, who was born in Pakistan and later moved to Australia as a young kid, made his test debut in 2011, replacing the great Ricky Ponting at number. At that time, he became the first Muslim cricketer to play for Australia. Despite a decent debut match, Khawaja was never given a long run and kept losing his spot in the team.
In 2015-16, he made another solid return to the test squad, but his failure in away tests always kept him in and out of the team. But, after his comeback with two tons in a single test match in 2022 against England in Sydney, Khwaja has emerged as one of the best batters for Australia. His move at the top of the order has also helped him regain his lost confidence at the international level.
Post a stunning 2023, where he scored 1210 runs in 13 test matches at 52.60, Khawaja won the 2023 ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award.
In 80 test matches so far, Khawaja has scored 5930 test runs, including 16 test tons and 27 fifty-plus scores. He is also the fifth-highest run-scorer (3165) in the World Test Championship's history, despite playing only 39 matches.
#6 Dimuth Karunaratne | 16
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Dimuth Karunaratne has been one of the greatest modern-day batters for Sri Lanka in recent years. The opening batter comes from the same St Joseph's College, which produced players like Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera. Dimuth debuted for Sri Lanka in tests in 2012 and gradually cemented his place in the team despite a duck in his debut inning.
In 2014, he scored his debut hundred against New Zealand in Christchurch and has scored 15 more in his test career since then. Three years later, he missed his first double ton by four runs when he played an outstanding knock of 196 against Pakistan in Dubai. In 2021, he scored hundreds in three back-to-back test matches, and one of them was a 244 against Bangladesh, his best in test cricket.
Dimuth is the highest run-getter for Sri Lanka in the World Test Championship with 2642 runs in 35 test matches so far. He has scored 6 tons in WTC history as well.
#5 Dinesh Chandimal | 16
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Another Sri Lankan in the list of active batters with the most test centuries prove why, despite not being considered a force, they have done well in recent times. Dinesh Chandimal, one of the most underrated cricketers going around, has climbed up in the list with a stunning hundred (116) against New Zealand at Galle.
Chandimal, just like Angelo Mathews, emerged on the scene as one of the best talents in the country and became a mainstay in the middle order after the retirement of the legendary Sangakkara-Jayawardene pair. At 23, he was chosen as the T20I captain and as Mathews' deputy in tests.
Read Also | Most Runs in WTC 2023-25
In 2013, Dinesh scored back-to-back centuries against Bangladesh and then played an unbeaten 162 against India in 2015 to nearly drag Sri Lanka to a win from an impossible position. His 164 against India in Delhi in 2017 was one of his remarkable innings after leading Sri Lanka to a 2-0 victory against Pakistan, away from home.
However, after that, he could not keep his form, and it wasn't until 2022 that he came back to his best with an unbeaten 206 against Australia at Galle to deny the mighty Aussies a test series win.
Till now, Chandimal has scored 16 test centuries in 88 test matches and looks like a strong candidate to be the first one to reach 20 test centuries among the active Sri Lankan cricketers.
#4. Cheteshwar Pujara | 19
Although he has not been a part of the Indian test team since 2023, Cheteshwar Pujara is still an active test cricketer. The modern wall of Indian cricket, who was among one of the rarest batters in this counterattacking generation to tire the bowlers down and play a whole day of test cricket, without giving it a second thought.
Pujara's temperament was one of the main reasons why he was called up for the national team in 2010. After a very impressive 72 against Australia on debut, it was only a matter of time before Pujara became a mainstay of the Indian team.
Soon, he became the joint-fastest Indian to 1000 Test runs, and quickly he became the new Wall of Indian cricket. Till now, in 103 test matches, Pujara has scored 7195, including 19 centuries.
Recent drop in form has kept in out of the Indian team, but his love for the game has kept him going at the domestic level. Pujara is one of the 13 players in test cricket history to bat in each day of a five-day test match.
Read Also: Most runs vs England in England for India in tests
#3 Kane Willamson | 33
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Kane Williamson has been the best Kiwi cricketer of the last two decades, and even the great Martin Crowe believed that he would finish as the greatest batter from New Zealand.
Debuted in 2010, Kane scored a ton against India in Ahmedabad and since then, has never had to look back. 24 years and 151 days old, Kane then became the youngest New Zealand cricketer to score 3000 test runs. In 2015, Kane hit his first double ton against Sri Lanka in Wellington and since then has scored five more test double tons.
Read Also | Most international runs in Cricket history
As a leader, Kane in 2018 became the fourth Kiwi captain to win a test series in England, followed by a first-ever series triumph against Pakistan, away from home.
Williamson, with 9276 test runs, is the player with the most test runs for New Zealand. He also holds the record for most test centuries scored by a Kiwi batter (33). He is also the quickest batter in test history (by innings) to reach 33 test tons.
Moreover, Williamson was also the first-ever Kiwi captain to lead them to an ICC trophy success when he led them to the WTC title in 2021 against India. The former Kiwi captain is also New Zealand's highest run-getter in WTC history with 2822 runs at 61.34 average and 11 test tons.
#2 Steve Smith | 36
After starting as a leg spinner in 2010, Steve Smith's journey to become one of the greatest test batters for Australia is quite remarkable. Despite getting banned for 12 months due to the ball-tampering scandal in 2018, Smith made a great comeback to test cricket and has scored 9 test centuries since 2019.
Smith scored his first century in 2013 against England at the Oval and scored three more in his next six matches. Before he was made the captain in 2015, he was already the No.1 ranked test batter in the world, scoring seven centuries in 17 test matches in 2014-15, including centuries in four consecutive test matches.
In 2017, he scored six test tons, including a double ton in just 11 test matches to win his second ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award second time, after winning it in 2015.
Though in the past few years, bowlers have found some ways to stop him from scoring runs with his unorthodox style, he scored five centuries in 13 innings from July 2022 to June 2023.
In 2024, Smith scored two consecutive test centuries in the Australia vs India Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. With 36 test tons in just 116 tests, he is now the active batter with the joint-most test tons.
#1 Joe Root | 36
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2021 Test Cricketer of the Year, nominated again in 2023 for the same award, most runs and tons in World Test Championship history, most test runs by any English batter, most test tons by any English batter; these are the few achievements Joe Root made in the last seven years.
The youngest of the "fav four", Root debuted in 2012 on England's tour to India and impressed with a 73 from 229 balls, and everyone saw his ability to stay at the crease and play long.
Five tests later, he scored his first test hundred in England against New Zealand in 2013. Two tests later, he followed that up with a 180 against Australia at Lord's.
Read Also | Joe Root vs Sachin Tendulkar: Who is ahead after 145 Test matches? Full analysis
Before he was made the captain in 2017, he had already played 53 test matches in five years with a batting average of over 50. 190 in the first inning as test captain, and all knew he would go on to break all the records for England. Root finished 2017 with 1481 for England despite scoring only two tons.
The story continued the same way for him in the following year, as despite scoring lots of fifty-plus scores, Root could score only two test tons as England struggled in tests as a team.
But, everything changed for him in 2021 as he started the year with one century and one double century in the first three tests. Another back-to-back hundred against India at home would mean he would go on to win the 2021 ICC Test Cricketer of the Year Award.
Root that year nearly broke the record of the most test runs scored in a calendar year with 1708 test runs, missing the record by 80 runs.
Since the start of 2022, Root has scored 13 test tons, scoring 3475 runs at an average of 53.46. In WTC, he is the highest run scorer with 5543 runs, with a record 18 centuries.
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