English cricket seems to have unearthed a few players of immense potential in recent years. The batting unit has been blessed by Joe Root for many years now, the Yorkshireman having made his Test debut at the end of 2012 and his ODI bow at the beginning of the following year. More recently, Harry Brook has emerged as a player of world-class ability and, like fellow Yorkshireman Root, he is a star in all formats of the game.
More recently still, two further players have emerged and demonstrated that they have the potential to become generational talents. Neither have yet done enough to truly earn comparison to Brook, let alone Root, but it is clear that Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell have the talent to excel for the national side in all three formats for many years to come.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Smith, who will turn 25 on the 12th of July 2025, is a little further along his journey than Bethell, a batting all-rounder who is still just 21. The latter is yet to score a first-class century but has certainly shown enough to suggest he will score plenty of them for England in time. Smith, however, boasts two Test hundreds, and the most recent of those saw him hit the joint-third fastest century for England in that format.
Smith Flirts with Record But Still Notches Hundred Before Lunch
Jamie Smith is something else đ pic.twitter.com/L3ND8ze2L7
â England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 4, 2025
Batting in the second Test of the five-match series against India, England were in big trouble. The tourists posted a mammoth 587 all out, having been put into bat, and Ben Stokesâ side slumped to 25/3 in response. Root and Brook then rebuilt a little before the former was dismissed. When Stokes went for a golden duck, the home side were in a perilous position at 84/5, more than 500 runs behind.
Smith came to the crease and he and Brook produced a Bazball masterclass, counterattacking when traditional wisdom would have seen them desperately trying to hold onto their wickets. They took the game to India and totally reversed the pressure, which is one of the most important aspects of the way Brendon McCullum wants his side to play.
The pair put on an unbroken stand of 165 in the morning session on the third day, with Smith bringing up a brilliant hundred before lunch. Brook went into the interval on 91 from 127 balls, which seemed decidedly pedestrian compared to Smithâs fantastic 102 from 82 balls.
Smith rarely put a foot wrong, reaching triple figures after playing false shots to just 7.4% of the balls he faced. Rarely has a batter scored so quickly and yet appeared so free of risk, Smith striking 17 boundaries en route to his 80-ball century. Facing a hat-trick ball first up, he made his intentions clear by hitting that delivery down the ground for a four.
He raced to 50 from 43 balls but then stepped up his scoring to reach 84 from just 62 balls. It seemed likely that the long-standing record for the fastest hundred in a Test by an Englishman would be broken, but in the end it wasnât to be. Even so, it was a remarkable innings by Smith, and it seems it will only be a matter of time before he, Brook, Bethell, or perhaps Ben Duckett set a new record.
Fastest Test Hundreds by an English Batter
For all the sense that Bazball is breaking new ground and this England team is scoring at an unprecedented rate, they have been unable to break a record that has stood since 1902. Over 120 years ago, Gilbert Jessop blasted Englandâs fastest Test century from just 76 balls. That is the official record, though a recent book has suggested that it was no more than 74 balls and possibly as few as 72.
Back then innings were measured more by time at the crease than balls faced. Moreover, the modern scoring system, where every ball was recorded, was not commonplace, and anyway, the original scorebook from the game against Australia is missing. However, journalist Simon Wilde argues in his book âChasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket’s Oldest Recordâ that Jessop brought up his hundred from fewer balls than the official mark.
By cross-referencing various reports of the match and other sources, he is confident that the true record is definitely 74 at the most. Whether it is 76, 74, 72, or anywhere in between, though, it remains a record that players such as Ian Botham, Stokes, Brook and even Smith have been unable to beat.
At the time of writing, the second Test against India is ongoing and such is the beautiful chaos this England team frequently creates, who knows what might happen. However, as things stand, these are the fastest Test hundreds for England.
Gilbert Jessop, 76 Balls v Australia in 1902
We may never know how many balls he faced but it is possible the record may be revised down to 74 in the future. Considered one of the fastest scorers the game has ever seen, his record is even more remarkable because at that time, a six was only awarded if the ball was hit clean out of the ground. He hit 17 fours, but more than one of these would have been a six using more modern laws.
Jonny Bairstow, 77 Balls v New Zealand in 2022
Bairstow came so close to beating the official mark of Jessop but came up just short.
Harry Brook, 80 Balls v Pakistan in 2022
Brook announced himself in some style by scoring his first Test ton off just 80 balls in Rawalpindi. He was one of four centurions on an incredible day of cricket which saw England plunder 506!
Jamie Smith, 80 Balls v India in 2025
Smith came up short this time but Jessopâs record is surely within his reach in the future.
Ben Stokes, 85 Balls v New Zealand in 2015
Stokes leads this England team from the front and he will be delighted that others have gone past his mark.
But the Apprentices Trail in the Masterâs Wake
Whilst Englandâs 76-ball record has stood for well over a century, the fastest Test hundred ever is considerably quicker. Back in 2016, triple figures were reached in just 54 balls. The man to set the mark? Brendon McCullum! Baz is a coach who walked the walk, and it may be some time before that amazing feat is bettered.