Century-scorers are vital contributors in any form of cricket. Especially, Test centuries are always treated as a high achievement by the sport’s lovers.
For England, the founding nation of cricket, a Test win is rated high, and a Test century always paves the way to it. And thereby, the batters who can play a long innings in the game are always celebrated.
This article will list the top ten batsmen who have scored the most centuries for England in Test cricket.
Most Centuries for England in Test Cricket
| Player | 100s (Eng) | Inns | HS | 50s/100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root | 41 | 309 | 262 | 69/41 |
| Alastair Cook | 33 | 291 | 294 | 57/33 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 23 | 181 | 227 | 35/23 |
| Wally Hammond | 22 | 140 | 336* | 24/22 |
| Colin Cowdrey | 22 | 188 | 182 | 38/22 |
| Geoff Boycott | 22 | 193 | 246* | 42/22 |
| Ian Bell | 22 | 205 | 235 | 46/22 |
| Andrew Strauss | 21 | 178 | 177 | 27/21 |
| Ken Barrington | 20 | 131 | 256 | 35/20 |
| Graham Gooch | 20 | 215 | 333 | 46/20 |
| Len Hutton | 19 | 138 | 364 | 33/19 |
| Michael Vaughan | 18 | 147 | 197 | 18/18 |
| David Gower | 18 | 204 | 215 | 39/18 |
| Denis Compton | 17 | 131 | 278 | 28/17 |
| Herbert Sutcliffe | 16 | 84 | 194 | 23/16 |
Key Insights
Three modern-day batters, Alastair Cook, Joe Root, and Kevin Pietersen lead the list, with only the first two reaching the milestone number of 30 centuries in Test.
Cook was the first English batter to smash 30 centuries in Test cricket. Check Alastair Cook’s Test stats in detail here.
However, Cook and Root took ample time to complete the milestone as they were not part of the fastest ten batters to reach 30 Test hundreds.
Speaking about fastest milestones, Wally Hammond is the fastest English cricketer to reach 20 Test centuries, and you can check here where he ranks in the overall list.
The Cook-Root duo also tops the lists of most runs for England and most double centuries for England in Tests. And when it comes to triple centuries, six different cricketers from the country have contributed one each.
Len Hutton’s 364 against Australia at The Oval in 1938, which led to England’s highest-ever Test team total, is the highest-ever individual score for England in Test cricket.
Also Read | England’s Fearless Brand of Cricket in Focus
