Fastest T20I Centuries by Australians: Speed Records

Australia have produced some of the most destructive batters in T20 International cricket. From Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell to Josh Inglis and Tim David, Australian hitters have repeatedly pushed the limits of how quickly a batter can reach three figures.

fastest fifties for Australia. David shattered Josh Inglis’ previous national record of 43 balls and produced one of the fastest hundreds ever scored by a batter from a Full Member nation.

Before David and Inglis, Australia’s benchmark had stood at 47 balls. Aaron Finch first reached that mark against England in 2013, before Inglis and Glenn Maxwell matched it against India in 2023.

Australia’s fastest-century list is therefore a record of different batting eras: Finch’s brutal opening power, Maxwell’s creativity, Inglis’ counterattacking approach and David’s extraordinary middle-order hitting.

Fastest T20I Centuries by Australian Batsmen

David’s 37-ball hundred sits comfortably at the top. Inglis follows with 43 balls, while Finch, Inglis and Maxwell share the 47-ball mark. Maxwell also owns a 49-ball century and two 50-ball hundreds, demonstrating why he has been Australia’s most prolific T20I century-maker.

1. Tim David – 37 Balls vs West Indies

Tim David completely rewrote Australia’s T20I century record at Warner Park in St Kitts in July 2025.

Australia were chasing 215 and had slipped to 87/4 when David took control.

Instead of rebuilding cautiously, he attacked immediately.

David reached fifty from only 16 balls, itself an Australian T20I record, and continued hitting with the same aggression. He eventually completed his century from 37 deliveries, six balls faster than Inglis’ previous Australian record.

He finished unbeaten on 102 from 37 balls, with six fours and 11 sixes.

Nine of those maximums came during a devastating three-over attack on West Indies’ spin bowlers. David struck four consecutive sixes off Gudakesh Motie as the chase turned from difficult to comfortable.

Mitchell Owen supported him with an unbeaten 36 from 16 balls, and their fifth-wicket partnership added 128 at extraordinary speed.

Australia reached 215/4 with 23 balls remaining.

The innings was particularly significant because David had spent much of his international career batting as a finisher.

Players in that role often arrive too late to score centuries.

On this occasion he came in early enough to face a substantial number of deliveries, and the result was Australia’s fastest T20I hundred by a huge margin.

2. Josh Inglis – 43 Balls vs Scotland

Josh Inglis held the Australian record for less than a year, but his 43-ball century against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2024 remains one of the finest innings of his international career.

Australia were 11/1 and then lost another early wicket, so Inglis could not simply attack without considering the match situation.

He managed both jobs.

Inglis rebuilt the innings while maintaining a rapid scoring rate and then accelerated dramatically through the middle overs.

He reached three figures in 43 deliveries, breaking the existing Australian men’s record of 47 balls.

Inglis eventually scored 103 from 49 balls, hitting seven fours and seven sixes.

Australia finished on 196/4 before bowling Scotland out for 126 to win by 70 runs.

The innings showed why Inglis has become such a useful T20 player.

He can open, bat in the middle order, keep wicket and accelerate against spin without needing many deliveries to settle.

His 43-ball hundred remained Australia’s fastest until David’s 37-ball performance against West Indies in 2025.

3. Aaron Finch – 47 Balls vs England

Aaron Finch became the first Australian man to score a T20I century when he destroyed England at Southampton in 2013.

He reached three figures from 47 balls and continued well beyond the milestone.

Finch eventually made 156 from 63 deliveries, smashing 11 fours and 14 sixes.

At the time, it was the highest individual score in men’s T20I history.

Australia posted 248/6 and won by 39 runs.

What made Finch’s innings special was its sustained power.

He did not simply race to 100 and slow down. He added another 56 runs after reaching his century and kept attacking until the latter stages of the innings.

His ability to hit straight and through the leg side made him exceptionally difficult to bowl to once he settled.

The 47-ball century remained Australia’s outright national record for more than a decade.

Josh Inglis equalled it against India in 2023, and Maxwell matched it only five days later.

4. Josh Inglis – 47 Balls vs India

Josh Inglis’ first T20I hundred came against India in Visakhapatnam in November 2023.

He reached the milestone from 47 deliveries, equalling Finch’s long-standing Australian record at the time.

Inglis finished with 110 from 50 balls, striking 11 fours and eight sixes.

His attack was especially impressive because it came against an Indian bowling attack on Indian soil.

Australia eventually made 208/3.

The match did not end in victory, as India successfully chased 209, but Inglis’ innings established him as much more than a supporting wicketkeeper-batter.

It also created an unusual statistical sequence.

Finch’s record had stood alone since 2013. Inglis finally equalled it on November 23, 2023.

Only five days later, Maxwell reached a century in exactly 47 balls against the same opponent.

5. Glenn Maxwell – 47 Balls vs India

Glenn Maxwell’s 47-ball century against India in Guwahati was one of the greatest T20I chases by an Australian batter.

India had scored 222/3.

Australia’s chase became increasingly difficult as wickets fell, and they still required 43 runs from the final two overs.

Maxwell refused to concede the match.

With Matthew Wade providing valuable support, he attacked the Indian bowlers and reduced the equation to 21 from the final over.

Maxwell then struck a six and three consecutive fours during the last-over finish, reaching his century in 47 balls while also completing the chase.

He finished unbeaten on 104 from 48 deliveries.

The innings gave Maxwell his fourth T20I century at the time and briefly put him level with Rohit Sharma for the men’s record.

Unlike many fast hundreds made while batting first, Maxwell’s came under the pressure of a huge chase.

That context makes it one of Australia’s most valuable T20I centuries.

Glenn Maxwell’s 49-Ball Century Against Sri Lanka

Maxwell also owns Australia’s sixth-fastest T20I century.

He reached 100 from 49 balls against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2016.

Opening the batting for the first time in T20 internationals, Maxwell produced an astonishing unbeaten 145 from 65 balls.

His innings contained 14 fours and nine sixes.

Australia reached 263/3, which was a world-record men’s T20I team total at the time.

Sri Lanka replied with 178/9, giving Australia an 85-run win.

The performance demonstrated Maxwell’s versatility.

He was normally used in the middle order, where his job involved manipulating spin and accelerating late.

As an opener, he received a full innings and used that opportunity to produce one of the most destructive Australian T20I knocks ever played.

The 50-Ball Century Club

Four Australian T20I centuries have been completed in exactly 50 balls.

Aaron Finch – 172 vs Zimbabwe

Finch’s 172 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2018 remains one of the greatest individual scores in T20I history.

He reached his hundred from 50 balls and continued to 172 from only 76 deliveries.

The innings included 16 fours and 10 sixes.

It surpassed his own previous world-record score of 156.

Finch’s 172 remained the highest individual men’s T20I score for years and showed his ability to maintain a huge strike rate across almost an entire innings.

Glenn Maxwell – 113* vs India

Maxwell reached another hundred from 50 balls during Australia’s chase of 191 in Bengaluru in 2019.

Australia had slipped to 22/2 before Maxwell took control.

He finished unbeaten on 113 from 55 deliveries, with seven fours and nine sixes, guiding Australia to a seven-wicket win.

It was another example of Maxwell’s ability to score fast centuries while chasing rather than merely batting first.

Glenn Maxwell – 120* vs West Indies

Maxwell reached his fifth T20I hundred in 50 balls against West Indies in Adelaide in 2024.

He eventually made 120* from 55 balls, hitting 12 fours and eight sixes.

Australia scored 241/4 and won by 34 runs.

The century also took Maxwell level with Rohit Sharma at the time for the most men’s T20I hundreds.

Mitchell Marsh – 103* vs New Zealand

Mitchell Marsh joined the Australian century club in October 2025.

He scored his maiden T20I hundred against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui, reaching the milestone in 50 balls before finishing unbeaten on 103 from 52.

Australia were chasing 157 but kept losing wickets around him.

Marsh effectively carried the innings, with Mitchell Owen’s 14 the next-highest score among Australia’s specialist batters.

Australia still reached the target in 18 overs, largely because Marsh struck eight fours and seven sixes.

Famous Australian T20I Centuries

Fastest does not always mean most important.

Australia’s T20I history contains several hundreds remembered for their context rather than simply their milestone speed.

Finch’s 172 Against Zimbabwe

Finch’s 172 remains Australia’s highest individual T20I score.

It combined a 50-ball hundred with another 72 runs of sustained aggression.

Few batters in international cricket have dominated almost an entire 20-over innings in the same way.

Maxwell’s 145* Against Sri Lanka

Maxwell’s 145* transformed Australia’s approach in Pallekele.

The innings helped set a world-record team total at the time and established Maxwell as one of the format’s greatest innovators.

Warner’s Maiden T20I Hundred

David Warner had been an international T20 star for a decade before finally scoring his first T20I century.

He made exactly 100 not out from 56 balls against Sri Lanka in Adelaide in 2019, reaching the milestone from the final delivery of Australia’s innings.

Australia scored 233/2 before dismissing Sri Lanka for 99.

Maxwell’s Hobart Rescue

Maxwell’s unbeaten 103 from 58 balls against England in 2018 was slower than his other major hundreds, but its match situation made it special.

Australia were 4/2 in the first over while chasing 156.

Maxwell rebuilt the chase, took 3/10 with the ball and then completed both the century and victory with a six.

Fastest Australian Centuries in T20 World Cups

Australia’s men’s T20 World Cup history contains many famous fifties and match-winning knocks, but no Australian man has scored a century in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup through the 2026 tournament.

That means there is currently no Australian World Cup century to rank by balls faced.

Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head have all played major T20 World Cup innings without reaching three figures.

Australia’s most important tournament batting performance remains Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 77 in the 2021 final against New Zealand.

He reached fifty from 31 balls and guided Australia to 173/2 as they won their first men’s T20 World Cup title.

The absence of an Australian World Cup hundred also demonstrates how difficult centuries are in tournament cricket.

Batters may face only a handful of games, knockout pressure can reduce risk-taking, and successful chases often finish before one player has enough deliveries to reach 100.

Impact of Big Hundreds in T20 Cricket

A rapid T20I century can completely reshape a match.

If a batter reaches 100 in 40 or 50 deliveries, they have personally scored at around 12 to 15 runs per over.

That allows the rest of the batting lineup to play with greater freedom.

Finch’s big hundreds demonstrate what happens when an opener controls almost the entire innings.

Maxwell shows a different model.

He often enters after wickets have fallen and uses rapid acceleration to repair the innings without reducing the run rate.

David’s 2025 century took the idea even further.

Australia were chasing 215 and had lost four wickets, yet his 37-ball hundred turned a difficult chase into a comfortable victory with almost four overs unused.

Fast centuries also create tactical problems.

Captains must move fielders to the boundary earlier.

Bowlers abandon attacking lengths and start using defensive yorkers or slower deliveries.

Once that happens, singles become easier and the batting side can control the innings even without hitting a boundary every ball.

Australia’s Evolution as a T20I Batting Side

The fastest-century list shows how Australian T20 batting has changed.

Finch represented the early specialist T20 opener.

He used power through conventional areas and could dominate an innings from the first over.

Maxwell added creativity.

His reverse sweeps, switch hits and ability to attack spin gave Australia a batter who could score at extreme rates without relying on one hitting zone.

Inglis brought another level of flexibility.

He can open, bat in the middle order and attack spin immediately.

David represents the modern finishing era.

He built much of his career around entering late and hitting sixes from the beginning of his innings.

When given more time against West Indies in 2025, he turned that finishing skill into Australia’s fastest century.

The national record has therefore fallen from 47 balls to 43 and then to 37 within a short period.

That progression reflects the wider evolution of T20 batting.

FAQs

Who has scored the fastest T20I century for Australia?

Tim David holds the Australian men’s T20I record with a 37-ball century against West Indies in 2025.

What was Josh Inglis’ fastest T20I century?

Josh Inglis reached 100 from 43 balls against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2024, the second-fastest Australian T20I hundred.

What is Glenn Maxwell’s fastest T20I century?

Maxwell’s fastest T20I hundred came from 47 balls against India in Guwahati in 2023.

How fast was Aaron Finch’s century against England?

Finch reached his century from 47 balls against England at Southampton in 2013 before going on to score 156 from 63 balls.

What is Australia’s highest individual T20I score?

Aaron Finch holds Australia’s individual T20I record with 172 against Zimbabwe in 2018.

Has an Australian scored a century in the men’s T20 World Cup?

No Australian men’s batter had scored a T20 World Cup century through the completed 2026 tournament. Australia’s tournament success has instead featured several decisive fifties and unbeaten match-winning knocks.