Which batter owns the most centuries in Test cricket since Dec 2001? Joe Root (England) heads the record book’s data with 41 hundreds from 169 Tests, and Steve Smith (Australia) is next on 37.
Every hundred on this page is read ball by ball from the scorecards of 895 men’s and 24 women’s Tests, dated Dec 2001 to Sep 2026. Centuries made before that window are not counted, so long careers that started earlier show only part of their total. Afghanistan is absent too, since none of its games are in the open data.
Most Centuries in Test Cricket: How the List Works
A century is any innings of 100 or more. A double or triple hundred still counts as one century, so Kumar Sangakkara’s 319 for Sri Lanka adds the same to his tally as a score of 100. The main table ranks batters by hundreds and also shows each batter’s games, innings, run total and best score, which lets you judge how often each player converts.
Tap any column heading to sort the table. Sorting by innings shows who reached their tally fastest; sorting by runs shows how much the count follows sheer volume.
Because the data opens on 19 Dec 2001, players whose careers began earlier are cut short here. That is why Sachin Tendulkar (India) shows 18 and Ricky Ponting (Australia) 17. For the full run picture, see most Test runs, and for the one-day version see most ODI hundreds.
Most Centuries in Test Cricket (Men)
| Batter | M | Inns | 100s | Runs | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE Root England | 169 | 309 | 41 | 14,278 | 262 |
| SPD Smith Australia | 124 | 223 | 37 | 10,920 | 239 |
| AN Cook England | 161 | 291 | 33 | 12,472 | 294 |
| KS Williamson New Zealand | 110 | 195 | 33 | 9,515 | 251 |
| V Kohli India | 121 | 210 | 30 | 9,230 | 254* |
| KC Sangakkara Sri Lanka | 84 | 151 | 29 | 8,489 | 319 |
| HM Amla South Africa | 121 | 211 | 28 | 9,146 | 311* |
| JH Kallis South Africa | 88 | 149 | 28 | 7,322 | 224 |
| MJ Clarke Australia | 107 | 186 | 27 | 8,146 | 329* |
| DA Warner Australia | 112 | 205 | 26 | 8,786 | 335* |
| Younis Khan Pakistan | 80 | 149 | 24 | 7,135 | 313 |
| KP Pietersen England | 100 | 175 | 23 | 8,079 | 227 |
| GC Smith South Africa | 93 | 164 | 23 | 7,572 | 277 |
| IR Bell England | 114 | 198 | 22 | 7,416 | 235 |
| AB de Villiers South Africa | 105 | 175 | 21 | 8,182 | 278* |
| DPMD Jayawardene Sri Lanka | 78 | 137 | 21 | 6,615 | 374 |
| LRPL Taylor New Zealand | 109 | 191 | 19 | 7,597 | 290 |
| CA Pujara India | 100 | 175 | 19 | 7,160 | 206* |
| Azhar Ali Pakistan | 97 | 180 | 19 | 7,142 | 302* |
| SR Tendulkar India | 82 | 139 | 18 | 6,416 | 248* |
| RT Ponting Australia | 89 | 159 | 17 | 6,733 | 221 |
| TWM Latham New Zealand | 95 | 171 | 17 | 6,450 | 264* |
| S Chanderpaul West Indies | 75 | 132 | 17 | 5,995 | 203* |
| MEK Hussey Australia | 75 | 130 | 17 | 5,779 | 195 |
| FDM Karunaratne Sri Lanka | 99 | 189 | 16 | 7,113 | 244 |
Most Test Centuries for India
| Batter | M | Inns | 100s | Runs | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V Kohli India | 121 | 210 | 30 | 9,230 | 254* |
| CA Pujara India | 100 | 175 | 19 | 7,160 | 206* |
| SR Tendulkar India | 82 | 139 | 18 | 6,416 | 248* |
| R Dravid India | 79 | 141 | 16 | 5,902 | 270 |
| V Sehwag India | 75 | 132 | 15 | 5,886 | 319 |
| VVS Laxman India | 76 | 129 | 12 | 5,411 | 200* |
| AM Rahane India | 82 | 143 | 12 | 5,067 | 188 |
| RG Sharma India | 66 | 116 | 12 | 4,301 | 212 |
| KL Rahul India | 67 | 120 | 11 | 4,134 | 199 |
| M Vijay India | 59 | 104 | 11 | 3,877 | 167 |
Most Test Hundreds by Country
| Team | Leader | Total | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | V Kohli | 30 hundreds | 121 |
| Australia | SPD Smith | 37 hundreds | 124 |
| England | JE Root | 41 hundreds | 169 |
| South Africa | HM Amla | 28 hundreds | 121 |
| New Zealand | KS Williamson | 33 hundreds | 110 |
| Pakistan | Younis Khan | 24 hundreds | 80 |
| Sri Lanka | KC Sangakkara | 29 hundreds | 84 |
| West Indies | S Chanderpaul | 17 hundreds | 75 |
| Bangladesh | Mushfiqur Rahim | 14 hundreds | 100 |
| Zimbabwe | BRM Taylor | 6 hundreds | 31 |
| Ireland | L Tucker | 1 hundreds | 9 |
Most Centuries in Women's Test Cricket
| Batter | M | Inns | 100s | Runs | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Sutherland Australia | 7 | 10 | 4 | 715 | 210 |
| HC Knight England | 14 | 25 | 2 | 974 | 168* |
| EA Perry Australia | 14 | 22 | 2 | 904 | 213* |
| NR Sciver-Brunt England | 12 | 20 | 2 | 866 | 169* |
| S Mandhana India | 8 | 15 | 2 | 780 | 149 |
| Shafali Verma India | 7 | 14 | 1 | 640 | 205 |
| TT Beaumont England | 12 | 20 | 1 | 614 | 208 |
| BL Mooney Australia | 9 | 14 | 1 | 578 | 106 |
| CM Edwards England | 9 | 18 | 1 | 563 | 114* |
| SC Taylor England | 5 | 9 | 1 | 424 | 115 |
The Top of the Most Test Hundreds List
Root’s 41 came from 309 innings. Smith has 37 from just 223, so he has needed far fewer trips to the crease for each hundred. Alastair Cook (England) and Kane Williamson (New Zealand) share third on 33, but Williamson got there in 110 Tests against Cook’s 161.
Virat Kohli (India) is fifth with 30 in 121 Tests. Sangakkara (29 in 84 Tests), Jacques Kallis (South Africa, 28 in 88) and Younis Khan (Pakistan, 24 in 80) stand out for how quickly they scored hundreds within the data window.
Australia have the most names in the top 25 with five: Smith, Michael Clarke, David Warner, Ponting and Mike Hussey. England have four, with Root, Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell. The biggest single scores in the table are Mahela Jayawardene’s 374 for Sri Lanka and Warner’s 335*. The full list of big innings is on highest Test scores.
Most Test Centuries for India and Every Other Team
Kohli leads India with 30, well clear of Cheteshwar Pujara on 19 and Tendulkar on 18 within the data. Rahul Dravid (16) and Virender Sehwag (15, with a best of 319) follow. VVS Laxman, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma have 12 each.
The team table picks the top hundred-maker for each side. Mushfiqur Rahim leads Bangladesh with 14 from 100 Tests, Shivnarine Chanderpaul leads West Indies with 17, and BRM Taylor leads Zimbabwe with 6. Ireland’s leader is L Tucker with 1 hundred from 9 Tests.
Women play far fewer Tests, with 24 in the data. A Sutherland (Australia) leads with 4 hundreds in only 7 matches, topped by 210. Four players have 2 each: HC Knight and NR Sciver-Brunt of England, EA Perry of Australia and S Mandhana of India. More bat-and-ball lists are on the Test cricket records page.
Questions about Most Test centuries
Who has scored the most centuries in Test cricket?
Counting from Dec 2001, Joe Root (England) has the most with 41 hundreds in 169 Tests. Steve Smith (Australia) has 37, and Alastair Cook (England) and Kane Williamson (New Zealand) have 33 each.
Who has the most Test centuries for India?
Virat Kohli, with 30 hundreds in 121 Tests and a best of 254*. Cheteshwar Pujara is next with 19, then Sachin Tendulkar with 18 counted from Dec 2001 onward.
Why does Sachin Tendulkar have only 18 Test hundreds on this list?
The lists are built from ball-by-ball data that begins on 19 Dec 2001. Hundreds he made before that date are outside the data, so only 18 from 82 Tests are counted here.
Who has the most Test hundreds by country?
Root leads England with 41, Smith leads Australia with 37 and Williamson leads New Zealand with 33. Kohli tops India with 30, Sangakkara Sri Lanka with 29, Hashim Amla South Africa with 28 and Younis Khan Pakistan with 24.
Which woman has made the most Test hundreds?
A Sutherland (Australia) with 4 hundreds from 7 Tests, including a best of 210. Across the 24 women’s Tests in the data, no other player has more than 2.
Source: ball-by-ball match data from Cricsheet.org (ODC-BY). See how we compile these records.