Percy Fender holds the fastest authentic first-class cricket century record

Percy Fender recorded the fastest authentic first-class century in cricket history during a 1920 match between Surrey and Northamptonshire. Fender reached the milestone in 35 minutes, a mark that has stood for over a century due to a distinction between genuine competitive play and matches with manipulated conditions. While other players have recorded centuries in less time, such as Glen Chapple and Mark Pettini, those efforts occurred in non-competitive settings often designed to accelerate scoring. Steve O’Shaughnessy also equaled the 35-minute mark in 1983, but that performance is widely excluded from record books for similar reasons. The official criteria prioritize the integrity of the match environment over raw time-based metrics. Fender finished that 1920 innings unbeaten on 113, with a high proportion of his runs coming from boundaries.

• 6:02 AMYahoo Sports — Fastest century in cricket: Why Percy Fender’s 35-minute first-class hundred from 1920 remains unbeaten after 106 years