Brendon McCullum’s ideology of counter-attacking batting in Test cricket, known as ‘Bazball’, has been successfully imprinted on the England team. Fans have started to believe that very soon someone will get past Baz and break his fastest Test hundred record.
Many people thought that the Bazball theory and McCullum’s style of play would not work in the subcontinent and swinging conditions in New Zealand. However, Ben Stokes and his teammates silenced those claims with some remarkable batting performances.
McCullum’s fastest hundred came in his final Test, off 54 balls
In his last Test, McCullum set the record for the fastest Test hundred, scoring one off just 54 balls against Australia. Interestingly, there are now several attacking batters who could potentially break his record.
Let’s take a look at three players who have the potential to surpass McCullum’s record for the fastest Test hundred:
- Harry Brook
Experts believe that Harry Brook’s Test cricket performance could break Brendon McCullum’s record. In just nine innings, Brook scored 809 runs with a remarkable average of 89.88 and a strike rate of 98.77. He won the Player of the Series award in Pakistan and contributed to England’s T20 World Cup victory. Brook’s recent 186(176) knock in the challenging New Zealand Test series proved he is an explosive batter with a ‘Bazball’ ideology. So, it wouldn’t be surprising if he manages to surpass McCullum’s record very soon.
- Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has been hailed as the flag-bearer of ultra-attacking batting by many Indian fans. His sensational knock of 97 in the second innings of the Sydney Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy marked a turning point. Since then, he has been India’s best Test batter and has shown his ability to score quickly. He could challenge Brendon McCullum’s record for the fastest Test hundred when he makes a comeback from his long-term injury.
- Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw is a not-so-known commodity in Test cricket at the moment. But, his aggressive style of batting is pretty well-known. If he got an opportunity to open for India in Tests, he is going to break a lot of milestones, including Baz’s fastest century record.
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