Fastest ODI hundreds for Australia
The record for the fastest ODI hundred for Australia belongs to Glenn Maxwell who raced to the milestone off just 51 deliveries.
Glenn Maxwell
Maxwell dished out his A game in the 2015 World Cup. During a pool A match against Sri Lanka at the Sydney cricket ground, batting first, Australia got a good start with Michael Clarke and Steven Smith scoring half-centuries.
And when that happens, Glenn Maxwell has the licence to go hammer and tongs towards the end. This is just what he did, batting at number 5 for Australia, as he was finally dismissed on 102 off 53 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and 4 sixes while batting at a strike rate of 192.45.
Maxwell brought up his ton off just 51 deliveries and made the record for the fastest hundred scored by an Australian in ODI cricket. Australia plundered 376 runs and won the match comfortably by 64 runs.
James Faulkner
The record that Maxwell broke belonged to James Faulkner who was on song with the bat in the 7-match ODI series on the Australia tour of India in 2013. Having already won Australia a match, courtesy of his explosive stroke play, Faulkner’s century came handy with Australia chasing 384.
This is the same match in which Rohit Sharma struck 209 off 158 deliveries. As a result, Australia had to go hard at the ball from the beginning. Their middle order suffered a collapse. Glenn Maxwell did try with a 22-ball 61 but it did not last long enough.
James Faulkner then went after the Indian bowling attack, plundering 116 runs off 73 deliveries at a strike rate of 158.90. His century came off only 57 balls.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith recently did a double, scoring consecutive centuries in the 3-match ODI series against India towards the end of 2020. Both the centuries came off 62 deliveries as he became the third quickest Australian to hit a century in ODI cricket.
The first of the two came in the first ODI when on the back of a 156-run partnership between David Warner and Aaron Finch, Steve Smith stepped up the pace, getting the measure of the bowlers. His 105 off 66 balls came at a strike rate of almost 160.
In the very next match, Smith followed the same template, taking 62 balls to bring up his century. David Warner and Finch again had a 142-run stand and Smith bettered his previous strike rate with 162.50 this time. Courtesy of Smith’s centuries, Australia won both the matches to take an unassailable lead in the series.