Harry Brook Creates History, Becomes Fastest Batter In The World To...

Harry Brook is the vice-captain of England’s Test team in the ongoing Ashes series. The 26-year-old right-handed batter from Yorkshire, who made his Test debut for the Poms on September 8, 2022, at The Oval against South Africa, entered his name in the history books on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by becoming the fastest batter in the world to score 3000 runs (in terms of balls taken) in Test cricket.

Brook needed seven runs in the fourth Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series to join the 3000-run club in Tests, and he achieved the objective during his 41-run knock on Friday (December 26) in front of more than 93,000 fans.

The right-handed batter needed 3468 balls to score 3000 runs in Test cricket,

and it helped him become the fastest batter in the world to reach 3000 Test runs (where ball-by-ball data is available).

Before Brook, the record of being the fastest batter to 3000 Test runs was in the name of former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist.

Gilchrist, who played 96 Tests for the Baggy Greens from 1999 to 2008, needed 3610 balls to reach the 3000-run mark in the five-day format of the game.

Brook’s England teammate Ben Duckett is second on the list of batters with fastest to 3000 runs in Tests. The left-handed batter scored his 3000th Test run on Saturday (December 27) on the 3474th ball he faced.

Fastest to 3000 Test runs (by balls faced)

PLAYER	COUNTRY	BALLS
Harry Brook	England	3468
Ben Duckett	England	3474
Adam Gilchrist	Australia	3610
David Warner	Australia	4047
Rishabh Pant	India	4095
Virender Sehwag	India	4129

In terms of innings, Brook is the joint-second-fastest English batter to score 3000 Test runs. Brook joined the 3000-run club in his 57th Test innings. Legendary Denis Compton also needed 57 innings to reach the 3000-run mark in the five-day format of the game in 1949.

Fastest to 3,000 Test runs (innings taken)

POSITION	PLAYER	COUNTRY	MATCHES	INNINGS
1.	Don Bradman	Australia	23	33
2.	Everton Weekes	West Indies	31	51
2.	Marnus Labuschagne	Australia	30	51
4.	Herbert Sutcliffe	England	33	52
4.	Brian Lara	West Indies	31	52
6.	Neil Harvey	Australia	31	54
6.	Viv Richards	West Indies	33	54
8.	Gary Sobers	West Indies	33	55
8.	Virender Sehwag	India	34	55
10.	Clyde Walcott	West Indies	33	56
11.	Denis Compton	England	34	57
11.	Harry Brook	England	34	57

The world record of being the fastest batter in the world (in terms of innings) to score 3000 runs in Tests is in the name of legendary Australian batter Don Bradman. Bradman scored his 3000th run for the Baggy Greens during his 33rd inning of the 23rd Test, which was played against England in Sydney from February 23 to 28 in 1933.