Stats: Fastest to 21 Test centuries as an opener

Australia has been faring well in the recent Ashes series. They have demolished England in every department of the game and that has yielded them a fantastic Ashes win. They are currently 3-0 up and are batting like champions in the Boxing Day Test match. England is battered and bruised and has little to play for.

That said, Australian vice-captain David Warner was absolutely amazing on the opening day of the Test cricket match. He was super dominant and scored almost all the runs Australia scored in the first session of the day. His strokeplay was nothing like his form shows in the recent past. Warner has been getting the starts but was not able to convert those into triple figures.

We have seen him struggle a bit with the new ball coming in fast and swinging away from him. However, his lack of runs in recent games has not hampered him mentally and that is a sign of a great player. David Warner played his shots on the morning of Day One in the third Test. He smashed almost every English bowler to different parts of the ground.

He brought up his century in a very David Warner kind of fashion. David Warner was stuck in the nineties for 19 long deliveries as Joe Root and England were playing with his mind. The Englishman finally brought on debutant Tim Curran. He bowled a fantastic delivery and Warner was caught off a short ball. However, it was a no ball and the very next delivery saw Warner go past his century.

Record-breaking century

David Warner’s century was a record-breaking one. He is one of those flamboyant openers who likes to play his shots and entertain the crowd. Warner got to his fifty in a matter of minutes as he dominated the England bowlers as well as his partner. At lunch, Australia had scored 102 for no loss out of which Warner had scored 83 runs in 94 deliveries.

He brought up his 21st century early on in the second session and entered the books of elite openers. The Australian southpaw joined Matthew Hayden by being the second fastest opener to get to 21st centuries. He is the joint fastest Australian to do the same.

Fewest innings taken to 21 centuries as an opener:

97 – Sunil Gavaskar

126 – Matthew Hayden/ DAVID WARNER

130 – Virender Sehwag

139 – Graeme Smith/ Alastair Cook

182 – Geoffrey Boycott