Youngest cricketer to score an international century

Ireland’s Amy Hunter (b. 11 October 2005) made 121 not out on her 16th birthday in a One-Day International (ODI) against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe, on 11 October 2021. No cricketer – male or female – had previously scored a century in a senior international match at a younger age. Batting at number three, Player of the Match Hunter struck eight boundaries in her 127-ball innings as the visitors piled up 312 for 3.

India’s Mithali Raj (b. 3 December 1982) was 16 years 205 days old when she hit 114 not out in an ODI against Ireland in Milton Keynes, UK, on 26 June 1999. In the men’s game, Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (b. 1 March 1980) was 16 years 217 days old when he made 102 in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Nairobi, Kenya, on 4 October 1996.

Belfast schoolgirl Hunter, a right-handed batsman/wicket-keeper, plays her club cricket with the 2020 Women’s Super Series champions Typhoons alongside Ireland captain Laura Delany (68), with whom she shared a 143-run third-wicket stand at Harare Sports Club.

International cricket spans all three formats: Test matches (since 1877), One-Day Internationals (since 1971) and Twenty20 Internationals (since 2005).