Harry Brook (Source: AFP)
In a significant development, England’s batting star Harry Brook achieved a major milestone on Day 1 of the 4th Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Harry Brook became the fastest player in Test cricket history to reach 3,000 runs in terms of balls faced.
Brook entered the match needing just seven runs to reach the landmark and got there in style. Playing his 34th Test, the right-handed batter crossed 3,000 Test runs after facing only 3,468 balls.
Harry Brook completes 3,000 Test runs
In doing so, Harry Brook broke the previous record held by former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist, who had reached the mark in 3,610 balls. Australia opener David Warner (4,047 balls), India’s Rishabh Pant (4,095 balls), and Virender Sehwag (4,129 balls) follow on the list.
Fastest to 3000 Test runs (by balls faced):
- 3468 – Harry Brook (England)
- 3610 – Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
- 4047 – David Warner (Australia)
It is important to note that this milestone also places Brook among an elite club in England’s Test cricket history. He has matched Denis Compton by reaching 3,000 runs in 57 innings (34 Tests). Only Herbert Sutcliffe did it faster for England, achieving the mark in 52 innings in 1930.
The overall record still belongs to the legendary Don Bradman, who reached 3,000 Test runs in just 33 innings.
Harry Brook's performance in Ashes 2025
Harry Brook has found the current Ashes series in Australia challenging. From seven innings so far, he has scored 214 runs at an average of 30.57 and a strike-rate of 78.97, with one half-century that came in Perth.
In 2025, Brook scored 712 Test runs from nine matches at an average of 44.50, including two centuries and four fifties. The only England batter ahead of him this year is Joe Root, who has 790 runs from the same number of Tests at an average of 56.42.
Brook’s success is not limited to Tests. In ODIs, he has scored 1,170 runs in 35 innings at an average of 36.56, with a strike rate of 103.26. In T20Is, he has 1,012 runs from 44 innings at a strike rate of 151.72.
