The traditional way of recording the length of a batters innings was to use the minutes they were at the crease. Since the advent of computerised scoring (in the early 1990s) in county scoring, the number of balls faced has been used as the yardstick. IN addition, these records relate to the first 50, first 100, or first 200 runs which a batter has scored
Some of the feats of fast scoring have come when batters have faced non-regular bowlers in situations when a team needs to concede quick runs in order to set-up a declaration and a run-chase. These situations are denoted by the symbol (#) below.
Fastest Fifties (0 to 50)
MP Maynard 50 in 14 mins v Yorkshire at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 1987 (#)
DJ Shepherd 51* in 15 mins v Australians at Swansea, 1961
MP Maynard also went from 50 to 100 in 11 mins v Kent at Swansea, 1992 (#)
MP Maynard 50 off 19 balls v Yorkshire at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 1987 (#)
DJ Shepherd 51* off 21 balls v Australians at Swansea, 1961
DS Harrison 50 off 21 balls v Leicestershire at Leicester (Grace Road), 2008
MP Maynard 50 off 22 balls v Yorkshire at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 1987 (#)
MP Maynard also went from 50 to 100 off 13 balls v Kent at Swansea, 1992 (#)
TM Moody 50* in 11 mins for Warwickshire at Swansea, 1990 (#)
G Chapple 50* in 12 mins for Lancashire at Old Trafford, 1993 (#)
W Voce 50* in 20 mins for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, 1931
Fastest hundreds (0 to 100)
WGA Parkhouse 108 in 70 mins v Northamptonshire at Northampton, 1961
Majid Khan 100* in 70 mins v Warwickshire at Edgbaston, 1972
M de Lange 100* in 74 mins v Northamptonshire at Northampton, 2020
M de Lange 100* off 62 balls v Northamptonshire at Northampton, 2020
GP Butcher 100* off 64 balls v Oxford University at The Parks, 1997
WGA Parkhouse 108 off 79 balls v Northamptonshire at Northampton, 1961
Majid Khan 100* off 80 balls v Warwickshire at Edgbaston, 1972
G Chapple 100* in 21 mins (27 balls) for Lancashire at Old Trafford, 1993 (#)
TM Moody 100* in 26 mins for Warwickshire at Swansea, 1990 (#)
W Voce 100* in 45 mins for Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, 1931
Fastest Double Hundreds (0 to 200)
MJL Turnbull 200* in 188 mins v Worcestershire at Swansea, 1937
AHT Donald 200* in 201 minutes v Derbyshire at Colwyn Bay, 2016
AHT Donald 200* off 123 balls v Derbyshire at Colwyn Bay, 2016
CH Lloyd 201* in 120 mins for West Indians at Swansea, 1976