Social media credits Gustav McKeon of France for becoming youngest centurion in T20Is

Gustav McKeon made his debut for France last week. On Monday, he scored his maiden T20I century, becoming the youngest to do so.

Ayush Gupta

Vantaa, First Published Jul 26, 2022, 10:43 AM IST

The record for being the youngest centurion in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) has changed hands and has surprisingly gone to a cricketer from an associate nation. Gustav McKeon of France is the newest lad to hold the particular record, at 18 years and 280 days. It happened against Switzerland during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Europe Sub-Regional Qualifiers, with the match taking place at the Tikkurila Cricket Ground in Vantaa, Finland, on Monday. McKeon knocked a 61-ball 109 that included five fours and nine sixes at a strike rate of 178.69 before being run out in the final over, as batting first, France managed 157/5.

As a result of this ton, McKeon went past the previous record held by Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai, who had slammed a century against Ireland in 2019 at 20 years and 337 days, which was an unbeaten 162 in just 62 deliveries. For McKeon, he was involved in a classic 54-ball 76 in the opening game of the competition against the Czech Republic.

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McKeon leads the tournament's batting chart with 185 in a couple of innings. He possesses an average of 92.50 and an S/R of 160.87. Considering the match, the French were on the receiving end, with the Swiss winning it by a wicket, as skipper-cum-opener Faheem Nazir struck a 46-ball 67 and aided Ali Nayyer's unbeaten 16-ball 48, despite Zain Ahmad's four-for.

France is currently placed second in its group, behind Norway, while Switzerland is up to third, while Austria leads the chart in the other group. Below is the list of youngest centurions in the T20Is: