A young Trinidad and Tobago batsman, Iraq Thomas, has smashed the fastest Twenty20 century, taking just 21 balls, and beating Chris Gayle’s record by eight.

The 23-year-old, representing Scarborough/Mason Hall, hit the hundred during a match in the Tobago Cricket Association’s T20 tournament at Louis D’or on Sunday. He finished with an unbeaten 131 off 31 balls to help his side chase Speyside’s target of 152 runs in just eight overs.

Gayle had smashed the 30-ball century for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

According to Trinidad Guardian, Thomas had played a match earlier in the day before facing Speyside. In that match he slammed 97 off 53 against Charlotteville.

‘I was just very happy to reach my first T20 century,’ he said. But he admitted the size of the ground helped.  ‘You can even chase down 180 here, because it is not the biggest, and it gave me real confidence to go after the bowlers. I never thought I would get the runs as quickly as I did but after hitting a few, I realised that something special can happen out there and it came through.’