Against Northamptonshire in one of the last games of the 1920 season, Surrey had passed Northamptonshire's score and were in a dominant position when Fender batted. He was dropped early on but batting in a carefree, aggressive style, reached 100 runs in 35 minutes, as of 2016 still the fastest individual century on record in first-class cricket. In total, he scored 113 not out and shared a partnership of 171 runs in 42 minutes with Alan Peach. Although acknowledged to be a fast innings, Fender's century was not recognised as a record at the time; cricket records were not widely kept or studied, and other innings were believed to have been quicker. Surrey went on to win the match.