Cricket Records

Test Cricket

Test cricket is played between international cricket teams who are Full Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Unlike One Day Internationals, Test matches consist of two innings per team, having no limit in their number of overs. The duration of Tests, currently limited to five days, has varied through Test history, ranging from three days to timeless matches. The earliest match now recognised as a Test was played between England and Australia in March 1877; since then there have been over 2,000 Tests played by 11 teams. The frequency of Tests has steadily increased partly because of the increase in the number of Test-playing countries, and partly as cricket boards seek to maximise their revenue.

The most successful team in Test cricket, in terms of both wins and win percentage, is Australia, having won 340 of their 723 Tests (47.03%). Barring the ICC World XI, a rest of world team which played a single Test against Australia in 2005, the least successful team are Bangladesh who have struggled since their introduction to Test cricket in 2000, leading to questioning of their Test status.

 

Test Cricket Records: Batting (Individual)

Australian Donald Bradman, widely considered the greatest batsman of all time, holds several personal and partnership records. He scored the most runs in a series, has the most double centuries and was a part of the record fifth and sixth wicket partnerships. His most significant record is his batting average of 99.94. One of cricket's most famous statistics, it stands almost 40 runs  higher than any other batsman's average. Don Bradman is the only player in the world to have scored 5000 runs against a single opposition. He has scored 5028 runs against England.

Bradman still holds the following significant records for Test match cricket:

• Highest career batting average (minimum 20 innings): 99.94
• Highest series batting average (4 or more Test series): 201.50 (1931–32) and second highest 178.75 (1947–48)
• Highest ratio of centuries per innings played: 36.25% (29 centuries from 80 innings)
• Highest ratio of double centuries per innings played:  15.0% (next highest is 5%)
• Highest 5th wicket partnership: 405 (with Sid Barnes, 1946–47)
• Second highest 6th wicket partnership: 346 (with Jack Fingleton, 1936–37)
• Second highest score by a number 5 batsman: 304 (1934)
• Highest score by a number 7 batsman: 270 (1936–37)
• Most runs against one opponent: 5,028 (v England)
• Most runs in one series: 974 (1930)
• Most centuries scored in a single session of play: 6 (1 pre lunch, 2 lunch-tea, 3 tea-stumps)
• Most runs in one day's play: 309 (1930)
• Most double centuries: 12
• Most double centuries in a series: 3 (1930)
• Most triple centuries: 2 (equal with Chris Gayle, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag)
• Most consecutive matches in which he made a century: 6 (the last three Tests in 1936–37, and the first three Tests in 1938)
• Fastest Australian to reach 1000 Test runs (13 innings)
• Fewest matches required to reach 1000 (7 matches), 2000 (15 matches), 3000 (23 matches), 4000 (31 matches), 5000 (36 matches) and 6000 (45 matches) Test runs.
• Fewest innings required to reach 2000 (22 innings), 3000 (33 innings), 4000 (48 innings), 5000 (56 innings) and 6000 (68 innings) Test runs.
• Bradman has averaged over 100 in seven different calendar years (*qualification 400 runs). No other player has achieved this in more than two calendar years.

West Indies batsman Brian Lara has the highest individual score in Test cricket: he scored 400not out against England in 2004 to surpass the innings of 380 by Matthew Hayden six months earlier. Lara had held the record before Hayden, with a score of 375 against England 10 years earlier.  Lara also holds the test record of scoring the highest number of runs in a single over in a Test match, when he scored 28 runs off an over by Robin Peterson of South Africa in 2003.

Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 15,000 runs in Test Cricket. He scored 74 runs in his last test innings against West Indies, thus failing short by 79 runs to complete 16,000 runs in test cricket. He also holds the record for the most number of test fifties and test centuries. He got 68 fifties and 51 centuries.

Richards was a very powerful right-handed batsman with an extremely attacking style, besides being an excellent fielder, and a handy off-spin bowler. He hold the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in Antigua during the 1986 tour.

 

Test Cricket Records: Bowling (Individual)

Muttiah Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. He retired from Test cricket in 2010, registering his 800th and final wicket on 22 July 2010 from his final ball in his last Test match.At the start of his last match, Muralitharan was eight short of 800 wickets. At the fall of the ninth wicket of the Indian's second innings Muralitharan still needed one wicket to reach the milestone. After 90 minutes of resistance Muralitharan was able to dismiss the last Indian batsman Pragyan Ojha on the last delivery of the over and his Test career. By doing so he became the first bowler to reach 800 wickets in Test cricket.

Muttiah Muralitharan holds a number of world records, and several firsts:

• The most Test wickets (800 wickets as of 22 July 2010).
• The highest number of international wickets in Tests, ODIs and T20s combined (1320 wickets as of 22 July 2010).
• The most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level (67).
• The most 10-wicket hauls in a match at Test level (22). He is the only player to take 10 wickets/match against every Test playing nation.
• Fastest to 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750 and 800 Test wickets, in terms of matches played (indeed the only bowler to exceed 708 wickets).
• Only player to take 10 wickets in a Test in four consecutive matches. He achieved this feat twice.
• Only player to take 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation.
• Muralitharan and Jim Laker (England), are the only bowlers to have taken 9 wickets in a Test innings twice.
• 7 wickets in an innings against the most countries (5).
• Most Test wickets taken bowled (157), stumped (41) and caught & bowled (31).Bowled by Muralitharan (b Muralitharan) is the most common dismissal in Test cricket (excludingrun out).
• Most successful bowler/fielder (non-wicket keeper) combination – c. Mahela Jayawardene b. Muttiah Muralitharan (77).
• Most Man of the Series awards in Test cricket (11).
• One of only six bowlers who have dismissed all the eleven batsmen in a Test match. Jim Laker, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Geoff Dymock, Abdul Qadir and Waqar Younis are the others.
• Most Test wickets in a single ground. Muralitharan is the only bowler to capture 100-plus Test wickets at three venues, the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy and the Galle International Stadium in Galle.
• The only bowler to take 75 or more wickets in a calendar year on three occasions, achieving it in 2000, 2001 and 2006.
• Most ducks (dismissals for zero) ever in international cricket (across Tests, ODIs, and T20Is): 59 ducks total.

George Alfred Lohmann  is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets (10.75) and he has the second highest peak rating for a bowler in the ICC ratings. He also holds the record for the lowest strike rate (balls bowled between each wicket taken) in all Test history.

James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, Manchester, when he took nineteen wickets (19-90) in England's victory against Australia. Laker was the first player to take all 10 wickets in a Test match innings, ten for 53 in the Australians' second innings of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1956 (the only other bowler to take all 10 wickets is Anil Kumble of India in 1999). Having also taken nine for 37 in the first innings, Laker's match bowling figures was nineteen for 90: no other bowler has taken more than seventeen wickets in a first-class match.

Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with the ability to make the ball both swing and break from off or leg. In 1913–14, Barnes toured South Africa with MCC and played in the first four Tests of a five match series. He missed the last Test because of a financial disagreement. Barnes's 49 wickets on the matting pitches used in this series remains the world record for wickets taken in a Test series. In the second Test at the Old Wanderers ground in Johannesburg, he became the first bowler to take more than 15 wickets in a Test with figures of 8–56 and 9–103 resulting in a match analysis of 17–159. Only Jim Laker's match analysis of 19–90 in 1956 has since surpassed this feat.




Test Cricket Records: Fielding (Individual)

Rahul Dravid is a former Indian cricketer, who captained the national Test and One Day International (ODI) teams. Hailed as “The Wall”, Dravid has been described as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He was the second-highest run scorer and had taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket (210) at the time of his retirement.

 

 

Test Cricket Records: Wicket-Keeper

Mark Verdon Boucher is a former South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper (555). He became the first wicketkeeper in the history of test cricket to reach the milestone of 400 dismissals when he caught Danish Kaneria off the bowling of Makhaya Ntini on 10 October 2007 in the second test of the Bank Alfalah Test Series against Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

• Holds the record for the quickest 200 catches test matches.
• The first wicketkeeper to have effected 400 dismissals.
• The first wicketkeeper in the history of the game to make 500 Test match dismissals.
• Holds the record for highest score by a nightwatchman.
• He holds the record for the most dismissals (999) in Test cricket.
• Only wicketkeeper to score a fifty and effect six dismissals in an innings of Test match two times.
• Total of 555 dismissals is the record for wicketkeepers.
• Holds the world record for the highest ninth wicket test match partnership with Pat Symcox.
• Is statistically the most successful wicket keeper in the history of the game.
• Has completed the unique Test double of 5 000 runs and 500 dismissals.
• Once kept wicket through2346 Test runs without conceding a bye.
• Played in 75 consecutive Test match appearances from 1997 - 2004 - a South African record.
• Has taken 1 Test wicket and he is not even a bowler.

 

William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper. Oldfield played 54 Tests for Australia, scoring 1,427 runs at an average of 22.65, and taking 78 catches and 52 stumpings. His tally of 52 stumpings remains a Test career world record.