CT Stats: 140 years of Test cricket in numbers

On 15th March in 1887, the Test cricket took birth with the match between Australia and England hosted by the Melbourne Cricket Ground. After 140 years its birth, exactly on the same day, the 10th Test cricket nation Bangladesh featured in his 100th Test match. In these 140 years, there were many memorable games played and lots of individual records created and broken.

Here we look at all the major records and numbers recorded till date in the longest format of the game.

2 – Number of Tied matches in Test history so far; Australia vs West Indies at Brisbane in 1960 and India v Australia at Chennai in 1986.

2 – Number of bowlers managed to take all 10 in an innings in Test cricket; Jim Laker for England vs Australia in 1956 at Manchester and Anil Kumble for India vs Pakistan in 1999 at Delhi.

4 – Number of bowlers have managed to take two hat-tricks in Test cricket; Hugh Trumble, Thomas Matthews, Wasim Akram and Stuart Broad are those 4.

4 – Number of players managed to score 100 runs and taken 10 wickets in a Test match; Alan Davidson, Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Shakib Al Hasan are those 4.

5 – Most number of centuries scored in a single innings in Test cricket is 5; Australia in their first innings vs West Indies at Kingston in 1955 and Pakistan in their first innings vs Bangladesh in 2001 at Multan.

6 – Number of instances of a player dismissing all 11 players on opposition side in a Test match. Jim Laker, S Venkataraghavan, Geoff Dymock, Abdul Qadir, Waqar Younis and M Muralitharan are the 6 players to record the unique feat.

9 – Number of Tests Bangladesh lost in 2003, the most number of losses for any team in a calendar year.

10 – Number of days the Test match at Durban in 1939 between South Africa and England last for, the longest Test match in history in terms of days. The match ended in a draw by agreement of both the teams.

11 – Number of Tests Australia had won in 2005/06 season, the most Tests a team won in a single season.

16 – Longest winning streak in Test cricket for a team is of 16 matches set by Australia on two different occasions. From 1999 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2008, Australia won in 16 consecutive Tests before India defeated them to end the streak both times.

19/90 – Jim Laker’s match figures of 19/90 are the best bowling figures for anyone in a Test match. He recorded it vs Australia in 1956 at Manchester.

21 – Number of consecutive Tests Bangladesh has lost between 2001 and 2004, the longest losing streak for any team in Test cricket.

21 –Balls taken by Misbah-ul-Haq for his fifty vs Australia at Abu Dhabi in 2014, the fastest fifty for anyone in Test cricket.

26 – New Zealand’s 26/10 vs England at Auckland in 1955 is the lowest team total in Test history.

27 – West Indies’ 27-match streak from 1982 to 1984 without a loss is the longest unbeaten streak in Test cricket for any team.

27 – Number of wickets fell on 2nd day at Lord’s in the 1888 Test match between England and Australia, the most wickets fell in a single day’s play in Test cricket.

28 – Most number of runs scored in an over in Test cricket is 28 which is jointly held by Brian Lara and George Bailey scored against Robin Petersen in 2003 and James Anderson in 2013 respectively.

29 – Number of Test series West Indies played between 1980 and 1994/95 without losing in, the longest unbeaten series streak for any team in this format.

43 – Courtney Walsh’s 43 ducks are the most for any player in Test cricket.

44 – New Zealand’s 44-match streak from 1930 to 1956 without a win is the longest streak without a win in Test cricket for any team.

51 – Number of centuries Sachin Tendulkar has scored in Test cricket, the most by any player. He holds the record for most fifties (68) in Tests as well.

54 –Balls taken by Brendon McCullum for his century vs Australia at Christchurch in 2016, the fastest century for anyone in Test cricket.

67 – Number of 5-wicket hauls Muttiah Muralitharan has taken in Test cricket, the most by any bowler in this format. He holds the record for most 10-wicket match hauls (22) in this format.

107 – Number of sixes Brendon McCullum has hit in Test cricket, the most by any player in this format.

133 – Number of Test matches Lord’s Cricket ground has hosted so far, the most matches hosted by any venue in this format.

200 – Number of Test matches Sachin Tendulkar has featured in, the most by any player in this format.

210 – Number of catches Rahul Dravid has taken in Test cricket, the most by any fielder in this format.

287 – Tip Foster’s 287 for England vs Australia at Sydney in 1903 is the longest individual innings by a player on debut.

289 – Number of Test matches England has lost in so far, the most by any team. Next most: 214 for Australia.

309 – Runs scored by Don Bradman vs England on the opening day of Leeds’ Test in 1930, the most runs scored by any player in a single day’s play.

350 – Balls taken by England’s Trevor Bailey for his fifty vs Australia at Brisbane in 1958, the slowest fifty in Test cricket.

377 – Number of Test matches Australia have won so far, the most by any team. Next most: 351 for England.

400* – Brian Lara’s 400* for West Indies vs England in 2004 at St John’s is the longest individual innings in Test cricket.

419 – Balls taken by Mudassar Nazar for his century vs England in 1977 at Lahore, the slowest century in Test cricket.

509 – Runs scored by Sri Lanka on day 2 at Colombo (PSS) vs Bangladesh in 2002, the most runs by any team on a single day’s play in Test cricket.

555 – Number of dismissals Mark Boucher has effected in Test cricket, the most by any wicket-keeper. His 532 catches behind the stumps are also a record.

624 – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s 624-run stand for 3rd wicket against South Africa in 2006 at Colombo (SSC) is the biggest partnership stand for any wicket in Test cricket.

800 – Wickets taken by Muttiah Muralitharan in his whole Test career, the most wickets taken by any player in this format.

952/6 dec – Sri Lanka’s total of 952/6 dec against India in 1997 at Colombo is the highest total for a team in Test cricket.

983 – Number of Test matches England has played so far, the most by any team. Next most: 799 by Australia.

2254 – The ongoing Test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is the 2254th match in Test cricket.

6920 – Partnership runs added by Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid pair in Test cricket, the most by any pair in this format. Their 20-century stands are also a record in Tests.

15921 – Runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar in his whole Test career, the most runs scored by any player in this format.

31258 – Number of balls Rahul Dravid has faced in Test cricket, the most by any player in this format.

44309 – Number of balls bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan in Test cricket, the most by any bowler in this format.

(Stats as on 15th March, 2017)