Cricket is a game with 11 players per team, and make no mistake — some if not most have to play well in every match in order for their team to stand a chance. However, there are also those rare instances when one player steps up beyond the realms of what is deemed normal, takes the reins of the match in their hand, and carries his team.
These performances are as rare as they are incredible, and although they don’t often result in victory, they go down in the record books as fantastic feats of individual skill, heralded by their own right. Here are the top 10 individual scores in Test cricket.
List of highest individual scores by Test batters
| Player | Runs | Mins | Balls | 4s | 6s | Team | Opposition | Ground | Match Date | Scorecard |
| BC Lara | 400* | 778 | 582 | 43 | 4 | West Indies | v England | St John’s | 10 Apr 2004 | Test # 1696 |
| ML Hayden | 380 | 622 | 437 | 38 | 11 | Australia | v Zimbabwe | Perth | 9 Oct 2003 | Test # 1661 |
| BC Lara | 375 | 766 | 538 | 45 | 0 | West Indies | v England | St John’s | 16 Apr 1994 | Test # 1259 |
| DPMD Jayawardene | 374 | 752 | 572 | 43 | 1 | Sri Lanka | v South Africa | Colombo (SSC) | 27 Jul 2006 | Test # 1810 |
| GS Sobers | 365* | 614 | – | 38 | 0 | West Indies | v Pakistan | Kingston | 26 Feb 1958 | Test # 450 |
| L Hutton | 364 | 797 | 847 | 35 | 0 | England | v Australia | The Oval | 20 Aug 1938 | Test # 266 |
| ST Jayasuriya | 340 | 799 | 578 | 36 | 2 | Sri Lanka | v India | Colombo (RPS) | 2 Aug 1997 | Test # 1374 |
| Hanif Mohammad | 337 | 970 | – | 24 | 0 | Pakistan | v West Indies | Bridgetown | 17 Jan 1958 | Test # 446 |
| WR Hammond | 336* | 318 | – | 34 | 10 | England | v New Zealand | Auckland | 31 Mar 1933 | Test # 226 |
| DA Warner | 335* | 554 | 418 | 39 | 1 | Australia | v Pakistan | Adelaide | 29 Nov 2019 | Test # 2372 |
Contents
1. Brian Lara (West Indies)
Just six months after Matthew Hayden had broken Lara’s record of 375 with a 380, the southpaw came back to reclaim his record with a score that remains the highest of all time almost 18 years on at the time of writing. West Indies chose to bat while hosting England in Antigua in April 2004, and given how long Lara batted for coming in at number 3, it was a miracle that he had company throughout. He reached 400* off just 582 deliveries, taking his team to a monumental 751 before declaring. His innings included 43 fours and 4 sixes. Unfortunately, the time taken to do this was a bit too much for the home side to eke out a win, and despite following on, England managed to draw the match relatively comfortably.
2.2. Matthew Hayden (Australia)
late 2003, Zimbabwe had just started to crumble as a team after internal politics caused many of their veteran players to drop out of the team. Australia took full advantage of this when the former toured down under in October, piling up a ridiculous 735/6 courtesy of opener Matthew Hayden’s ballistic (by Test standards) 380 off just 437 deliveries. The innings contained 38 fours and 11 sixes. Australia eventually won the match by an innings.
3. B3. Brian Lara (West Indies)
ong>It’s not every day that you break a record that stood for 36 years, and that’s exactly what Lara did when he toppled Sir Garfield Sobers’ 1958 high of 365*. Once again, it was a match against England in Antigua, and once again the match ended in a draw — albeit aided by the elements this time around. Most of the Windies’ first innings total of 593/5 was made by Lara, who got 375 runs in 538 deliveries, with 45 fours and not a single six.
4. Mahela Jaya4. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
ly overshadowed by his fellow Lankan Kumara Sangakkara by almost every other metric, Jayawardene has the edge as far as the highest score by a Sri Lankan is concerned. In late July of 2006, he came within a hair’s breadth of breaking into third place on this list, and perhaps maybe even second or first. His 374 off 572 in Colombo was accompanied by the aforementioned Sangakkara’s 287, and together they helped the Lankans put up 756/5 on the board before declaring. Their opponents South Africa had already been wrapped up for 169 in their first innings, and even a 434 in their second couldn’t save them from the embarrassment of an innings defeat. Jayawardene’s innings featured 43 fours and a solitary six.
5. Sir Garfield Sobers5. Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
atest cricketers of all time, Sobers holds the distinction of having held the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket for the longest time, with his feat remaining on top for a whopping 36 years and nearly two months. Hosting Pakistan at Kingston, the Windies were on fire as they only lost 3 wickets on their way to a brutal 790/3. Sobers scored 365* — 38 fours with no sixes included — and the team declared right after he broke Len Hutton’s record of 364. The Windies went on to win by well over an innings.
6. Len Hutton (England)
6. Len Hutton (England)
glish game, Hutton opened for his country in the fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes, held at The Oval. Playing the longest innings in the history of Test cricket at 847 deliveries faced, Hutton made an imperious 364 — then the highest score of all time — before getting out. His innings only featured 35 fours, and had no sixes. England declared at what would stay the highest total in Test cricket for almost 49 years — 903/7 — and beat Australia by what remains the largest margin of defeat in the history of cricket, 579 runs and an innings.
7. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
7. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
Test cricket came by way of a bland drawn Test with exactly two innings between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo in August 1997. Chasing 537, the Lankans just kept on batting as Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 off 578 deliveries, which contained 36 fours and two sixes, got them to a ridiculous 952/6 before they declared and the match just ended, really.
8. Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan)
Contents
2. Matthew Hayden (Australia)
late 2003, Zimbabwe had just started to crumble as a team after internal politics caused many of their veteran players to drop out of the team. Australia took full advantage of this when the former toured down under in October, piling up a ridiculous 735/6 courtesy of opener Matthew Hayden’s ballistic (by Test standards) 380 off just 437 deliveries. The innings contained 38 fours and 11 sixes. Australia eventually won the match by an innings.3. B3. Brian Lara (West Indies)
ong>It’s not every day that you break a record that stood for 36 years, and that’s exactly what Lara did when he toppled Sir Garfield Sobers’ 1958 high of 365*. Once again, it was a match against England in Antigua, and once again the match ended in a draw — albeit aided by the elements this time around. Most of the Windies’ first innings total of 593/5 was made by Lara, who got 375 runs in 538 deliveries, with 45 fours and not a single six.
4. Mahela Jaya4. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
ly overshadowed by his fellow Lankan Kumara Sangakkara by almost every other metric, Jayawardene has the edge as far as the highest score by a Sri Lankan is concerned. In late July of 2006, he came within a hair’s breadth of breaking into third place on this list, and perhaps maybe even second or first. His 374 off 572 in Colombo was accompanied by the aforementioned Sangakkara’s 287, and together they helped the Lankans put up 756/5 on the board before declaring. Their opponents South Africa had already been wrapped up for 169 in their first innings, and even a 434 in their second couldn’t save them from the embarrassment of an innings defeat. Jayawardene’s innings featured 43 fours and a solitary six.
5. Sir Garfield Sobers5. Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
atest cricketers of all time, Sobers holds the distinction of having held the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket for the longest time, with his feat remaining on top for a whopping 36 years and nearly two months. Hosting Pakistan at Kingston, the Windies were on fire as they only lost 3 wickets on their way to a brutal 790/3. Sobers scored 365* — 38 fours with no sixes included — and the team declared right after he broke Len Hutton’s record of 364. The Windies went on to win by well over an innings.
6. Len Hutton (England)
6. Len Hutton (England)
glish game, Hutton opened for his country in the fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes, held at The Oval. Playing the longest innings in the history of Test cricket at 847 deliveries faced, Hutton made an imperious 364 — then the highest score of all time — before getting out. His innings only featured 35 fours, and had no sixes. England declared at what would stay the highest total in Test cricket for almost 49 years — 903/7 — and beat Australia by what remains the largest margin of defeat in the history of cricket, 579 runs and an innings.
7. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
7. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
Test cricket came by way of a bland drawn Test with exactly two innings between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo in August 1997. Chasing 537, the Lankans just kept on batting as Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 off 578 deliveries, which contained 36 fours and two sixes, got them to a ridiculous 952/6 before they declared and the match just ended, really.
8. Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan)
4. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
ly overshadowed by his fellow Lankan Kumara Sangakkara by almost every other metric, Jayawardene has the edge as far as the highest score by a Sri Lankan is concerned. In late July of 2006, he came within a hair’s breadth of breaking into third place on this list, and perhaps maybe even second or first. His 374 off 572 in Colombo was accompanied by the aforementioned Sangakkara’s 287, and together they helped the Lankans put up 756/5 on the board before declaring. Their opponents South Africa had already been wrapped up for 169 in their first innings, and even a 434 in their second couldn’t save them from the embarrassment of an innings defeat. Jayawardene’s innings featured 43 fours and a solitary six.5. Sir Garfield Sobers5. Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
atest cricketers of all time, Sobers holds the distinction of having held the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket for the longest time, with his feat remaining on top for a whopping 36 years and nearly two months. Hosting Pakistan at Kingston, the Windies were on fire as they only lost 3 wickets on their way to a brutal 790/3. Sobers scored 365* — 38 fours with no sixes included — and the team declared right after he broke Len Hutton’s record of 364. The Windies went on to win by well over an innings.
6. Len Hutton (England)
6. Len Hutton (England)
glish game, Hutton opened for his country in the fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes, held at The Oval. Playing the longest innings in the history of Test cricket at 847 deliveries faced, Hutton made an imperious 364 — then the highest score of all time — before getting out. His innings only featured 35 fours, and had no sixes. England declared at what would stay the highest total in Test cricket for almost 49 years — 903/7 — and beat Australia by what remains the largest margin of defeat in the history of cricket, 579 runs and an innings.
7. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
7. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
Test cricket came by way of a bland drawn Test with exactly two innings between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo in August 1997. Chasing 537, the Lankans just kept on batting as Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 off 578 deliveries, which contained 36 fours and two sixes, got them to a ridiculous 952/6 before they declared and the match just ended, really.
8. Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan)
A
8. Hanif Mohammad (Pakistan)
it was exponentially more interesting than the last one. Following on after falling short by 473 runs in the first innings in this Bridgetown Test in January 1958, Pakistan were in trouble. However, Hanif Mohammad played the longest innings by any batter in terms of minutes played, scoring 337 in an undisclosed number of deliveries, but taking 970 minutes to do so. His innings included 24 fours, and took the match to an unlikely draw.9. Wally Hammond (England)
9. Wally Hammond (England)England match in Auckland in April 1933, Wally Hammond made a massive 336* in just 318 minutes, massacring the Kiwi bowlers with 34 fours and 10 sixes as he took England to a strong 548/7. However, due to its short length, the match ended in a draw.
10. David Warner (Australia)
T