Test Cricket Records

International teams that are Full Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) are eligible to play test cricket matches. They are a diversified version of one-day matches where both teams play 2 innings each for a period of 5 days.

The team topping the charts for the most wins is Australia with 333 wins and a win percentage of 46.57. South Africa is following behind at 34.88%. Australia is also leading the pack with the most number of consecutive wins (16) for a period of 1999-2000 to 2000-2001 and again from 2005-2006 to 2007-2008. On the other hand, Bangladesh faces the most successive losses (21) from 2001-2002 to 2003-2004. West Indies is heading with 10 draws, the most amongst all.

The greatest win margin was achieved in 1938 when England won against Australia with a margin of an innings and 579 runs, while England conquered over Australia in 1928-29 by 685 runs - the greatest win margin on account of runs. Considering wickets, the narrowest win was when England beat Australia in 1902 by 1 wicket while West Indies beat Australia with the narrowest marginal runs by 1 run in 1992-93. India successfully chased 171 runs, the highest chase so far, against Australia in 2000-2001. In 1997, Sri Lanka scored the most runs from an innings at 952 runs for a 6-wicket loss and declared. On the contrary, New Zealand could manage only 26 runs in the test match against England in 1954-55.

Indian master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar is leading the charts for scoring the most career runs with 12,970 runs while Sir Donald Bradman is still leading with the highest career average (99.94). In 2003-2004, in a match against England, West Indian Brian Lara scored an unbeaten 400 from a single innings. He has also scored the highest runs from a single over in test match against South Africa. In 2003-2004, Lara scored 28 runs off an over from Robin Peterson at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

Tendulkar is leading all with the most test cricket centuries at 43 centuries from 160 matches while Sir Viv Richards has scored the fastest test cricket century from 56 balls in a match against England in 1985-86. Bradman has scored the most test double centuries with 12 of them from 52 matches and also the most triple centuries with 2 of them from 52 matches.

In the bowling field, Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan leads with the most wickets at 792 dismissals with an average of 22.71%. England has produced many bowling records with English bowler George Lohmann has achieved the best ever averages of 10.75. Another Englishman, Sydney Barnes has taken most wickets from a series at 49 wickets from 4 test matches against South Africa in 1913-14. Jim Laker, also from England, has produced the best bowling figures at 10 wickets for 53 runs against Australia in 1956. Laker went on and recorded the best figures for a match at the same match with 19 wickets for 90 runs.

Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has got the best fielding records with 188 catches from 137 matches while South African Mark Boucher has the best scores as a wicket keeper with 475 dismissals from 126 matches. Although Allan Border has played the most tests as a captain, another Australian, Steve Waugh, has won most matches as captain.