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, with no limit in the number of overs. Test cricket is first-class cricket, so statistics and records set in Test matches are also counted toward first-class records. 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 13 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.
Cricket is, by its nature, capable of generating large numbers of records and statistics. This list details the most significant team and individual records in Test cricket.
, the most successful team in Test cricket, in terms of both wins and win percentage, is Australia, having won 419 of their 874 Tests (47.94%). Excluding teams who have only played a small number of Tests, the least successful team is Zimbabwe.
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 5th wicket partnership. His most significant record is his batting average of 99.94. One of cricket's most famous statistics, it still stands almost 40 runs higher than any other batsman's career average. Don Bradman is the only player in the world to have scored 5000 runs against a single opposition: 5028 runs against England.
In the Manchester Test of 1956, England spin bowler Jim Laker took 19 wickets for 90 runs (19–90) which set not only the Test record for best match figures but also the first-class one. In taking 10–53 in the second innings he became the first bowler to capture ten wickets in a Test match innings, and his analysis remains the best innings figures. Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble was the second bowler to take 10 wickets in an innings, claiming 10–74 against Pakistan in 1999. In December 2021, New Zealand spinner, Ajaz Patel became the third bowler to take 10 wickets in an innings. West Indies batsman Brian Lara has the highest individual score in Test cricket: he scored 400 not 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. Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq holds the record of the fastest Test half century, scoring 50 runs from 21 balls. The record for the fastest Test century is held by New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, who scored 100 runs from 54 balls in his final Test match.
The trend of countries playing more Test matches in the modern era means that the aggregate lists are dominated by modern players. Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan became the highest Test wicket-taker in December 2007, when he passed Shane Warne's total of 708 wickets. Within a year, the equivalent batting record of highest run-scorer had also changed hands: Sachin Tendulkar surpassed the tally of 11,953 runs by Brian Lara. The record for most dismissals by a wicket-keeper is held by Mark Boucher of South Africa while the record for most catches by a fielder is held by Joe Root.
Listing criteria In general the top five are listed in each category (except when there is a tie for the last place among the five, when all the tied record holders are noted).
Listing notation Team notation (300–3) indicates that a team scored 300 runs for three wickets and the innings was closed, either due to a successful run chase or if no playing time remained (300–3 d) indicates that a team scored 300 runs for three wickets, and declared its innings closed (300) indicates that a team scored 300 runs and was all out
Batting notation (100) indicates that a batsman scored 100 runs and was out (100*) indicates that a batsman scored 100 runs and was not out
Bowling notation (5–100) indicates that a bowler has captured 5 wickets while conceding 100 runs
Currently playing indicates a current Test cricketer
Seasons Domestic cricket seasons in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the West Indies may span two calendar years, and are by convention said to be played in (e.g.) "2008–09". A cricket season in England is described as a single year. e.g. "2009". An international Test series may be for a much shorter duration, and Cricinfo treats this issue by stating "any series or matches which began between May and September of any given year will appear in the relevant single year season and any that began between October and April will appear in the relevant cross-year season". In the record tables, a two-year span generally indicates that the record was set within a domestic season in one of the above named countries.
Team records
Team wins, losses and draws Team First Test match Matches Won Lost Tied Drawn % Won W/L Ratio 13 4 8 0 1 30.76 0.50 884 427 236 2 219 48.41 1.80 161 28 114 0 19 17.39 0.24 1,100 408 336 0 356 37.09 1.21 601 187 188 1 225 31.11 0.99 13 3 10 0 0 23.07 0.30 487 126 190 0 171 25.87 0.66 474 153 155 0 166 32.27 0.98 479 191 162 0 126 39.87 1.18 331 107 129 0 95 32.32 0.83 596 187 224 1 184 31.45 0.83ICC World XI 1 0 1 0 0 0.00 0.00 130 16 84 0 30 12.30 0.19 Last updated: 12 September 2026
Result records
Greatest win margins (by innings) Margin Teams Venue Season Test Innings and 579 runs (903–7 d) beat (201 & 123) The Oval, London, England 1938 5th Innings and 360 runs (652–7 d) beat (159 & 133) Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 2001–02 1st Innings and 359 runs (601–3 d) beat (125 & 117) Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 2025 2nd Innings and 336 runs (614–5 d) beat (124 & 154) Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India 1958–59 3rd Innings and 332 runs (645) beat (141 & 172) The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia 1946–47 1st Last updated: 9 August 2025
Greatest win margin (by runs) Margin Teams Venue Season Test 675 runs (521 & 342–8 d) beat (122 & 66) Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane, Australia 1928–29 1st 562 runs (701 & 327) beat (321 & 145) The Oval, London, England 1934 5th 546 runs (382 & 425-4 d) beat (146 & 115) Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh 2023 1st 530 runs (328 & 578) beat (205 & 171) Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 1910–11 4th 492 runs (488 & 344–6 d) beat (221 & 119) Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 2018 4th Last updated: 3 April 2018
Matches that finished with scores level
Result Teams Venue Season Test Tie (505 & 232) vs (453 & 284) The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia 1960–61 1st Tie (397 & 347) vs (574–7 d & 170–5 d) M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Madras, India 1986–87 1st Draw (376 & 234) vs (406 & 204–6) Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 1996–97 1st Draw (482 & 242–9) vs (590 & 134) Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 2011–12 3rd Last updated: 8 January 2021
Narrowest win margin (by wickets) Margin Teams Venue Season Test 1 wicket (183 & 263–9) beat (324 & 121) The Oval, London, England 1902 5th (91 & 287–9) beat (184 & 190) Old Wanderers, Johannesburg, South Africa 1905–06 1st (382 & 282–9) beat (266 & 397) Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 1907–08 2nd (183 & 173–9) beat (113 & 242) Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa 1922–23 2nd (216 & 260–9) beat (272 & 203) Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 1951–52 4th (249 & 104–9) beat (140 & 212) Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand 1979–80 1st (256 & 315–9) beat (337 & 232) National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan 1994–95 1st (329 & 311–9) beat (490 & 146) Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados 1998–99 3rd (273 & 216–9) beat (269 & 219) Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda 1999–00 3rd (175 & 262–9) beat (281 & 154) Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium, Multan, Pakistan 2003 3rd (321 & 352–9) beat (361 & 311) Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2006 2nd (405 & 216–9) beat (428 & 192) Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium, Mohali, India 2010–11 1st (191 & 304–9) beat (235 & 259) Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa 2018–19 1st (67 & 362–9) beat (179 & 246) Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, England 2019 3rd (253 & 168–9) beat (217 & 203) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 2021 1st Last updated: 15 August 2021
Narrowest win margin (by runs) Margin Teams Venue Season Test 1 run (252 & 146) beat (213 & 184) Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia 1992–93 4th (209 & 483) beat (435 & 256) Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 2022–23 2nd 2 runs (407 & 182) beat (308 & 279) Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, England 2005 2nd 3 runs (299 & 86) beat (262 & 120) Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, England 1902 4th (284 & 294) beat (287 & 288) Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 1982–83 4thLast updated: 28 February 2023
Victory after following-on
Margin Teams Venue Season Test 10 runs (325 & 437) beat (586 & 166) Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia 1894–95 1st 18 runs (174 & 356) beat (401–9 d & 111) Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, England 1981 3rd 171 runs (171 & 657–7 d) beat (445 & 212) Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India 2000–01 2nd1 run (209 & 483) beat (435 & 256) Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 2022–23 2ndLast updated: 28 February 2023
Most consecutive wins Wins Team First win Last win 16 at Harare, 14 October 1999 at Mumbai, 27 February 2001 at Melbourne, 26 December 2005 at Sydney, 2 January 2008 11 at Bridgetown, 30 March 1984 at Adelaide, 7 December 1984 10 at Providence, 15 August 2024 at Bulawayo, 6 July 2025 9 at Colombo, 29 August 2001 at Lahore, 6 March 2002 at Durban, 15 March 2002 at Dhaka, 1 May 2003 Last updated: 1 July 2025
Team scoring records Most runs in an innings Score Teams Venue Season Test 952–6 d (v ) R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka 1997 1st 903–7 d (v ) The Oval, London, England 1938 5th 849 (v ) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 1929–30 4th 823–7 d (v ) Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan, Pakistan 2024–25 1st 790–3 d (v ) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 1957–58 3rd Last updated: 10 October 2024
Fewest runs in a completed innings Runs Teams Venue Season Test 26 (v ) Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 1954–55 2nd 27 (v ) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 2025 3rd 30 (v ) St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa 1895–96 1st (v ) Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, England 1924 1st 35 (v ) Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa 1898–99 2nd Last updated: 14 July 2025
Highest fourth-innings totals to win Score Teams Venue Season Test 418–7 (v ) Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda 2002–03 4th 414–4 (v ) WACA Ground, Perth, Australia 2008–09 1st 406–4 (v ) Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 1975–76 3rd 404–3 (v ) Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, England 1948 4th 395–7 (v ) Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2020–21 1st Last updated: 16 August 2023
Aggregate scoring records Highest match aggregate Score Teams Venue Season Test 1,981–35 (530 & 481) v (316 & 654–5) Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa 1938–39 5th 1,815–34 (849 & 272–9 d) v (286 & 408–5) Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 1929–30 4th 1,768–37 (579 & 268) v (657 & 264–7 d) Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 2022–23 1st 1,764–39 (533 & 339–9) v (276 & 616) Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia 1968–69 4th 1,753–40 (354 & 582) v (447 & 370) 1920–21 3rd Last updated: 29 December 2022
Individual records: Batting
Career Most career runs