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Opening the innings is one of the toughest jobs in Test cricket.
Teams deploy their best bowlers, the ball is still new, and conditions will still be helpful to bowlers. Despite all that, there are batters who not only conquer the position, but also vanquish bowlers.
Who are those batters? Below, we list the highest score in an innings by opening batters.
1. Matthew Hayden
- Australia
- 380 vs Zimbabwe
The contest between Australia and Zimbabwe in Perth was a David versus Goliath contest. Unlike the Biblical tale, David had neither a slingshot nor a stone close at hand. David showed up empty-handed and was clubbed to death by Goliath.
Heath Streak, the Zimbabwe captain, won the toss, elected to bat first, and watched Matthew Hayden carve 38 fours and 11 sixes as he galloped to a monstrous 380 from 437 balls. This was the 15th of the 30 centuries the opener scored in his 15-year career.
The century helped Australia to 735/6d, their highest Test innings score, surpassing their 758/6d against the West Indies in 1954-55.
2. Len Hutton
- England
- 364 against Australia
Victory by an innings and 579 runs is one of the biggest margins in the history of Test cricket. For such a win to be possible, a single batter needs to stand tall and play an innings that goes into the history books.
Hutton was 22 when he walked out to bat after his captain, Wally Hammond, had won the toss and elected to bat first. Hutton stayed in the middle for a total of 13 hours and 20 minutes as he accumulated 364 runs from 847 balls.
His contribution helped England reach a mammoth 903/7d, one of the highest totals in the history of Test cricket.
Also read: Meet the elite – Four Test all-rounders who boast 10-plus centuries and five five-wicket hauls
3. Sanath Jayasuriya
- Sri Lanka
- 340 against India
India delivered the first punch through Navjot Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, and Mohammad Azharuddin. The trio scored centuries, 111, 143, and 126, as India registered 537/8d after electing to bat first.
India batted for close to two days as they mounted a total that ensured that there was no possibility of them losing the tie.
Jayasuriya opened the batting with Marvan Atapattu and stitched a 39-run stand.
Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama dampened any hope that India had of bundling Sri Lanka out for a middling total with a 576-run second-wicket stand that shot Sri Lanka past India’s total.
Jayasuriya’s tally helped Sri Lanka reach 952/6d, the highest score in the history of the game.
4. Hanif Mohammad
- Pakistan
- 337 against West Indies
Pakistan was in trouble when they met the West Indies in Bridgetown in January 1958. The West Indies, who won the toss and elected to bat first, scored 579/9d, courtesy of centuries from Conrad Hunte and Everton Weekes.
Instead of mounting a strong reply, Pakistan stumbled to 106.
Gerry Alexander, the West Indies captain, sensed an opportunity to win the contest and asked Pakistan to follow on.
Mohammad, who had fallen for 17 in Pakistan’s first innings, set up a fort in the middle and batted the visitors back into the innings with a patient 337 in 970 minutes.
Mohammad’s score helped Pakistan to get to 657/8d, which helped them to avoid defeat.
5. David Warner
- Australia
- 335 not out against Pakistan
There is no saying how far Warner could have gone had Tim Paine not decided to declare the innings when Australia reached 589/3. The Australia opener was looking good and increasingly dangerous with each delivery.
The left-hander opened the innings with Joe Burns, with whom he shared a brief eight-run opening stand. However, Warner got Australia back on track when he joined forces with Marnus Labuschagne.
They cobbled a 361-run second-wicket partnership, the second-highest second-wicket stand for Australia in Test cricket.
Warner looked as if he was batting on a different surface. Not once did Pakistan score 335 or more runs in an innings in the match.
6. Mark Taylor
- Australia
- 334 not out against Pakistan
Twelve hours. That is how long Mark Taylor’s innings lasted when Australia batted first against Pakistan in Peshawar in October 1998.
The Australian captain was so locked in that Michael Slater’s dismissal for two in the ninth over did not affect his approach. Taylor barely made a mistake as he worked his way to an unbeaten 334 in 564 balls. He hit 32 fours and a six.
The score helped him become the fourth Australian to pass 7,000 Test runs. His score equalled Don Bradman’s highest Test score.
7. Graham Gooch
- England
- 333 against India
The contest between England and India at Lord’s in July 1990 should be known as Gooch’s Test. He scored a mountain of runs, bowled well and took a wicket, and also took some catches. He did it all as he captained England to a 247-run victory.
Gooch lost the toss, but it was a good toss to lose. Mohammad Azharuddin asked Gooch and England to bat first, and the hosts replied with a first innings score of 653/4d. The total was possible thanks to centuries from Allan Lamb and Robin Smith, and Gooch’s outstanding 333.
The England captain also scored a century in the third innings, a fantastic 123.
Chris Gayle equalled Gooch’s tally 20 years later, when the West Indies played against Sri Lanka in Galle in November 2010. Unfortunately, unlike Gooch’s score, which helped England win, Gayle’s triple hundred was in a draw.
He was also the only other opener to go past the 330-run mark.
Read next: Fastest to 2,000 runs in T20Is – India and Pakistan big-ticket players dominate top 9
The post Revealed: The highest-ever individual scores from opening Test batsmen appeared first on Cricket365.
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