Legendary England all-rounder Ian Botham was the first player to record a century and 10 wickets in a Test match.

In the solitary Test of England’s 1980 tour of India in Mumbai, Botham grabbed a 6/58 to help the visitors bundle out India for 242 in their first innings.

However, England struggled when they came out to bat as, at one point, they were reduced to 58/5. Ian Botham took it upon himself and smashed a 144-ball 114 to help England maintain a 54-run lead.

After his exploits with the ball in the first innings, Botham returned to torment the Gundappa Viswanath-captained India as he scalped seven wickets for just 48 runs.

England would then romp off to a 10-wicket win as they chased a target of 96 runs with ease.

Three years later, Pakistan’s Imran Khan registered a century and 10 wickets in a Test match against arch-rivals India in 1983.

One of the greatest all-rounders to play the sport, Imran claimed the important wickets of Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani to help Pakistan bowl out India for 372 in the first innings.

When it was Pakistan’s turn to bat, Imran Khan followed Javed Miandad (126), Zaheer Abbas (168) and Saleem Malik (107) in scoring a century and powering the hosts to a score of 652.

India would later be dismissed for 286, thanks to Imran Khan’s 5/82 which helped Pakistan win the Test by 10 wickets after successfully chasing a target of just 7.

Shakib Al Hasan is the only cricketer in the 21st century to register a century and take 10 wickets in the same Test match.

The Bangladesh star all-rounder scored a century (137) in the first innings of a 2014 Test against Zimbabwe while claiming five wickets (5/80 and 5/44) in both innings.

Shakib’s efforts helped the Tigers win the second of the three-match Test series by 162 runs.

It is also worth mentioning that Australia’s Alan Davidson was the first player in cricket history to register 100 runs and 10 wickets in a Test match.

Davidson, a left-handed all-rounder, achieved the feat in a 1960 Test match against West Indies when he scored 44 and 80 in either innings of the Test, while recording hauls of 5/135 and 6/87.

Players with a century and 10 wickets in a Test match

Author: William Paul

Featured photo: AFP / ANDREW YATES

Back when England scored 903/7d against Australia in 1938, the match produced several key moments such as a certain Chuck Fleetwood-Smith conceding most runs in one Test innings to Leonard Hutton facing most balls faced in a single Test innings. However, nothing compares to England’s record victory by an innings and 579 runs, which remains the biggest win in Test cricket by runs.

Often termed as the Oval grind of 1938, the England team, led by Hutton, Maurice Leyland and Joe Hardstaff breached the 900-run mark; something that was never done in the history of the sport. 

In what is a testament to the record, it took almost 60 years for any team to break the record when Sri Lanka posted 952/6d against India in 1997.

Back when Test cricket used to be the only format, England captain Wally Hammond had won the toss and decided to bat. Australia made a good start, removing Bill Edrich for just 12 runs but what followed next was historic.

Hutton first combined with Leyland for a 382-run partnership followed by another 200-plus run stand with Hardstaff which led to England scoring the highest first innings team total in Test.

Australia’s reply began on a sour note as England made life difficult for the visitors. After being dismissed for 201, Australia were forced to follow-on. The Aussies though continued to succumb in the second innings as England eventually won the game by an innings and 579 runs.

From 1938 to date, no team has ever managed to win a Test match by an innings and 500-plus run margin. The closest anyone has ever come was Australia in a 2002 Test match against South Africa.

After the Aussies had declared at 652/7, the Proteas struggled to cope with growing pressure before succumbing to a defeat by an innings and 360 runs.

West Indies’ win by an innings and 336 runs against India in a 1958 Test comes third on the list followed by Australia’s triumph over England by an innings and 332 runs in 1946. Pakistan occupy the fifth spot in the list with their win by an innings and 324 runs against New Zealand in 2002.

Biggest win in Test cricket

As far as the Indian cricket team is concerned, their biggest Test win dates back to October 2018 when they defeated a depleted West Indies team by an innings and 272 runs.

Earlier in the same year, the Indian team had gotten better of Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs which - their second biggest win in Test cricket. Lastly, their recent success against Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs is their fifth-biggest victory in the longest format.

Biggest win in Test cricket for India

Featured photo: Unsplash / Mark Stuckey

Former Australia spinner Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith holds the unwanted record for most runs conceded by a bowler in one Test innings. Playing against England in the fifth Test of Australia tour of England in 1938, the left-arm wrist-spinner conceded 298 runs in 87 overs and could only pick a solitary wicket.

Interestingly enough, it was the same match when England registered the then highest team total in Test cricket. Riding on Leonard Hutton’s triple century followed by tons from Maurice Leyland and Joe Hardstaff, the Three Lions posted 903/7d. Of those 903 runs, Fleetwood-Smith was responsible for 33 per cent of the total.

Chuck Fleetwood-Smith never played for Australia after that match.

Former India off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan follows the Australian at second place in the list for most runs conceded by a bowler in one Test innings. It was during the first Test of India tour of Sri Lanka in 1997 that the spinner conceded 276 runs in 78 overs while picking a single wicket.

History repeated itself almost 60 years after England had set the benchmark, as the second most expensive bowling spell in Test cricket came when Sri Lanka recorded 952/6d - which is now the highest team total in the longest format.

Before Fleetwood-Smith and Rajesh Chauhan, the record for runs conceded in one Test innings belonged to West Indies’ Oscar Scott. The leg-spinner from Jamaica had conceded 266 runs in 80.2 overs in the fourth Test of England’s tour of West Indies in 1930.

There are only four bowlers in the history of Test cricket who have conceded more than 250 runs in one Test innings, with the fourth being Pakistan’s Khan Mohammad. Playing against West Indies in 1958, the former leg-spinner bowled 54 overs, conceding 259 runs. In the very same match, his bowling partner Fazal Mahmood gave away 247 runs in 85.2 overs which completes the top five list for most runs conceded by a bowler in one Test innings.

Most runs conceded by a bowler in one Test innings

Featured photo: AFP / Sena Vidanagama

South Africa cricketers Mark Boucher and Pat Symcox hold the record for the highest ninth-wicket partnership in Test cricket.

Boucher and Symcox forged a 195-run partnership for the ninth wicket against Pakistan during the first Test at The Wanderers in Johannesburg in 1998.

After an Aamer Sohail-led Pakistan won the toss and elected to field, the hosts lost eight wickets for 166 runs before Symcox joined Boucher at the crease.

Boucher and Symcox stitched a 195-run partnership that lasted for almost 50 overs, and propelled South Africa to amass a score of 364 in their first innings. Symcox scored an impressive century (108) while Boucher was dismissed for 78. The match ended in a draw.

Bangladesh duo Mohammad Mahmudullah and Taskin Ahmed feature second on the list for highest ninth-wicket partnership in Test cricket. Mahmudullah and Ahmed stitched a 191-run stand for the ninth wicket against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in Harare in 2021.

After Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat, the visitors rode on Mahmudullah’s 150 and Ahmed’s 75 to post 468 in their first innings. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 276 and 256 on either side of their innings as Bangladesh won the Test by 220 runs.

Pakistan cricketers Asif Iqbal and Intikhab Alam recorded the third-highest ninth-wicket partnership in Test cricket.

Iqbal and Alam added 190 runs for the ninth wicket against England at The Oval during the third Test of Pakistan’s tour of England in 1967.

Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah and Abdul Hasan, and South African duo JP Duminy and Dale Steyn complete the top five list for highest ninth-wicket partnership in Test cricket.

While Mahmudullah and Hasan’s 184-run stand for the ninth wicket against West Indies came in the 2012 Khulna Test, Duminy and Steyn combined to score 180 runs against Australia at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 2008.

Highest ninth-wicket partnership in Test cricket 

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Featured photo: Marty Melville / AFP