| Cricket is a batsman's game and a statistician's delight | | | | 952, while England took all of 335.2 overs to reach |
| as well. More than any other sport, statistics play an | | | | 903. After England's gluttony with the bat, the tired, |
| important role in cricket and help to add some | | | | demoralised Aussies could only manage 324 runs in |
| context to the game-particularly Test cricket, which | | | | two completed innings. Their ignominious defeat by |
| has no official championship. In over 120 years of | | | | an innings and 579 runs is the largest innings victory in |
| Test cricket, some batsmen feasted on their hapless | | | | cricket history. |
| opponents' bowling attack to mount some huge | | | | 3. 849 - England versus West Indies at Sabina Park, |
| totals. The top five totals in Tests (up to March | | | | Kingston (1930) |
| 2010) are as follows: | | | | In another meandering timeless Test match that |
| 1. 952/6 declared - Sri Lanka versus India at Colombo | | | | spanned nine days, England posted a huge first |
| (1997) | | | | innings total of 849, with Andy Sandham scoring a |
| Sri Lanka were still a fresh Test side when they | | | | career-best 325. Amazingly, only two English batsmen |
| posted this mammoth total against India at home in | | | | passed 100 in that innings, with Les Ames, the |
| Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan legend, Sanath | | | | wicketkeeper getting to 149. The match ended in a |
| Jayasuriya, and Roshan Mahanama scored their | | | | draw by agreement-as the West Indies were 408/5. |
| career bests-340 and 225 respectively-as Sri Lanka | | | | Six hundred and thirteen overs were bowled in that |
| responded to India's first innings total of 537/8 | | | | match. |
| declared. Indian captain, Sachin Tendulkar, probably | | | | 4. 790/3 declared - West Indies versus Pakistan at |
| wished he did not declare after all, as three Sri | | | | Kingston (1958) |
| Lankan batsmen scored centuries. Unsurprisingly, the | | | | When Pakistan batted first and posted 328 runs, |
| match ended in a tame draw, with the high point | | | | they probably thought that might be a competitive |
| being that Jayasuriya came within 35 runs of Brian | | | | total. However, when the West Indies batted, Garry |
| Lara's then record of 375 (now 400*). | | | | Sobers and Conrad Hunte sought to put that total in |
| 2. 903/7 declared - England versus Australia at The | | | | context. Sobers scored a record 365 not out in that |
| Oval, London (1938) | | | | innings-a record that stood until Brian Lara surpassed |
| Back in 1938, in the era of black and white TV, some | | | | it in 1994-and Hunte scored 260. Pakistan went on to |
| Test matches were timeless affairs. Teams batted | | | | lose by an innings and 174 runs, thanks to the |
| until they declared, were dismissed twice or had to | | | | 446-run partnership between Barbadians Sobers and |
| catch the boat back home. It was in one such affair | | | | Hunte. |
| that England scored what was then Test cricket's | | | | 5. |
| highest total. Sri Lanka took only 271 overs for their | | | | |