Top 10 Test Records: Most Runs, Most Wickets, Fastest Centuries and More

Test cricket's record book changes slowly — which is why the last two years have been so remarkable. Since our original 2023 version of this page, Joe Root has climbed past three of the greatest names in batting history, a South African stand-in captain has scored 367 not out, and England's captain has retired with the sixes record locked away. The very biggest marks — Lara's 400, Muralitharan's 800 wickets, Tendulkar's runs and hundreds — still stand. Everything below is verified as of November 2026.

Photo: Daniel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Lord's, the home of cricket, used for illustration.

Most Test Runs

On 25 July 2025 at Old Trafford, Joe Root passed Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting in a single innings to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history. Only Sachin Tendulkar remains ahead of him, by 1,643 runs.

Player	Runs	Matches
Sachin Tendulkar (India)	15,921	200
Joe Root (England)	14,278	169
Ricky Ponting (Australia)	13,378	168
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)	13,289	166
Rahul Dravid (India)	13,288	164

Most Test Centuries

Tendulkar's 51 hundreds lead comfortably, but Root has joined Ponting on 41 — ten behind the record — with Kallis second on 45 and Kumar Sangakkara fifth on 38. Root also passed Tendulkar's record of 68 Test fifties in September 2026, so no batter in history has made more fifty-plus scores in the format.

Most Test Wickets

Muttiah Muralitharan's 800 wickets remain the game's most untouchable bowling record. The one active climber is Nathan Lyon, who passed Glenn McGrath in December 2025 and sits sixth with 577.

Player	Wickets	Matches
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)	800	133
Shane Warne (Australia)	708	145
James Anderson (England)	704	188
Anil Kumble (India)	619	132
Stuart Broad (England)	604	167

Highest Individual Test Scores

Brian Lara's 400 not out still stands, but fifth place changed in July 2025. Wiaan Mulder, standing in as South Africa's captain, declared on 367 not out at Bulawayo against Zimbabwe, 33 runs short of Lara, rather than chase the record. Garry Sobers' 365 not out, in the top five since 1958, dropped to sixth.

Score	Player	Match
400*	Brian Lara (West Indies)	v England, Antigua, 2004
380	Matthew Hayden (Australia)	v Zimbabwe, Perth, 2003
375	Brian Lara (West Indies)	v England, Antigua, 1994
374	Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)	v South Africa, Colombo, 2006
367*	Wiaan Mulder (South Africa)	v Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 2025

Photo: Reflexio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The final wicket of the 2014 Cape Town Test, used for illustration.

Fastest Test Century

Brendon McCullum, 54 balls, for New Zealand against Australia at Christchurch in February 2016 — scored, fittingly, in his final Test. Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq share second on 56 balls, and Adam Gilchrist made his in 57. The fastest five have not changed in a decade; Travis Head's 69-ball hundred in the Perth Ashes Test of November 2025 was thrilling but only joint sixth on the all-time list.

Most Test Sixes

This record is now closed. Ben Stokes retired in June 2026 with 138 Test sixes, thirty-one clear of McCullum's 107. Rishabh Pant became the fastest man to 100 Test sixes in August 2026 and sits third on 102, ahead of Gilchrist's 100, with Tim Southee and Chris Gayle on 98 each. Pant, still only in his fifties for Tests played, is the obvious threat to Stokes' mark.

Best Test Bowling Figures

Only three bowlers have taken all ten wickets in a Test innings: Jim Laker (10 for 53, Old Trafford, 1956), Anil Kumble (10 for 74, Delhi, 1999) and Ajaz Patel (10 for 119, Mumbai, 2021). Laker's match figures in 1956 — 19 for 90, after taking nine in the first innings — remain the greatest match haul ever, ahead of Sydney Barnes' 17 for 159 from 1913.

Highest Test Team Totals

Sri Lanka's 952 for 6 declared against India at Colombo in 1997 is still the highest Test total, followed by England's 903 for 7 at The Oval in 1938 and 849 at Kingston in 1930. England's 823 for 7 at Multan in October 2024 — Harry Brook 317, Joe Root 262 — is fourth and easily the highest of this century.

Most Test Matches

Tendulkar's 200 Tests lead, with James Anderson second on 188. Root's 169th cap, against Pakistan in September 2026, moved him past Ponting and Steve Waugh (168 each) into third — a reminder that his run-scoring records have been built on remarkable durability as well as class.

Most Test Catches

Joe Root owns this record too. He passed Rahul Dravid's long-standing mark of 210 catches by a fielder in July 2025, and a running duel with Steve Smith through 2026 — Smith drew level on 218 before Root pulled away again — left him on 220 catches by September 2026, the most by any fielder in Test history. For a man who also sits second for runs and third for matches played, it underlines why Root's all-round value to England goes well beyond his batting.

Runs in a Series and in a Year

Two of the oldest records in this list still belong to the game's early giants — and one Pakistani. Don Bradman's 974 runs in the 1930 Ashes remain the most in a single series, ahead of Wally Hammond's 905. But the calendar-year record is Mohammad Yousuf's: 1,788 runs in 2006, at an average of 99.33 with nine hundreds, passing Viv Richards' famous 1,710 from 1976.

Records verified November 2026. Root's and Pant's figures will keep moving while both are active; Stokes' sixes record is final.