The Highest Individual Scores in Test Cricket History

The highest individual score in Test cricket history is 400 not out, scored by Brian Lara for West Indies against England at Antigua Recreation Ground in April 2004. Lara held the record twice — he had previously scored 375 in 1994, lost it to Matthew Hayden's 380 in 2003, then broke Hayden's record the following year. These are not just statistical records: each innings required sustained concentration over 12+ hours of batting.

The Record List

Lara's 400: The Full Story

Lara walked in at 11/1 and batted for 778 minutes — just over 13 hours — scoring from 582 balls. He hit 43 fours and 4 sixes. The innings came against an England attack including Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Gareth Batty, and Ian Blackwell. England, having gone into the match needing a win to level the series, watched helplessly as Lara methodically dismantled every bowling plan. West Indies declared at 751/5.

Lara needed 381 to equal Hayden's then-record. He played Gareth Batty to the extra-cover boundary to level at 380. Then, next ball, he tucked a delivery to fine leg for a single — reaching 381 and then 400 in the same passage. The crowd at Antigua erupted. Lara raised his bat slowly, looking drained and emotional. He had held the record before, lost it, and reclaimed it — a unique achievement in batting history.

Garry Sobers's 365* — The Record That Lasted 36 Years

Sobers scored 365 not out at Kingston in 1958, aged 21 — breaking Len Hutton's 20-year record of 364. Sobers's record lasted until Lara's 375 in 1994 — 36 years, the longest any batting record in Test cricket has been held in the modern era. Sobers batted over 10 hours against a Pakistan attack that included Fazal Mahmood and Khan Mohammad.