Greatest Cricket World Records of All Time
The most extraordinary batting, bowling, and fielding records in cricket history — highest individual scores, most Test wickets, most ODI runs, and records that may never be broken.
Cricket has a richer statistical tradition than almost any other sport. The game has been played at international level since 1877, with detailed scorecards preserved for every Test match and ODI. This depth of data means cricket records carry immense historical weight — the highest individual Test score, for example, has stood since 1994 and may never be surpassed. Here are the greatest records in cricket history across all formats.
Highest Individual Batting Records
| Record | Score/Stat | Player | Match | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest Test innings | 400* | Brian Lara (WI) | vs England, Antigua | 2004 |
| Highest ODI innings | 264 | Rohit Sharma (Ind) | vs Sri Lanka, Kolkata | 2014 |
| Highest T20I innings | 172* | Hazratullah Zazai (Afg) | vs Ireland | 2019 |
| Most Test runs (career) | 15,921 | Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) | 200 Tests | 1989–2013 |
| Most ODI runs (career) | 18,426 | Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) | 463 ODIs | 1989–2012 |
Highest Bowling Records
Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka holds the record for most Test wickets in history with 800 wickets at an average of 22.72 across 133 Tests. Shane Warne took 708 Test wickets. James Anderson of England holds the record for most Test wickets by a pace bowler (700+). In ODIs, Muttiah Muralitharan also holds the record with 534 wickets. The best bowling figures in a Test innings are 10 wickets for 53 runs by Jim Laker of England against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956 — a record that has stood for nearly 70 years and is widely considered cricket's most unbreakable batting-of-bowling record. In the same match, Laker took 19 wickets in total — a Test match record that also stands.
Partnership and Team Records
The highest Test partnership is 624 runs — set by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka against South Africa in Colombo in 2006. Jayawardene scored 374 in that innings (the highest score in that particular match, a record in itself for Test innings second only to Brian Lara's 400*). The highest team total in Test cricket is 952 for 6 declared — set by Sri Lanka against India in Colombo in 1997. England hold the highest ODI total: 498 for 4 against Netherlands in Amstelveen in 2022. These numbers show how dramatically cricket scoring has evolved over generations.
Records That May Never Be Broken
Several cricket records are so extreme they are considered permanent fixtures of the historical record. Brian Lara's 400 not out in Antigua (2004) required a five-day innings — the modern scheduling of Test matches and the pace of scoring make this increasingly unlikely to be beaten. Jim Laker's 19 wickets in a match is another near-impossible target: with modern pitches, outfields, and batting technique, getting 10 wickets in one innings alone is extraordinarily rare. Don Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 is often cited as the greatest statistical achievement in any sport — no other batter has averaged above 65 across a substantial Test career. Sachin Tendulkar's century of international centuries (100 international hundreds across Tests and ODIs) is another record of almost impossible scale.
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the record for the highest individual Test innings?
Brian Lara of West Indies scored 400 not out against England in Antigua in 2004. This is the highest individual score in Test cricket history. Lara also previously held the record with 375 (1994), which Matthew Hayden briefly took with 380 before Lara reclaimed it.
Who has taken the most Test wickets in history?
Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka — 800 Test wickets at an average of 22.72 across 133 Tests. Shane Warne (Australia) is second with 708 wickets. James Anderson (England) holds the record for the most wickets by a pace bowler.
What is Don Bradman's Test batting average?
99.94 — across 80 innings in 52 Test matches (1928–1948). Bradman needed just 4 runs in his final innings to average 100 but was dismissed for 0. The next-best sustained Test batting average is around 65, making Bradman's figure an extraordinary statistical outlier.