Team Records

List: Highest Innings Totals for Each Team in Test Cricket

A Test match can be long, longer than any sport you would see. 5 days of drama unfolding had never happened or will happen in any other sport. It can be testing, play a patient game on the players. And sometimes, when the batting team decides to put a big score on board, provided the conditions help, it will be challenging for the bowler and fielders.

This article will list down the highest team totals for every Test-playing nation in a Test innings.

TEAMS SCORE INNS AGAINST VENUE YEAR
Sri Lanka 952/6d 2 India Colombo (RPS) 1997
England 903/7d 1 Australia The Oval 1938
West Indies 790/3d 2 Pakistan Kingston 1958
Pakistan 765/6d 2 Sri Lanka Karachi 2009
India 759/7d 2 England Chennai 2016
Australia 758/8d 2 West Indies Kingston 1955
New Zealand 715/6d 2 Bangladesh Hamilton 2019
Afghanistan 699/10 2 Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2024
South Africa 682/6d 2 England Lord's 2003
Bangladesh 638/10 1 Sri Lanka Galle 2013
Zimbabwe 586/10 1 Afghanistan Bulawayo 2024
Ireland 492/10 1 Sri Lanka Galle 2023

Key Stats

  • Sri Lanka’s 952/6d against India in 1997 in Colombo is the highest score by a team in a Test innings.
  • England are the only team to have scored 800+ total twice in Test cricket. They scored 903/7d against Australia in 1938 and 849 all-out against West Indies in 1930.
  • England’s 849 in Kingston (Jamaica) is also the highest score by a team in an away Test match.
  • In the list of teams with the Most 600+ totals in Test cricket, Australia (34) leads the chart, followed closely by India (33)
  • The record for the highest Test score in an Indian venue is held by Sri Lanka – 760/7d against India (2009) in Ahmedabad.
  • The highest Indian Test innings total is 759/7d in Chennai in England’s 2016 tour.
  • No teams have ever lost a Test match after scoring a 600+ total.

The highest Test score in of the number of innings are:

INNINGS HIGHEST TEAM SCORE AGAINST VENUE YEAR
1st 903/7d – England Australia The Oval 1938
2nd 952/6d – Sri Lanka India Colombo (RPS) 1997
3rd 680/8d – New Zealand India Wellington 2014
4th 654/5 – England South Africa Durban 1939

The Wrap

Even though England’s highest total, 903/7d against Australia, came in a timeless Test match, the match got over within five days, with Australia suffered an innings loss in that game. But the record for the highest Test total in the 4th innings of a match (England’s 654-5) came in a match that lasted for 10 days. Interestingly the game ended in a draw due to various reasons.