Highest score by a batsman in Australia vs England 'Ashes' test match. - Fast Cricket. Highest score by a batsman in Australia vs England 'Ashes' test match. Tag Ashes-Records When we talk Australia vs England test cricket, we rarely miss one name = Don Bradman, specially when our topic is related to batting. Over 60 years since this great right hander quit the game, with an average of 99.96 from 52 tests, his achievements continue to challenge modern day batters. But highest individual score by a batsman in Ashes test match is one important list of record Sir Donald Bradman comes second in.. behind Len Hutton who scored 364 from 847 balls at the Oval back in 1938, beating Bradman's 334 which was made 8 years and a month earlier. Bradman continued to play for over a decade since Len Hutton's record breaking innings, but got past double century only once.

Sir Leonard Hutton, a right handed batsman from Yorkshire, was just 21 year and few months old (and only a year old in International cricket) when he batted for over 13 hours to break the record for highest test score by a England batsman. 364 was the highest test match score by any batsman then, which was later broken by Sir Garfield Sobers of West Indies who went on to make 365. During his marathon innings, Hutton collected 382 runs with Maurice Leyland for the second wicket which still stands as the highest partnership for England against Australia. Len Hutton played 79 tests, made 6971 runs at an average of 56.67 with 19 century plus 33 fifties and also took 3 wickets with his leg spin bowling. Interestingly, Hutton wanted to be a footballer as a child but his father threw away his boot in fire and got him a cricket bat! Who are the other top scorers in Australia vs England test cricket?

following is a list of batsmen who have gone past double century in Ashes test matches over the years :- Highest scores Ashes test matches Batsman Highest individual score by a batsman in test match cricket - Fast Cricket. Highest individual score by a batsman in test match cricket Tag Cricket Records Sachin Tendulkar may own the record of the batsman with most runs in test cricket (and in onedayers), Brain Lara, former West Indian artist with bat, will take heart from his highest score by a batsman in an innings which he owned for 9 years before Mathew Hayden broke it. 6 months since Hayden's hurricane against Zimbabweans, at same Venue (Recreation ground in Antigua) and against same opposition (England), Brain Lara snatched back his phenomenal record, scoring the first and only 400 in test match cricket till today. Drawback : Not that Brain Lara's record can't be broken today, but modern day batters have lost the patience with loads of ODI & T20 cricket played around the world and also the teams have become more result oriented than in Lara's days whose best test match score didn't fetch a win for his team (England earned a draw!).

Capables : Virendra Sehwag of India and Chris Gayle of West Indies who like to play their shots when most batsman like to defend in test cricket. Note : Double centuries may won a batsman a test match for his country, but not a place in elite list below, which comprises only 300s. Note : There have been 10 countries to play test cricket. Highest scores by batsman from West Indies, Australia, Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan, New Zealand and India feature in list below. Now among remaining teams, highest test match score by a Zimbabwe batsman is by David Houghton = 266 against Sri Lanka at Bulawayo in October 1994 while top test score by a Bangladesh batsman is 206 by Tamim Iqbal against Pakistan in 2015. (Mushfiqur Rahim has the only other double century for the country = 200*).

Highest Individual scores by a batsman in test matches Batsman (Country) Jan 1991 Record Holders : Highest test score was first owned by CG Bannerman who made 165 in that first ever test match between England and Australia in year 1877. Then, WL Murdoch of Australia broke the record in 1884 with his 211 and in process became the first batsman to score a double century in test cricket. Robert Foster took away the record with his 287 against Australia in 1903, before it was broken by A Sandham's first ever triple century = 325. WR Hammond, L Hutton and Gary Sobers held the record for highest test match score before Brain Lara broke Gary Sober's 36 years old record in 1994 with his 375 before making 400, taking record back from Mathew Hayden who held it for just 6 months! FastCricket welcomes your feedback : England v Australia, T20 head to head match results & Records. They played the first ever official cricket test match, as well as the first one day International.

They are, Australia and England but no, they didn't play the first ever T20I.. It was the second T20 International overall that brought England and Australia against each other in this shortest format, Australia v South Africa T20 head to head match results & records. It's quite easy to predict that Australia and England have played the most number of test matches (weren't they the pioneers of game of cricket?), locking horns well over 300 times until Ashes resumes in 2017 but that's the oldest format. Which two teams have played most number of T20 India v Pakistan T20 all match results & head to head records. In the days gone by, truth be told, Pakistan got the better of arch-rivals India on cricket field a regular basis, most of them at home and in Sharjah. This is clearly reflected when we see Indo-pak test head to head and green team's dominance is even more evident in List of T20 World cup winners & all team win/loss summary. Merely a look at all team test summary shows Australia have been the best team of longest format over the years.

Even the list of ODI summary and ODI world cup summary proves that Aussies have dominated in fifty over format more than any other team but story is quite India v Sri Lanka T20 head to head : All match results. India and Sri Lanka are like two neighbouring kids who just jump over the dotted sea and play whenever they can. I remember here at FastCricket we've talked about overdose of India SL cricket several times but recently as cricket schedule has become busier than ever before, these two best The highest score in Test cricket | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo The progression of the record April 12, 2004 The highest score in Test cricket The highest individual score in Test cricket - batting's blue-riband record - has only changed hands ten times since the first Test of all, 127 years ago in 1876-77. Here's how the bar has been raised: Charles Bannerman: first holder 165* - Charles Bannerman Australia v England, Melbourne, 1876-77 Neatly, the man who scored the first run in Test cricket extended his innings to 165 before being forced to retire hurt with a hand injury.

Charles Bannerman, 25, dominated Australia's innings in this inaugural Test, scoring 67.3% of his side's total - still a Test record for a completed innings. 211 - Billy Murdoch Australia v England, The Oval, 1884 Bannerman's record lasted seven and a half years, until Billy Murdoch hit Test cricket's first double-century, in a huge Australian total of 551. But England hung on for a draw in what was only a three-day match. Murdoch, who later played a Test for England too, was 29, and Australia's captain, at the time. 287 - Tip Foster England v Australia, Sydney, 1903-04 Reginald Erskine "Tip" Foster, the only man to captain England at cricket and football, marked his Test debut with an amazing innings. It remains the highest score by a player in his first Test, and is still England's highest in Australia. Foster, 25, put on 130 for the tenth wicket with Wilfred Rhodes (40*) as England posted a matchwinning total of 577.

325 - Andy Sandham England v West Indies, Kingston, 1929-30 Playing in what turned out to be his last Test, three months short of his 40th birthday, Surrey's Andy Sandham scored 325 as England ran up 849 in a supposedly timeless Test - ironically, though, the match was left drawn when the England team had to catch the boat home. Despite a first-innings lead of 563, the England captain, Freddie Gough-Calthorpe, didn't enforce the follow-on: his eventual declaration left West Indies just 836 to win. They made 408 for 5 ... 334 - Don Bradman Australia v England, Headingley, 1930 Three months later the record changed hands again, and to no-one's great surprise it was Australia's "Boy Wonder" who broke it. Don Bradman was only 21, and in the middle of a record-breaking tour of England in which he made those who had doubted his ability to score runs on English pitches eat their words.

He scored 974 runs in the Tests - still a record - 309 of them on the first day at Headingley. 336* - Wally Hammond England v New Zealand, Auckland, 1932-33 Hammond, second only to Bradman as a batsman at the time, eclipsed The Don's record with a murderous innings against a weak New Zealand side in 1932-33. Hammond, 29, smashed ten sixes and 34 fours, and his 300 came up in 288 minutes, still Test cricket's fastest in terms of time. Since Hammond had made 227 in the first of the two Tests that followed the acrimonious Bodyline tour of Australia, he finished with a series average of 563. 364 - Len Hutton England v Australia, The Oval, 1938 Hutton, 22, took advantage of a benign pitch and a toothless Australian attack to beat the record in what had become, with the series undecided, a timeless Test.

Hutton hit 35 fours in what was England's 100th century against Australia, and their eventual 903 for 7 remains the highest in Ashes Tests. Hammond, by then England's captain, apparently didn't declare until he was assured that Bradman, who had injured his leg while having a rare bowl, wouldn't be able to bat. 365* - Garry Sobers West Indies v Pakistan, Kingston, 1957-58 Sobers had played some promising cameos before he extended his maiden Test century past 300 to come of age as international cricketer (well, he was 21 at the time). He hit 38 fours, and piled on 446 for the second wicket with Conrad Hunte (260) as West Indies took advantage of a depleted Pakistan attack - one opening bowler pulled a thigh muscle in his first over, and another fractured his thumb - to set a record that lasted for 36 years. 375 - Brian Lara West Indies v England, St John's, 1993-94 Sobers was there to see his record go, in Antigua in 1994.

Lara, 24, batted for 768 minutes and hit 45 fours, and very nearly trod on his stumps in hitting the boundary that took him past Sobers's old mark. A few weeks later Lara, in the form of his life, completed the double by breaking the first-class record as well, with an innings of 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham. 380 - Matthew Hayden Australia v Zimbabwe, Perth, 2003-04 A perfect pitch, and a friendly attack in which all five bowlers used eventually leaked more than 100 runs, added up to the ideal recipe for Matthew Hayden, the solidly built left-hander, to annexe the record. Hayden, 32, bludgeoned 11 sixes and 38 fours as the Zimbabwe bowlers wilted (slow left-armer Ray Price, who did well in the next Test, had figures of 0 for 187). 400* - Brian Lara West Indies v England, St John's, 2003-04 Ten years after his 375, Lara returned to Antigua.

The circumstances were different: West Indies had been walloped 3-0, and Lara himself, by now 34 and captain, was under intense pressure to avert an unthinkable whitewash. And Lara, with barely a false stroke, became the first man to regain the top spot, hitting 43 fours and four sixes as he reclaimed the record - and West Indian pride - on his way to the first Test quadruple-century. Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden Cricinfo. © ESPN Sports Media Ltd. Ashes 1938: Len Hutton 364; England 903 for 7 at The Oval - Cricket Country › Series › The Ashes 1938 (Australia in England) › Articles Ashes 1938: Len Hutton 364; England 903 for 7 at The Oval Len Hutton's was a marathon batting performance that eventually culminated in one of the most one-sided Tests ever.

By Abhishek Mukherjee | Updated : August 9, 2016 8:35 PM IST Groundsman ‘Bosser’ Martin with his roller, standing in front of a scoreboard displaying England’s final score in the fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes at The Oval © Getty Images A gazillion records tumbled as England’s three-day batting marathon ended on August 23, 1938. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at a marathon batting performance that eventually culminated in one of the most one-sided Tests ever. There is a general notion that Test matches that do not favour the batsmen are ‘bad’. Few pitches, however, have produced cricket as dull as the pitch at The Oval did in the 1938 Test. It was not about the batsmen scoring runs; nor was it the fact that they did not get out: it was more about the fact that they did not even seem to be getting out. It must be remembered that the Australians had, in their line-up, an all-time great in the form of Bill O’Reilly, and a more than competent ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith to back him up.

They were a good fielding side to boot. Despite the fact that they had lacked a quality seamer, it was ridiculous that England would be able to take their score past 900 and would lose only seven wickets in eight sessions of batting. Whatever it wasn’t, was attractive cricket. And it certainly was not a good wicket. It was, however, a statistician’s delight, and more importantly, an Englishman’s delight as Australia were finally given the most emphatic drubbing in the history of the sport. The build-up Australia had retained the 1936-37 Ashes almost miraculously — they still remain the only side to have won a series after being down 0-2. When Don Bradman brought his team to England in 1938 there was obviously talks of ‘revenge’, after that heart-breaking 2-3 defeat. England began emphatically on a flat track Trent Bridge, with Eddie Paynter scoring 216 not out — a new Ashes record by an Englishman at home — and three others going past the hundred-mark.

After England declared at 658 for 8, Stan McCabe played an outrageous innings of 232 in 277 balls that could not help Australia avoid the follow-on. Bradman then scored his customary hundred (his fourth in 4 Tests — equalling his own world record), the Test was saved, and all was well with the world. Come Lord’s, and Hammond lit up the hallowed turf with 240 of the most elegant runs one would ever see going past Paynter’s record in the previous Test. In response Bill Brown carried his bat with a 206 (Bradman scored his fifth hundred in five Tests, creating a new world record), and at stumps on Day Five, Australia had reached 204 for 6 chasing 315. The third Test at Old Trafford was washed off without a ball being bowled, though it has successfully etched its name in history by being the only Test whose events have coincided exactly with an Alfred Hitchcock movie . Australia now needed to win one of the two remaining Test to retain the Ashes, which was difficult to achieve given the fact that no team had been bowled out for below 400 in the series till then.

Enter O’Reilly. The champion picked up 5 for 66 and 5 for 56 to rout England with excellent support from Fleetwood-Smith, who finished with 3 for 73 and 5 for 56. Of course, all that was supported by Bradman’s sixth hundred in six Tests . The tourists eventually survived a Doug Wright scare and ended up winning by five wickets. With the Ashes already conceded, England made three changes to their side, bringing back a 22-year-old youth from Pudsey called Len Hutton with five Tests under his belt; the experienced Les Ames; and the reliable Maurice Leyland. Out went Charlie Barnett, Fred Price, and an injured Doug Wright. At the last moment, however, Ames picked up an injury as well, making way for the Yorkshireman Arthur Wood, who made his Test debut five days before he turned 40. He was the fifth Yorkshire player of the side, and between them they went on to score 612 runs and pick up 10 wickets.

Wood was obviously excited at this unexpected reward that had come so late in his career: under the impression that it could well be his last Test, he took a taxi straight from Leeds to The Oval. “Not bad for a professional cricketer then earning some £200 or 300 a year,” Compton later exclaimed. Australia had no option but to leave out their spearhead Ernie McCormick who had been diagnosed with neuritis in the shoulder. Bradman filled his side with seven batsmen along with a wicket-keeper, which meant that they went in with only three specialist bowlers in the form of O’Reilly, Fleetwood-Smith, and the medium pacer Mervyn Waite, who gone wicketless in his debut at Headingley. To pack their side with more batsmen Bradman also brought in a debutant — a 22-year old from Sydney called Sid Barnes. The pitch was a belter to suit the timeless Test.The wicket seemed absolutely lifeless, and Bradman’s face possibly dropped when he lost the toss for the fourth consecutive time in the series: Hammond had decided to bat.

Day One: Hutton and Leyland scale new heights The pitch was so flat that it was not a surprise that England scored 347 for 1 on Day One. What was surprising that they had actually lost a wicket. Bradman had brought on O’Reilly after a few innocuous overs from Waite and McCabe: ‘Tiger’ responded immediately, trapping Bill Edrich leg-before for a 59-ball 12. England were 29 for one as Leyland walked out. It was a surreal spectacle. The 22-year-old was trying to make a mark in Tests whereas his 38-year-old Yorkshire teammate was making a comeback since the previous Ashes a year and a half back. The two men, almost a generation apart, would use the Ashes as a platform to set up one of the biggest partnerships of all time. Don Bradman (left) watches as Wally Hammond tosses the coin ahead of play on Day One © Getty Images Hutton saw it as a chance to make a mark in the international arena; Leyland saw it as an opportunity to sign off from cricket in style.

Hutton was an accumulator by nature, an epitome of concentration who was possibly born to bat on for hours. Leyland, despite his natural combative self, was a sound strokeplayer; but on that day the two of them batted in unison with a single-minded mission in mind — to bat Australia out of the Test. They crawled to 89 for 1 at lunch. Leyland took his time to settle in, but Hutton was on another plane. Barnett could not gather a ball when Hutton had stepped out to hit Fleetwood-Smith: he was 40 then.Hutton shut out his mind against strokeplay subsequently and decided to grind in. “Poor Ben missed it and was never allowed to forget the fact,” Denis Compton sympathised later. Despite a 45-minute handicap Leyland caught up with Hutton and they scored their individual fifties almost at the same time: Leyland in 110 balls and 94 minutes, and Hutton in 173 balls and 142 minutes. The torture, however, had just begun. On reaching his fifty Leyland began to open up, playing the booming drives and fierce pulls that so characterised his batting.

By the time Bradman realised he had erred in going into the Test a bowler short it was too late. Fleetwood-Smith’s ineffectiveness meant that O’Reilly had to be bowled and to be preserved. He tried the leg-breaks of the eager Barnes, but it did not change the mindset of the batsmen. They simply batted on. Hutton reached his hundred first in 254 balls and 212 minutes, equalling his highest score. Leyland followed soon, reaching the landmark in 218 balls and 202 minutes. A rare chance came after almost five hours of cricket: with his feet tired after almost a day’s batting Leyland fell short of the crease while attempting a single. Waite, however, disturbed the bails in eagerness before Jack Badcock’s throw came in. Barring the two mishaps they had generally been sharp on the field.

Wisden wrote: “Although both the England batsmen scored numerous singles on the off side Australia gave a superb display in the field, Bradman inspiring the team with his fast running and clean picking-up.” Hutton reached his 150 in 362 balls and 331 minutes; Leyland was there shortly afterwards, after batting for 331 balls and 299 minutes. They still carried on relentlessly, and at stumps Hutton was on 160 and Leyland on 156: they had added 318 in even time; England were 347 for 1. The Australian shoulders had started to drop already. They had already set a new Test record partnership for two batsmen coming from the same state side: Table 1: Highest partnerships for same domestic side members Record 576 Bloomfield Providence had not gone their way. To quote Wisden, “A curiosity of the day’s cricket was that four times a no-ball led either to the wicket being hit or the ball being caught.” Day Two: Hutton carries on after Leyland’s departure Rain delayed the start by 25 minutes after the rest day.

The downpour, however, somehow managed to improve the wicket rather than deteriorate it. The duo started off from where they had taken off the previous evening and almost immediately set up a new world record partnership for any wicket against Australia. Table 2: Highest partnerships against Australia Record 1968-69 258 Cardus had complained during one of the intervals to the veteran batsman: “Even you, Maurice, even you won’t hit the ball and give us some cricket.” The response, as always, was prompt and tongue-in-cheek: “Hey, wait a minute, Mr Cardus, wait a minute — tha’ must remember that ah’m playing for me place in team!” If there was one batsman Bradman did not want to see at 411 for 2 it was probably Hammond. The English captain walked out and went into an uncharacteristic defensive shell almost immediately and saw Hutton reach his double-hundred in 516 balls and 468 minutes. Hutton went past the record set by Hammond at Lord’s: he still holds the record.

After taking 12 runs off a Fleetwood-Smith over Hammond suddenly went into a shell; it took him 117 balls and 111 minutes to reach his fifty; he got uncharacteristically stagnant, not hitting a single boundary in his last two hours before he was trapped leg-before by Fleetwood-Smith for a 153-ball 59. The pair had added 135 in 141 minutes, and Hutton was already past 250, a landmark that had taken him 616 balls and 563 minutes. During their wait for close to two days Paynter had told Compton: “Denis, I bet you a pound you and I don’t make ten between us!” Compton accepted the bet. Paynter eventually walked out, completely exhausted from waiting with his pads on. He misjudged a leg-break from O’Reilly and was trapped leg-before for a duck. Compton recalled what followed: “A minute or two later I had been bowled by, of all people, Mervyn Waite, for 1. I purposely say ‘Mervyn Waite of all people’.

You see, this was the only wicket he took in his Test career and he became so proud of his achievement that to this day every time I have arrived in Australia or he in England, he rings me to arrange to buy me a ‘thank-you’ drink.” Compton fell for one, lost the bet, and England had suddenly lost 3 for 9 in 18 minutes, sliding from an acceptable 546 for 2 to a deplorable 555 for 5. Joe Hardstaff jr, the son of Joe Hardstaff sr and the father of Joe Hardstaff (probably the only three First-Class cricketers in a lineage full of many other Joe Hardstaffs) joined Hutton. Len Hutton goes about his innings, breaking multiple records on the way © Getty Images Hutton soon surpassed his highest First-Class score of 271, and still seemed relentlessly hungry for more runs. He found the perfect partner in Hardstaff. His concentration did not waver for a single moment: “I soon realised that Len could play the type of innings that was foreign to my nature.

I could not have batted that length of time without having a number of rushes of blood, but he just ground on, unwilling to break his concentration even for one ball,” Compton commented later. With his concentration never deserting him Hutton eventually went on to register the highest score by anyone against Australia: Table 5: Highest score against Australia Batsman 364 847 Do note that the number of balls faced by Hanif Mohammad in the above innings is not known. He kept going, thanks to the consistent encouragement from Hammond and his Yorkshire teammates, Bill Bowes and Hedley Verity, during the intervals. “In the end they were keener on Len attempting to beat Don’s record [of the highest Ashes score] than he was,” Compton later recalled. Hutton reached his 300 from 718 balls and 662 minutes just before stumps on Day Two. He went to the pavilion unbeaten on that score with Hardstaff on 40. England were 634 for 5.

Hutton later recollected that he was beginning to feel tired when on 250; Leyland had probably anticipated the excitement and anticipation might give the youngster a sleepless night and had recommended the young teetotaller a port and a Guinness. It did Hutton absolutely no good as he tossed and turned with visions of O’Reilly haunting him through the night. While discussing that night Hutton said: “I could not shut out of my mind the thought of his charging up, ball after ball, as he always did, as though he was going to eat me. My, how that man hated batsmen. What a great competitive bowler. I’ve never played against a better.” Day Three: Records tumble O’Reilly began proceedings (“still breathing fire and brimstone as he galloped in”, Hutton later recalled) next morning, determined to stop Hutton from reaching the landmark. Bradman stood right in front of him at silly mid-off, inching closer with every passing ball, determined to lure Hutton into a false stroke. The body language was aggressive enough to suggest that the visitors were on top. They seemed completely unfazed by the fact that they had been thoroughly outplayed by the hosts for two days.

England soon reached 655, which meant that Hutton had been a part of three century partnerships in a single innings. In doing so he became only the fourth batsman in history to achieve this feat. Table 8: Three hundred-partnerships by the same batsman in an innings Batsman 6 215 Several batsmen have achieved this since Hutton. However, do note that Hutton was the first to do it on English soil, and Hanif Mohammad later went on to have four hundred-partnerships in the innings mentioned above, with Imtiaz Ahmed, Alimuddin, Saeed Ahmed, and Wazir Mohammad. This remains a unique feat. Hutton went on and past the 330-mark. The entire stadium, full of 30,000-odd spectators waited with bated breath as he inched on towards the landmark. Two more runs happened – he was now only two short of Bradman’s 334.The first 75 minutes of the morning had yielded only 32 runs for Hutton.

Hutton late-cut one from Fleetwood-Smith but Hardstaff sent him back and walked up to Hutton after the ball with the words “no, you don’t, it’s not worth taking a risk now.” In Len Hutton Remembered, Donald Trelford recollected the exact words said by Howard Marshall during this phase: “The gasometer sinking lower and lower as here comes Fleetwood-Smith running up to bowl. He bowls, and Hutton get a short one. Hutton forces it past silly mid-off where Bradman’s fielding; yes, it is Bradman crouching at silly mid-off. Now here’s Fleetwood-Smith in again to Hutton. Hutton hits him. Oh, beautiful stroke, that’s the record! Well, that was the most lovely stroke, a late-cut, off Fleetwood Smith’s leg-break, which absolutely flashed to the boundary for four runs to give Hutton the record.” Hutton himself recollected later: “In the end Fleetwood-Smith bowled me a long-hop outside the off stump. Gratefully, I chopped it through the slips and I had done it.

Many years later in Australia when Fleetwood-Smith was down on his luck, he came up to me and asked if I could help him a bit financially. I remembered the long-hop in 1938 — and I reckoned that had been worth a fiver of anybody’s money.” Len Hutton is congratulated by Bill Brown on breaking Don Bradman’s record of highest individual Ashes score of 334 runs © Getty Images Bradman himself was the first to congratulate Hutton (“slapped on the back”, wrote Arthur Mailey in The Argus) and the entire Australian team followed suit, as did Hardstaff. Hutton had set a new Ashes record: Table 9: Highest Ashes scores Batsman 2003-04 400* Hutton carried on, unfazed: he became the first player to reach 350 in a Test, the landmark coming up in 812 balls and 712 minutes. Soon afterwards he became the first player in history to be a part of a 300- and a 200-run partnership in the same innings.

The feat has subsequently been emulated by Michael Clarke, who added 288 with Ricky Ponting for the fourth wicket and an unbroken 334 with Michael Hussey for the fifth wicket against India at SCG in 2011-12, and Hashim Amla, 259 with Graeme Smith for the second wicket and an unbroken 377 with Jacques Kallis for the third wicket against England at The Oval in 2012. Hardstaff, on the other hand, went on hitting the ball prolifically, accelerating after Hutton’s record. Hutton eventually holed out to Hassett off O’Reilly, and was cheered on his way back. The magnum opus had lasted 847 balls and 797 minutes, and he his scoring shots included 143 singles, 18 twos, 15 threes, and 35 boundaries.

The following table shows a breakdown of Hutton’s innings in segments of fifty: Table 11: Hutton’s innings broken down Fifty 337 309 It was Wood’s turn now – the man who had possibly been ruing what was arguably the most useless taxi-ride in the history of Test cricket. He had to wait the mere matter of 14 hours after he had got off the taxi. As he walked out of the dressing-room Hammond told him that he needed to bat on, since many more runs needed to be scored before the declaration would come. With the scoreboard reading 770 for 6 Wood walked out with the words “aye, I’m just [the] man for crisis.” The scorecard when Len Hutton was dismissed on 364 © Getty Images The next record was broken when England went past their own score of 849: Table 14: Highest team scores Team 1997 952 for 6 Hardstaff, having reached his 50 in 113 balls and 92 minutes, now went past the hundred-mark in 236 balls and 192 minutes.

Shortly afterwards he bettered his previous Test best of 114. Wood also joined in the fun and reached 50 on debut in 78 balls and 74 minutes. He added 106 with Hardstaff; in the process England’s became the first one to include four century partnerships. This feat has been achieved seven more times. Hardstaff reached his 150 in 367 balls and 298 minutes. This became the first occasion when three batsmen went past 150 in the same innings. The only other time it has been achieved was in Kanpur 1986-87 when Sunil Gavaskar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and KapilDev scored 176, 199, and 163 respectively. The pair added 106 before Wood hit one back to Barnes off a full-toss to become his first Test wicket and eventually Hammond declared at tea with Hardstaff unbeaten on 169 and Verity on eight. England had scored 903 for 7 in 335.2 overs and the groundsman complained later about them not making an effort for the thousand-mark.

Then, with the score on 887, a major incident occurred: Bradman himself came on to bowl. The Advertiser (Adelaide) wrote: “Bradman collapsed at the popping-crease and was carried from the field by Waite and Fleetwood-Smith, Ward taking his place and McCabe assuming the captaincy. The accident occurred from the second ball of Bradman’s second bowling spell.” Hammond could possibly have batted longer but he declared the moment he got to know that Bradman’s injury was serious enough. He did not delay the decision further (what if Bradman had got enough time to be cured?). With Jack Fingleton also pulling out because of a muscle-strain the Australians were reduced to nine batsmen, making the decision a no-brainer. O’Reilly ended up with figures of 85-26-178-3 while Fleetwood-Smith had 87-11-298-1.Patsy Hendren was in awe of Fleetwood-Smith’s tenacity:”My admiration for Fleetwood has increased tremendously.

His final analysis will look dreadful in cold print, but figures will tell an awful lie concerning his bowling merit.” As things turned out, Fleetwood-Smith set two unenviable records: Table 15: Most balls bowled by a bowler in an innings Batsman 1938 2011 Hutton, in an interview to The West Australian (Perth), said: “Eight years ago when I was aged 14 I watched Bradman’s 334 at Leeds and little realised that I would have a chance of beating it.” Accolades poured in. Mailey called it “one of the best played for England.” He added: “The only regret is that it was not made in a match which had a bearing on the destination of The Ashes.” Charlie Macartney, in an interview to The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), said: “Hutton achieved a wonderful performance. It was an amazing feat of physical endurance and patience.

His innings contained remarkably few mistakes… it was a mixture of neat and crude cuts… the only time he left the crease to make a stroke he should have been stumped.” Bradman wrote: “Throughout the long innings his defence remained utterly impregnable, whilst his shots were correctly made and every ball played in its merit.” Of Leyland’s run out Bradman wrote that he “seemed unlikely to get out any other way.” Pudsey, Hutton’s city, went wild in excitement. The Argus wrote: “Bells were ringing and drinks were ‘on the house’ at all hotels. Complete strangers shook hands in the streets. Hutton’s mother wept for joy. His father was working on a building estate some distance from his home but relays of friends kept him posted with the latest score. The postmaster was swamped with congratulatory telegrams.” Alderman Myers, the Mayor of Pudsey, blurted out in excitement: “By goom, it’s costing me summat in telegrams!” Mr Myers had apparently sent Hutton a telegram after every fifty scored by the batsman! The fan mail had already started to arrive by the third day.

The Argus wrote: “It is rumoured that some letters contain marriage proposals, but Hutton refuses to deny or confirm.” Trying for press on the situation, Mailey cornered Hutton after he was dismissed, with George Duckworth listening in. Mailey: Are you married? Mailey: Engaged? Hutton (blushing): No, Arthur, I am not interested in anybody. I’m only a baby. At that moment a huge cheer went on inside the ground. A confused Hutton turned towards Duckworth. Hutton: What happened? Somebody beaten my record? Duckworth: No. Don’s bowling now. The entrepreneur A Whitelaw announced a reward worth £1,000 for Hutton. Eight years back he had gifted the same amount to Bradman when he had scored 334 at Headingley. Australia, now down to nine men, were up against the daunting task of scoring 704 to save the follow-on as they went out to bat at 5 pm. Given that the Test was a timeless one there was no question of playing out time and saving it: they were up against defeat even before they had come out to bat, and they were aware of it.

The team was psychologically quite down when they came out to bat; Bowes struck in the second over, having Jack Badcock (whose name caused general hilarity among contemporary fans) caught by Hardstaff at silly mid-on. Bowling with serious pace at the other end Ken Farnes had McCabe caught by Edrich at short square-leg for 14. Australia were 19 for 2 after 18 minutes of batting. Hassett walked out. The diminutive Victorian put up a brilliant display of batsmanship, driving Farnes for two boundaries on the leg-side. Australia, decided to go down fighting, brought up their fifty in 40 minutes. It was too good to last, however, and when Edrich bounced one he hooked straight to Compton at long-leg. Hassett’s 42 had taken him 41 balls and the pair had added 51 in 33 minutes. Barnes walked out for his first Test innings and played some beautiful strokes. Australia were 117 for 3 at stumps – a mere 786 runs behind – with Barnes on 25 and Brown still around with 29.

Day Four: Australia capitulate Brown and Barnes began the next day tentatively, but one spell from Bowes dismissed whatever hope there was in the heart of the Australian supporters: he ran through Barnes’s defence (the youngster had scored a 72-ball 41 and had helped Brown add 75 in 68 minutes); Barnett edged one to Woods; Waite was clean bowled; and O’Reilly was caught behind, giving Bowes his fifth wicket. From 145 for 3 Australia had slumped to 160 for 7. The stark contrast between scorelines of the two sides was unbelievable. Other than Brown, no Australian batsman had displayed the concentration and application of the Englishmen and surrendered meekly to the English attack. Fleetwood-Smith, effectively the last batsman in Bradman and Fingleton’s absence, scored a 20-ball 16 (going past his previous best of 13) with three fours and helped Brown take Australia past 200. “Neither pace nor spin bowling could disturb the equanimity of Brown,” wrote Wisden.

In an effort to bring Fleetwood-Smith on strike Hutton kicked the ball to the boundary when Brown had cut it to the Yorkshireman. Since the effort was intentional, however, Brown was awarded five runs and he managed to retain the strike. When nothing seemed to work Hammond tried the left-arm spin of Leyland. Keeping in tone with the success story of the Yorkshire players in the Test, Leyland struck: Brown was caught by Hammond of the second attempt for a 153-ball 69 with 6 fours. He just missed out on carrying his bat through an innings (though Australia were, technically speaking, two men short). The last wicket had added 41 in 26 minutes, and the entire innings had lasted only 52.1 overs and 166 minutes. To put things into perspective, Hutton had taken 142 minutes to reach his first fifty. Bowes finished with 5 for 49. Leading by 702 Hammond could well have batted on, setting the only four-digit target in Test cricket. However, he was probably sceptic about Bradman’s injury: what if he got fit and scored a 600?

He had, after all, scored a hundred in each of his last 6 Tests! Badcock was bowled by Bowes early in the second innings; McCabe was caught behind off Farnes and Bowes trapped Hassett leg-before. Australia’s last hope of going past Hutton possibly faded when Brown holed out to Edrich off Farnes. They were 41 for 4, and required 661 more to make England bat again. Barnes and Barnett hit out merrily, the former scoring 33 before Verity trapped him leg-before. Waite fell next ball. Barnett flashed his bat hard at everything that came his way, and scored a merry 50-ball 46 with seven fours before Farnes came back to bowl him. Farnes rounded off the innings as Leyland had the last touch of the Test, having Fleetwood-Smith caught. Farnes eventually finished with 4 for 63 while Bowes and Verity picked up a pair apiece. The Australian innings of 123 lasted only 34.1 overs.

Australia had lost by an innings and 579 runs, setting a new world record: Table 18: Biggest margin of victory Team 1938 Others to achieve the feat subsequently are Bradman, Greenidge, Inzamam, Hayden and Langer On their way back home Hutton and Compton had to stop at a traffic signal. A car pulled up next to them and a woman asked: “Well done, Len, but why didn’t you score one more — one for every day of the year?” A shell-shocked Hutton later told Compton: “Denis, tell me, can you ever satisfy a woman?” What followed? - Bradman was ruled out for the rest of the tour. Much to his dismay he could not play Amr Bey, the “undisputed champion” of squash, in a bout that would have brought two champions face-to-face.

- The Australians, demoralised by the rout, had a torrid time throughout the rest of the tour: they conceded a 117-run lead to Sussex at Hove and just about managed to save the match.The last match of the tour against HD Leveson-Gower’s XI at Scarborough, however, must have been a déjà vu for the tourists: Hutton scored 73, Leyland 51, and Hardstaff 108; Farnes picked up 3 for 75 in the first innings while Bowes had 5 for 42 in the second. Not to be left behind, Verity picked up 3 for 60 in the match. - The longest Test was played at Kingsmead a year after the incident. The two Tests put the concept of timeless Tests under serious doubt. In a meeting held on October 12, 1945 the Australian Board announced that timeless Tests would be used in last Tests of series only if it was a decider. It wasn’t needed as both the 1946-47 and 1948 Ashes were decided before the last Tests.

The next meeting before the 1950-51 did not even include the question of a timeless Test. - It turned out to be the last Ashes before World War II. Australia retained the Ashes for the next three series but eventually conceded it in 1953. England were led by Hutton. - After scoring 270 at MCG, 26 and 212 at Adelaide, 169 at MCG, 51 and 144 not out at Trent Bridge, 18 and 102 not out at Lord’s, and 103 and 16 at Headingley, Bradman did not bat at The Oval. It was already a world record then, with nobody having scored hundreds in more than three consecutive Tests. He took off after the war where he had left off — with 187 at The Gabba and 234 at SCG. - Australia as good as avenged the defeat in the next Ashes Test at Brisbane, winning the match by an innings and 332 runs — at that time the second-largest margin of victory after England’s at The Oval.

It was undoubtedly the greatest turnaround ever in the history of Test cricket. Brief scores: England 903 for 7 decl. (Len Hutton 364, Maurice Leyland 187, Joe Hardstaff jr 169*, Wally Hammond 59, Arthur Wood 53; Bill O’Reilly 3 for 178) beat Australia 201 (Bill Brown 69, Lindsay Hassett 42, Sid Barnes 41; Bill Bowes 5 for 49) and 123 (Ben Barnett 46; Ken Farnes 4 for 63). BBC SPORT | Cricket | Test Match Special | Stump the Bearded Wonder No 136 Stump the Bearded Wonder No 136 Bill Frindall, aka the Bearded Wonder, answers your latest batch of queries. Remember, the Test Match Special statistician is always on hand to help you out with your questions. And if you think you can catch him out, have a go! Fill in the form on the right-hand side of the page to stump the Bearded Wonder.

Click here to visit Bill Frindall's website Anthony Mercer, New Zealand Is England's 551-6 in the second Test at Adelaide the highest first innings total by the losing team in a Test match? Tim Gill, UK What is the highest first-innings score by a team that subsequently lost the match? Yours in abject misery... England's 551-6 declared is the fourth-highest first innings Test match total by a losing side. Curiously, all four of those totals have occurred in Australia. Their 586 against England at Sydney in 1894-95 is the highest (when England became the only side before 1981 to win after following on). The second-highest is Pakistan's 574-8 declared (batting second) at Melbourne in 1972-73, followed by Australia's 556 against India at Adelaide in 2003-04. Thus England's recent total is the second-highest declared total to lose and the highest to do so by a side batting first in a Test.

Tim Marshall, England When was the last time England lost the first two Tests in Australia and then went on to win the series 3-2? Has it ever been done? England have never even drawn a series in Australia after losing the first two Tests. Australia won the 1936-37 rubber 3-2 after losing the first two Tests. Norman, Coventry Who are the English players who have scored double centuries against Australia? Eight England batsmen have shared the 11 double hundreds scored against Australia, with Wally Hammond contributing four. In alphabetical order they are K.F.Barrington (256), P.D.Collingwood (206), R.E.Foster (287), D.I.Gower (215), W.R.Hammond (251, 240, 231*, 200), N.Hussain (207), L.Hutton (364), and E.Paynter (216*). Only Collingwood, Foster and Hammond (three times) have scored double hundreds for England in Australia.

Ninad Joshi, USA What is the best debut effort by a batsman and a bowler in an Ashes series? England's R.E. (Tip) Foster holds the record for the highest score on debut in Ashes Tests with his 287 at Sydney in 1903-04. The best by an Australian debutant is 165 (retired hurt) by Charles Bannerman who played the very first innings in Test cricket at Melbourne in 1876-77. Australia's R.A.L. (Bob) Massie holds the bowling record with 8-84 and 8-53 at Lord's in 1972. England's most successful debutant bowler was Fred Martin with 6-50 at The Oval in 1890. Beburg Zehri, Canada Shahid Afridi is nearing 5,000 limited-overs international runs and his batting average is under 25. Would that make him the only player in LOI history to score 5,000 with an under 25 average? He certainly would be.

The only player to score 5,000 runs in internationals at an average below 30 is Roshan Mahanama who scored 5,162 runs, average 29.50 for Sri Lanka. As of 9 December 2006, Shahid Afridi has a tally of 4842 runs at 23.39. Nick Marsden, UK How many of Don Bradman's 52 Tests did Australia win? Perhaps not as many as you expected, Nick. Australia won 30 (57.7%), lost 12 (23.1%) and drew 10 (19.2%). His record as captain in his final 24 Tests was 15 wins, three defeats and six draws. Paddy Flynn, UK Do you have any information regarding David Steele, the Northants batsman, being sponsored by a butcher in the Test series against Australia in 1975? Yes, at the end of that series David asked me to check how many runs he had scored.

The answer was 365, his scores in those first three matches in England colours being 50, 45, 73, 92, 39 and 66. A bet struck with a local butcher earned him a lamb chop for every run and a fillet steak for each of his four fifties. When I confirmed his final tally, Steele, a careful man known by his mates as "Crime" because he seldom paid, said: "I thought so. He's done me out of two chops!" John Cooper, UK How many bowlers have taken nine wickets in a Test match innings for England? Four bowlers have returned nine-wicket analyses for England. Three of them achieved this feat against South Africa: George Lohmann (9-28 in 1895-96) and S.F.Barnes (9-103 in 1913-14) both doing so at Johannesburg, while Devon Malcolm achieved the most recent instance when he took 9-57 at The Oval in 1994.

Jim Laker is unique in taking nine or more wickets twice in the same match with 9-37 and 10-53 against Australia at Manchester's Old Trafford in 1956. Nick Pryor, England My great grandfather tells me that his cousin was the Yorkshire wicket-keeper Arthur Wood. He also recalls how this led to his having tea with such great names as Sir Len Hutton. However, I can find very little detail about the life and career of Arthur Wood. Can you enlighten me? Arthur Wood (1898-1974) appeared in 420 first-class matches (1927-49). A right-hander, he scored 8842 runs, average 21.20, with one century (123no) and 43 fifties, and made 886 dismissals, including 255 stumpings. He was awarded his Yorkshire cap in 1929 and selected as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of 1938. In that season he played the first of his four Test matches.

A late selection, he travelled from his Yorkshire home to London by taxi, and contributed 53 in 92 minutes off 95 balls to England's world record total of 903-7 declared. Joining Joe Hardstaff with The Oval scoreboard reading 770-6 when Len Hutton was dismissed for 364, he quipped "I was always the man for a crisis" before sharing a stand of 106 for the seventh wicket. The following summer he appeared in England's last three Tests against West Indies before his career was effectively ended by the Hitler War. Henry Dawson, England I bowl leg-spin and was wondering what Terry Jenner's and Paul Pridgeon's first-class career figures were? Pridgeon is my cricket coach and I have been to the Jenner sessions.

Terrence James Jenner, leg-break and googly bowler, right-handed batsman played in 131 first-class matches for Western Australia (1963-64 to 1966-67) and South Australia (1967-68 to 1976-77), taking 389 wickets, average 32.18, with 14 five-wicket hauls and a career-best of 7-84. He scored 3,580 runs, average 22.23, with 86 the highest of his 11 fifties. In nine Tests (1970-71 to 1975-76) he took 24 wickets at 31.20 and scored 208 runs at 23.11.

Alan Paul Pridgeon, a right-hander who bowled at medium-fast pace, played 240 first-class matches for Worcestershire (1972-89), taking 530 wickets at 32.76, with 7-35 the best of his 10 five-wicket hauls. He scored 1188 runs at 8.67, his top score of 67 being his only half-century. Ralph , England Bill, please put my son right. I know that 90 overs should be bowled in a day, and an extra half hour per day is allowed to accommodate this. The main reason that there was one over short on the second day at Adelaide was Australia's inexplicable slow over rate, especially considering the number of overs Shane Warne bowled, and that the extra half hour was required. It was not necessarily through England bowling the last 10 overs slowly. It doesn't matter which side was responsible for the tardy over rate.

Under the ICC's Standard Test Match Playing Conditions concerning Law 16 (Start of Play; Cessation of Play), "If any of the minimum target number of overs have not been bowled at the completion of the permitted overtime, play shall cease upon completion of the over in progress. The overs not bowled shall not be made up on any subsequent day." Mark, England Am I correct in thinking that the oft-maligned Ashley Giles stands just over 100 runs and nine wickets away from becoming only the third England player to take 150 wickets and make 1,500 runs? The second Test at Adelaide was the 54th in which Ashley Giles appeared since making his debut in 1998. He has scored 1,421 runs (average 20.89), taken 143 wickets (average 40.60) and held 33 catches.

He thus needs 79 runs and seven wickets to join Ian Botham (5,200 runs and 383 wickets in 102 Tests) and Andrew Flintoff (3,133 runs and 186 wickets in 63 Tests).

Question: Which English batsman holds the record for the highest score in an Ashes Test Match (364)?
Answer: LEN HUTTON