14 players have got to the 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket till date, Joe Root being the most recent entrant.
Test cricket, the game’s toughest and the ultimate format has been the defining criterion of the “legend” and “great” status for cricketers expertising in any of its disciplines. The art of batsmanship, forming the very core of the game, involves a great deal of skills, technique, patience, temperament and discipline.
Ever since the format’s inception back in 1877, only 14 batsmen have been able to breach the 10,000-run mark over the 2,464 Tests being played till date. The list includes three players each from India and Australia, two each from England, West Indies and Sri Lanka, and one each from South Africa and Pakistan.
10,000 Test Runs! Second England Player after Alastair Cook to reach the milestone#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/1X4FxbODB6
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) June 5, 2022
15,921 runs at 53.78; Matches: 200, 100s: 51, 50s: 68, HS: 248*
The unrivalled leader of most batting records in the game, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the only player to feature in 200 Tests till date, and inspired many to take up the sport during a 24-year glittering career. He often reserved his best against Australia – the most dominant side during a major part of his career. The master batter was an integral part of the Indian team that topped the Test rankings for the first time ever, under MS Dhoni in late 2009.
13,378 runs at 51.85; Matches: 168, 100s: 41, 50s: 62, HS: 257
Ponting was the backbone of the famed Australia batting line-up, especially during the 2000s, when he was at the helm of an all-conquering unit. A freewheeling batter, Ponting demolished the best of bowling attacks on his day with his positive approach, his trademark pull stroke being a sight to behold. Almost half of his Test runs (6,542) came while captaining the side.
13,289 runs at 55.37; Matches: 166, 100s: 45, 50s: 58, HS: 224
Arguably, one of game’s two greatest all-rounders – alongside Sir Garfield Sobers – Kallis’ batting achievements alone would prompt tonnes of appreciation, as was the case with the former West Indies great. His 55.37 average maintained through 166 Tests – the second best in this list – is worth the praise, more so, considering he’s played most of his cricket in tough batting conditions in South Africa. Add another 11,579 ODI runs and 666 T20I runs with 577 wickets and 338 field catches across formats – Kallis was once in a generation cricketer.
13,288 runs at 52.31; Matches: 164, 100s: 36, 50s: 63, HS: 270
The stern “Wall” and “Mr. Dependable” at No.3, Rahul Dravid was the glue that held India’s famed batting line-up together in late Nineties and through the 2000s. He, alongside VVS Laxman, orchestrated one of Test cricket’s greatest results in the 2001 Kolkata Test among others in a highly accomplished career. He’s also one of the only two cricketers with hundreds in all 10 playing Test nations. In 2004, he became the first ever recipient of the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and the Test Cricketer of the Year.
India legend Rahul Dravid was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on Sunday – we caught up with him for an extensive Q&A about his fantastic career 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7bFYwZExcb
— ICC (@ICC) July 6, 2018
12,472 runs at 45.35; Matches: 161, 100s: 33, 50s: 67, HS: 294
One of the only two designated openers in the list, Alastair Cook mastered the art of tough grind at the top to pile up big scores on a consistent basis. The highlight of his career came during the 2010/11 Ashes series in Australia, in which he aggregated 766 runs from seven innings at 127.66, including a gritty, match-saving 235* in the series-opener in Brisbane. The 3-1 result remains England’s only Ashes win Down Under since 1986-87.
12,400 runs at 57.40; Matches: 134, 100s: 38, 50s: 52, HS: 319
The former Sri Lanka captain heads the averages in this illustrious list at a brillant 57.40, and was stitched up various monmental knocks throughout his career across formats. Sangakkara scored a staggering 11 double hundreds in his Test career, which is second only to the great Sir Don Bradman’s tally of 12.
11,953 runs at 52.88; Matches: 131, 100s: 34, 50s: 48, HS: 400*
Arguably, the most stylish batter of the game, Brian Lara blessed cricket with his marvellous batsmanship, carried about at an effortless ease. He was the leading-run scorer when he played his final Test in 2006, before being surpassed by Tendulkar two years later. At 25, he would smash Test cricket’s then highest individual score – 365 against England in Antigua in 1994, before bettering that with a landmark, unparalleled 400*at the same venue a decade later.
He’s just SO good to watch! Get the full six-and-a-half minutes of Brian Lara batting goodness right here: https://t.co/lCnqREU78s#20in2020 pic.twitter.com/JiHKcBS3kh
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 7, 2020
11,867 runs at 51.37; Matches: 164, 100s: 30, 50s: 66, HS: 203*
A resolute, highly efficient batter with an unconventional stance and methodology, Shivnarine Chanderpaul was often overshadowed by the great Brian Lara for a major part of his career. In a multi-format career spanning over two decades, Chanderpaul often frustrated attacks with his doggedness and determination within, but was capable of shifting gears should the need arise. It might surprise a few, that he has the joint sixth fastest hundred in Tests, which came off 69 balls against Australia in Georgetown, Guyana in 2003.
11,814 runs at 49.84; Matches: 149, 100s: 34, 50s: 50, HS: 374
A batter adept at class, flair and deft, Mahela Jayawardene was the mainstay of Sri Lanka’s middle-order throughout his career, forging numerous monumental partnerships with the rest around. His career best 374 came in a massive 624-run stand with Sangakkara against South Africa in Colombo in 2006 – a record for any wicket till date. It’s also the fourth highest individual score in the format.
11,174 runs at 50.56; Matches: 156, 100s: 27, 50s: 63, HS: 205
Allan Border personified the typical Australian toughness through his batting, as much as his revolutionary leadership skills. Border led from the front in Australia’s transitioning phase through the Eighties, which also included their first ever World Cup triumph in 1987. He was the leading run-scorer and the most capped cricketer at the time of his retirement, and the 6,623 tally as captain bettered only by Graeme Smith (8,659). The left-hander wasn’t the most attractive of the lot, but incredibly consistent with a mannerism of his own. His 153 consecutive Test appearances was a record, until surpassed by Cook, who has 159.
10,927 runs at 51.06; Matches: 168, 100s: 32, 50s: 50, HS: 200
Perhaps the lesser eye-catchy with his stroke-play of the two Waugh brothers, Steve was as impactful, dynamic and mentally tough as his captains Allan Border and Mark Taylor. His batting would take a further advance with the leadership role in the late Nineties and early 2000s, laying the foundation for an all-conquering West Indies side. He won 41 of his 57 Tests as captain, which makes for a scarcely believable win percentage of 71.92.
10,122 runs at 51.12; Matches: 125, 100s: 34, 50s: 45, HS: 236*
Patience, concentration, discipline, grit, defiance, decisiveness – Sunil Gavaskar, the original little-master, had all the characteristics of what it takes to be a high-class Test opener. Gavaskar laid the benchmark for technically sound batsmanship at the top in an era that boasted the best of fast bowling attacks. He was the scourge of the dominant West Indies side of the Seventies and Eighties, scoring 2,749 runs at a staggering 65.45 with 13 hundreds, including a career best 236* in Chennai – a record for India until VVS Laxman bettered it in the 2001 Kolkata Test.
10,099 runs at 52.05; Matches: 118, 100s: 34, 50s: 33, HS: 313
The only Pakistan batter in the list, Younis holds the unique record of scoring hundreds in 11 different countries, which includes the UAE – Pakistan’s designated home for the entirety of the 2010s. His conversion rate of 50s into 100s, a mind-boggling 1.03 is only second to Bradman’s 2.23 among batters with a minimum of 20 Test tons. His supreme driving through the off-side was a sight to behold, so was the exaggerated flourish on strokes to the on-side.
Joe Root, one of game’s modern greats, is the only current player in the list, having achieved the milestone with his match-winning hundred against New Zealand at Lord’s on Sunday. After highly productive seasons during the first few years of his Test career, Root endured a tough extended run, before redeeming himself in a breakout 2021 year. He aggregated 1,708 runs at 61 across the 12-months period – the third-highest tally ever in a calendar year, which also included six hundreds, two of them being doubles.
