Test cricket is regarded as the toughest format of the game’; the purest and the greatest. For it demands an incredible amount of patience, tests the player in all skills across varying conditions for five days.
Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the game and Test series wins overseas, especially in some of the tougher and alien conditions are considered as the best moments in a team’s history.
The first Test match was held in 1877 at the MCG between Australia and England. Over the past 145 years of the history of the game, Test cricket has evolved significantly in all aspects and now is even played in the Day-Night format with the pink ball.
In this article, we list out the XI batsmen with the most runs at each batting position:
Openers: Openers: Alastair Cook (11845) and Sunil Gavaskar (9607)
Former international captains – England’s Alastair Cook and India’s Sunil Gavaskar are the top two leading run-scorers as openers in Test cricket. They also form a left-right-hand combination. They are two classical openers who often posed a challenge for the bowlers to knock over early.
Gavaskar averaged 51 in Test career, and Cook 45, and both were part of some of the famous Test wins away from home in their country’s history.
Number 3: Kumar Sangakkara (11679)
Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara is Sri Lanka’s all-time highest Test scorer with 12400 Test runs, out of which he amassed 11679 batting at number 3 – the most in the world at this position and averaged 60 at number 3.
Number 4: Sachin Tendulkar (13492)
Hailed as the ‘God of Cricket,’ Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-getter in both Tests and ODIs. The Master Blaster scored 13492 runs and became the greatest number 4 in Tests, averaging 54 at this position. Tendulkar hit 44 of his 51 Test centuries at this famed number 4 slot.
Number 5: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (6883)
With one of the most unorthodox batting stances you will come across, West Indian legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the second-highest Test scorer from West Indies with 11867 runs, out of which he scored 6883 at number 5 – the most at this position, and averaged a terrific 56 at number 5.
Number 6: Steve Waugh (3165)
Iconic Australian captain under whom Australia became one of the most successful cricket teams of all time, Steve Waugh averaged 51 while batting at number 6 and piled up 3165 runs at this position. Steve Waugh, however, had the most Test success batting at number 3.
Number 7: Adam Gilchrist (3948)
Adam Gilchrist redefined the role of a wicket-keeper in Test cricket; Gilchrist was perhaps the first proper keeper-batter in Tests. The left-hander scored 5570 Test runs at a strike rate of 81.
At number 7, nobody had more Test runs than Gilchrist’s 3948 runs at an average of 46.
Number 8: Daniel Vettori (2227)
Coming to the bowlers who can bat, Daniel Vettori can bat well, as evident by his 4531 Test runs at an average of 30 and 6 Test tons. The left-handed former New Zealand captain scored 2227 runs at number 8 with a considerable average of 39 – brilliant for a number 8 – at this position.
Number 9: Stuart Broad (1362)
England’s second-leading Test wicket-taker Stuart Broad is the highest run-scorer at number 9 in Test cricket. The left-hander has scored 1362 runs at number 9 with a Test hundred, a score of 169!
Number 10: Stuart Broad (786); Nathan Lyon (684)
Stuart Broad is also the top-scorer at number 10 position in Tests, but since he’s already in this XI, we pick the next best: Australia’s ‘GOAT’ off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who has 684 runs at number 10.
Number 11: Trent Boult (644)
It is quite funny: Trent Boult is the highest number 11 Test run-scorer and is the worst batsman of the New Zealand team, therefore he has to bat at number 11. He has 644 runs at number 11, but has a half-century too.
