The leading batsmen among Test captains

In cricket, the captain becomes part player, part selector or even part coach/mentor. He must be able to successfully balance the various pressures.

West Indies legend Brian Lara after scoring the unbeaten 400 against England in 2004.

The captain of a cricket team, at times also referred to as the skipper, is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of the 10 others in the playing XI. In cricket, the main role of the captain is to act as a sort of intermediary between the coaching staff and the rest of the team. He becomes part player, part selector or even part coach/mentor, and must be able to successfully balance the various pressures that come with the multiple responsibilities.

As in any other sport, the captain is usually the person who is the most experienced in the squad. However, there have been several instances in Test cricket where the captain has been the least experienced member of the squad.

The captain also needs to have good communication skills and is most likely to be a certainty in the playing XI, as he is responsible for the team selection. It is his task to go out for the toss before the start of a match and then take a call as to whether his side bats or fields first. During the match, the captain decides the team’s batting order, which bowler will open the bowling, who are his first and second bowling changes, and where each fielder will be positioned. While the captain has the final say, decisions taken on the field or in the dressing rooms are often collaborative. A captain’s knowledge of the complexities of cricket strategy and tactics, and shrewdness in the field may contribute significantly to the team’s success. Excelling as a cricket captain requires the incumbent to have a thorough understanding of how the game is played, the ability to strategise, and at the same time lead his teammates both on and off the field.

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Nowadays, with the coaching and support staff as part of the squad, the captain’s decision-making responsibilities are less of a burden. This allows him to fully concentrate on his skills, which are either batting or bowling and at times both. However, despite all that, the captain of a cricket team typically shoulders more responsibility for results than team captains in other sports.

The second part of our series on Test captains looks at their batting performances.

Highest Test scores by captains

Score	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
400*	Brian Lara	West Indies	England	St John’s	April 12, 2004	Drawn
374	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	South Africa	Colombo (SSC)	July 29, 2006	Won
334*	Mark Taylor	Australia	Pakistan	Peshawar	October 16, 1998	Drawn
333	Graham Gooch	England	India	Lord’s	July 27, 1990	Won
329*	Michael Clarke	Australia	India	Sydney	January 5, 2012	Won

 

Mahela Jayawardene celebrates hi 374 against South Africa in Colombo in 2006.

 

Progressive highest Test scores by captains – how the record changed hands

Score	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
52	Lord Harris	England	Australia	The Oval	September 6, 1880	Won
153*	Billy Murdoch	Australia	England	The Oval	September 8, 1880	Lost
211	Billy Murdoch	Australia	England	The Oval	August 12, 1884	Drawn
270	Don Bradman	Australia	England	Melbourne	January 6, 1937	Won
285*	Peter May	England	West Indies	Birmingham	June 4, 1957	Drawn
311	Bob Simpson	Australia	England	Manchester	July 25, 1964	Drawn
333	Graham Gooch	England	India	Lord’s	July 27, 1990	Won
334*	Mark Taylor	Australia	Pakistan	Peshawar	October 16, 1998	Drawn
400*	Brian Lara	West Indies	England	St John’s	April 12, 2004	Drawn

 

Highest Test scores by captain at each batting position

Position	Score	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
1	334*	Mark Taylor	Australia	Pakistan	Peshawar	October 16, 1998	Drawn
2	311	Bob Simpson	Australia	England	Manchester	July 25, 1964	Drawn
3	400*	Brian Lara	West Indies	England	St John’s	April 12, 2004	Drawn
4	374	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	South Africa	Colombo (SSC)	July 29, 2006	Won
5	329*	Michael Clarke	Australia	India	Sydney	January 5, 2012	Won
6	234	Don Bradman	Australia	England	Sydney	December 17, 1946	Won
7	270	Don Bradman	Australia	England	Melbourne	January 6, 1937	Won
8	257*	Wasim Akram	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	Sheikhupura	October 20, 1996	Drawn
9	111	Shaun Pollock	South Africa	Sri Lanka	Centurion	January 20, 2001	Won
10	74	Jack Blackham	Australia	England	Sydney	December 15, 1894	Lost
11	28*	Bob Willis	England	Pakistan	Birmingham	July 31, 1982	Won

Note: Blackham was also wicketkeeper in this match.

Sir Don Bradman.

 

Leading run-getters in Tests as captain

Runs	Captain	Country	Tests as captain	Innings	Average	Period
8,659	Graeme Smith	South Africa+	109	193	47.84	April 24, 2003-March 5, 2014
6,623	Allan Border	Australia	93	154	50.95	December 7, 1984-March 29, 1994
6,542	Ricky Ponting	Australia	77	140	51.51	March 8, 2004-December 29, 2010
5,233	Clive Lloyd	West Indies	74	111	51.30	November 22, 1974-January 2-1985
5,156	Stephen Fleming	New Zealand	80	135	40.60	February 14, 1997-December 18, 2006
5,142	Virat Kohli	India	55	90	61.21	December 9, 2014-March 2, 2020

+ Includes one Test for ICC World XI.

Test run landmarks as captain

Runs	Captain	Captain	Achieved on
1,000	Archie MacLaren	England	July 5, 1902
2,000	Don Bradman	Australia	November 28, 1947
3,000	Don Bradman	Australia	July 27, 1948
4,000	Greg Chappell	Australia	December 10, 1982
5,000	Clive Lloyd	West Indies	December 7, 1984
6,000	Allan Border	Australia	July 23, 1993
7,000	Graeme Smith	South Africa+	November 17, 2011
8,000	Graeme Smith	South Africa+	January 11, 2-13

+ Includes one Test for ICC World XI.

Fewest innings to aggregate landmark Test runs as captain

Runs	Innings	Tests	Captain	Country	Achieved on
1,000	11	6	Don Bradman	Australia	June 14, 1938
2,000	24	15	Don Bradman	Australia	November 28, 1947
3,000	37	23	Don Bradman	Australia	July 27, 1948
4,000	65	39	Virat Kohli	India	September 2, 2018
5,000	86	53	Virat Kohli	India	November 22, 2019
6,000	121	67	Ricky Ponting	Australia	January 17, 2010
7,000	150	85	Graeme Smith	South Africa+	November 17, 2011
8,000	175	99	Graeme Smith	South Africa+	January 11, 2-13

Note: England’s Graham Gooch also took 15 Tests to reach his 2,000th run as captain.

+ Includes one Test for ICC World XI.

Most Test centuries as captain

Centuries	Captain	Captain	Tests as captain	Innings	Average	Period
25	Graeme Smith	South Africa+	109	193	47.84	April 24, 2003-March 5, 2014
20	Virat Kohli	India	55	90	61.21	December 9, 2014-March 2, 2020
19	Ricky Ponting	Australia	77	140	51.51	March 8, 2004-December 29, 2010
15	Allan Border	Australia	93	154	50.95	December 7, 1984-March 29, 1994
15	Steve Waugh	Australia	57	83	52.31	March 5, 1999-January 6, 2004
15	Steve Smith	Australia	34	60	70.37	December 17, 2014-March 26, 2018

Most 200-plus scores as Test captain: 7 by Virat Kohli, 5 by Brian Lara, and 4 each by Don Bradman, Graeme Smith and Michael Clarke.

Most Test centuries by captains – how the record changed hands

Century No.1	Captain	Score	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
1	Billy Murdoch	153*	Australia	England	The Oval	September 8, 1880	Lost
2	Billy Murdoch	211	Australia	England	The Oval	August 12, 1884	Drawn
3	Warwick Armstrong	123*	Australia	England	Melbourne	February 14, 1921	Won
4	Herbie Taylor	102	South Africa	England	Durban	February 22, 1923	Lost
5-14	Don Bradman	102*	Australia	England	Lord’s	June 28, 1938	Drawn
15	Allan Border	105	Australia	New Zealand	Brisbane	December 5, 1993	Won
16-19	Ricky Ponting	123	Australia	India	Bangalore	October 9, 2008	Drawn
20-25	Graeme Smith	100	South Africa	Pakistan	Dubai	November 12, 2010	Drawn

 

Most runs in a calendar year as captain

Runs	Captain	Country	Year	Tests	Innings	Average	Hundreds	Fifties
1,656	Graeme Smith	South Africa	2008	15	25	72.00	6	6
1,595	Michael Clarke	Australia	2012	11	18	106.33	4	5
1,544	Ricky Ponting	Australia	2005	15	28	67.13	6	6
1,381	Bob Simpson	Australia	1964	14	26	60.04	3	7
1,364	Alastair Cook	England	2015	14	26	54.56	3	8

 

Most hundreds in a calendar year as captain

Hundreds	Captain	Country	Year	Tests	Innings	Runs	Average	Fifties
7	Ricky Ponting	Australia	2006	10	18	1,333	88.87	4
6	Graeme Smith	South Africa	2008	15	25	1,656	72.00	6
6	Steve Smith	Australia	2017	11	20	1,305	76.76	3
6	Ricky Ponting	Australia	2005	15	28	1,544	67.13	6

 

Highest Test score in very first Test match as captain

Score	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
239	Graham Dowling	New Zealand	India	Christchurch	February 23, 1968	Won
203*	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	West Indies	South Africa	Georgetown	April 1, 2005	Drawn
191	Clem Hill	Australia	South Africa	Sydney	December 9, 2010	Won
190	Joe Root	England	South Africa	Lord’s	July 7, 2017	Won
173	Alastair Cook	England	Bangladesh	Chittagong (DS)	March 13, 2010	Won
163	Clive Lloyd	West Indies	India	Bangalore	November 26, 1974	Won

Note: Lloyd’s knock came in the second innings.

Highest Test match run aggregate in very first Test as captain

Aggregate	Scores	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Month, year	Result
256	115 and 141	Virat Kohli	India	Australia	Adelaide	December 2014	Lost
244	239 and 5	Graham Dowling	New Zealand	India	Christchurch	February 1968	Won
232	123 and 109*	Greg Chappell	Australia	West Indies	Brisbane	December 1975	Won
203	203*	Shivnarine Chanderpaul	West Indies	South Africa	Georgetown	April 2005	Drawn
212	173 and 39	Alastair Cook	England	Bangladesh	Chittagong (DS)	March 2010	Won

Note: Chappell and Kohli are the only players to make centuries in each innings in their debut Test as captain.

Captains carrying the bat through an innings as an opener

Score	Captain	Total	Match innings	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
73*	Bill Woodfull^	193a	4	Australia	England	Adelaide	January 19, 1933	Lost
127*	Jackie McGlew	292	1	South Africa	New Zealand	Durban	December 8, 1961	Won
49*	Bill Lawry	107	3	Australia	India	Delhi	November 30, 1969	Lost
60*	Bill Lawry	116a	4	Australia	England	Sydney	January 14, 1971	Lost
127*	Sunil Gavaskar	286	3	India	Pakistan	Faisalabad	January 8, 1983	Lost
154*	Graham Gooch	252	3	England	West Indies	Leeds	June 9, 1991	Won
94*	Michael Artherton^	228	2	England	New Zealand	Christchurch (LP)	February 16, 1997	Won
169*	Mark Taylor	350	2	Australia	South Africa	Adelaide	February 2, 1998	Drawn
165*	Chris Gayle	317	3	West Indies	Australia	Adelaide	December 8, 2009	Drawn

Note: Jackie McGlew is the only captain to do it on the opening day of a Test match.

a one batsman did not bat/was injured

^ batted at No. 2

Highest Test scores by captains while following on

Score	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
237	Salim Malik	Pakistan	Australia	Rawalpindi	October 9, 1994	Drawn
176	Alastair Cook	England	India	Ahmedabad	November 19, 2012	Lost
164	Alec Stewart	England	South Africa	Manchester	July 6, 1998	Drawn
153*	Billy Murdoch	Australia	England	The Oval	September 8, 1880	Lost
150*	Mike Gatting	England	Pakistan	The Oval	August 11, 1987	Drawn

Note: In all, 18 centuries have been scored by captains while following on. No one has been able to do it more than once.  

To be continued...