Wagging tail: Top 5 highest last wicket partnerships in Tests
Test Cricket is certainly the toughest format in the sport. It tests the patience and determination of cricketers in the truest sense. There have been instances when determined batsmen have ended up piling extremely high scores with the tailenders, thereby not giving up even when the odds are against them.
5. Dinesh Ramdin, Tino Best (West Indies) – 143 runs
West Indies were in a spot of bother when they lost their ninth wicket at a mere score of 298, batting first. In came number 11 batsman Tino Best with wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin at the other end. Tino Best registered the highest score by a No 11 then in Tests, scoring 95 to take West Indies to its first 400+ in the series against England. Denesh Ramdin scored 107*. The match ended up in a draw, and Best was awarded the Man of the Match.
4. Azhar Mahmood, Mushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan) – 151 runs
This partnership occurred against South Africa in 1997 at Rawalpindi. Owing to brilliance by the two individuals Mahmood and Ahmed, Pakistan went on to score a mammoth 456 at the end of their first innings and it became the only test match where two players (Mahmood, Naqvi) made a century on debut. Mahmood scored 128*, while Ahmed scored 59. This Test is one of the most remembered matches in Pakistan’s cricketing history.
3. B Hastings, R Collinge (New Zealand)- 151 runs
The Kiwi pair of Hastings and Collinge made this all-time New Zealand record in 1973, Auckland against Pakistan, who were a formidable Test side back then. NZ were struggling at 251 after Pak amassed 402 runs in the first innings. Hastings scored 110 runs, while Collinge scored 68 runs.
2. Phil Hughes, Ashton Agar (Australia) – 163 runs
This pair amassed the then record-breaking 163 runs at Trent Bridge in the 2013 Ashes Tour of England. Agar made his debut in this Test, and he broke quite a few records. He scored 98, which is the highest Test score by a Number 11 till date. He broke Tino Best’s record of 95. Agar received a scare early on in his innings when he was at 6, with close stumping denied to spinner Graeme Swann. Late Hughes also scored 81*, taking Australia to 280 giving Australia a lead of 65 after the first innings.
1. Joe Root, James Anderson (England) – 198 runs
World Record! Root and Anderson set the highest 10th wicket partnership for ANY team in Test cricket! #EngvInd pic.twitter.com/vRx9nm6QIT
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 12, 2014
This record-breaking partnership took place in the first Test of India’s tour to England, 2014. James Anderson scored a career-best 81, along with a magnificent 154 from Joe Root at Trent Bridge, taking England to a total of 496, thereby crossing India’s total of 457 in the first innings. It is also James Anderson’s first and only half-century in Test Cricket. Although the match ended in a draw, James Anderson received the Man of the Match for his all-round performance.
