Batting for eternity: Three longest Test innings
Resistance, defiance, grit, courage, talent, and skill are some of the features that a batter requires to bat for long and long on the crease in Test match cricket. Batting for hours in the middle shows the ability of a cricketer who battles it out hard on the 22-yards. In Tests, there have been some great individual innings played by batters as they just kept on batting and blocking.
Let’s take a look at the 3 longest innings in Tests (in terms of balls faced)
3. Bob Simpson (743)
Former Australian cricketer Bob Simpson holds the record for facing third-most deliveries in a Test inning. He smashed 311 runs by facing 743 balls against England in the Manchester Test in July 1964. Batting first, the triple centurion Simpson batted for 762 minutes. The right-handed batter who was also the skipper in the match, struck 23 fours and one six as he boasted a strike rate of 41.85. Australia posted 656/8d with the help of his triple ton in the first innings as the match was drawn at the end.
2. Glenn Turner (759)
New Zealand cricketer Glenn Turner has faced the second-most balls in an innings in Tests. The right-handed Kiwi batter scored 259 runs after facing a mammoth 759 deliveries against West Indies in Georgetown in April 1972. In reply to the Caribbean team’s score of 365/7d in the first innings, Turner batted for 704 minutes with a strike rate of just 34.12. He slammed 22 fours while opening the batting for New Zealand. The Test match between the sides finally ended up in a draw.
- Leonard Hutton (847)
Former England batter is top of the list for facing the most balls in an innings in Test cricket. The right-handed batter Hutton amassed 364 runs off 847 deliveries against Australia at The Oval in 1938. He batted for 797 minutes with a strike rate of 42.97. Hutton struck 35 fours as England posted 903/7d in the first innings subsequently winning the match by an innings and 579 runs. His score of 364 is also the highest by any England batter in the history of Test matches.
