Top 10 Cricketers: Most Test Runs Against Australia
Australia and England have been rivals in cricket for over a century, making it no surprise that statistics of one team against the other are always likely to have the other dominating. However, there is one player who has managed to leave his mark and hold his ground against the Australian team – Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsmen to have ever played cricket and with his extraordinary longevity, he has dominated every record relevant to cricket batting. In fact, Sachin is only short of 6 runs from the biggest Australian opponent batter, Jack Hobbs’ overall tally against Australia. It is no surprise that there are no current-day cricketers making this list, thanks to Australia’s 100-year rich history of the game.
Top Ten Batsmen Against Australia
Here is a table showing the top ten batsmen who have scored the most Test runs against Australia:
- Jack Hobbs (ENG) – 3636 runs
- Sachin Tendulkar (IND) – 3630 runs
- David Gower (ENG) – 3269 runs
- Geoff Boycott (ENG) – 2945 runs
- Brian Lara (WI) – 2856 runs
- Wally Hammond (ENG) – 2852 runs
- Herbert Sutcliffe (ENG) – 2741 runs
- John Edrich (ENG) – 2644 runs
- Graham Gooch (ENG) – 2632 runs
- Alastair Cook (ENG) – 2493 runs
As the table shows, Sachin Tendulkar is only 6 runs short of the legendary Jack Hobbs. Both of these batters are part of the chart of the top ten batsmen who have scored the most centuries against one team in the longest format.
Also Read: From Ball Boy to Legend: The Rise of Sachin Tendulkar
Batsman Who Missed The List
Apart from the batters listed above, there are a few others who missed making the list by a small margin. The highest score against Australia in Tests is 364, scored by England’s Leonard Hutton, who almost made it to the top ten with 2428 runs in 49 innings. Another batter who missed the list by just 60 runs is India’s VVS Laxman. Although he holds the record for the highest individual score against Australia by an Indian, he still missed the cut, aggregating 2434 runs against the Aussies. However, Laxman always posed a special threat to the Aussie bowlers, as they found him impossible to dismiss.
Another player who didn’t make it to this list but has scored 8 centuries against Australia is the West Indian, Richie Richardson. He almost averaged 50 in the 48 innings he played against the Aussies, aggregating 2175 runs.
Players like Graham Gooch, David Gower, and Brian Lara have also made their mark against the Aussies. Each of them has scored over 2,800 runs against Australia in Test cricket. While Gooch scored 4 centuries against the Australian bowlers, Gower had 9 to his name.
Herbert Sutcliffe is another name on this list who was considered one of the finest opening batsmen in the history of Test cricket. Sutcliffe amassed 2,741 runs in just 46 innings against Australia, scoring 8 centuries and averaging a remarkable 66.85.
It is also interesting to note that many of the top batsmen on this list are from England, which is not surprising given the rich history of Test cricket between England and Australia. However, Sachin Tendulkar’s inclusion in the list is a testament to his incredible batting prowess and longevity in the game.
Bowlers Who Dismissed Most Batsman
When it comes to the bowlers who dismissed the most batters, Courtney Walsh holds the record for the batters with the most ducks in Test history and 2nd across formats. Interestingly, he is also the one who has been dismissed for the most ducks by the Australian bowlers – 13 times in 60 innings.