Over the years, the best batsmen have played Test cricket at the highest level. They worked hard to become legends. They mastered the toughest format and scored runs in many different situations.
Today, players like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and David Warner are the modern greats. They keep Test cricket’s standards very high. The ICC World Test Championship has made Test cricket more important, and runs scored by these players now matter even more. In this article, we look at the top 10 batters with the most runs in Test cricket. A common trait among them is their long careers and strong desire to score runs internationally.
Let’s look at the ten Batters With The Most Runs In Test Cricket
1. Sachin Tendulkar – 15921 Runs In 200 Matches
Sachin Tendulkar has almost all the batting records to his credit. He has the most runs in Test cricket, ODI cricket and the most centuries as well. He retired from Test cricket after playing 200 tests the last of which was at his home ground in Mumbai. H2 ended his career with nearly 16000 Test runs and 51 centuries a record that might never be broken.
2. Ricky Ponting – 13378 Runs In 168 Matches
Ponting was possibly the best batsman in Tests and ODIs after Sachin Tendulkar. Thus it is not a surprise that he ended his career with the second-most runs in Test cricket. He also had 41 centuries and 62 fifties in the format besides several records as Test and ODI captain of Australia.
3. Jacques Kallis – 13289 Runs In 166 Matches
Kallis was possibly the best cricketer South Africa ever produced. He is their highest scorer in both Test and ODI cricket and he scored runs also across the globe. Kallis had 13289 Test runs to his name with 45 hundreds, and 58 fifties. He also had two double-centuries to his name in the format. Alongside his Test runs, he picked 292 wickets as well.
4. Rahul Dravid – 13288 Runs In 164 Matches
After Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid is India’s most successful Test batsman. At times, he was the most important batsman in the Indian line-up in Test matches. Dravid played the game hard and fair on the field and off it was a truer gentleman. He is now the coach of the Indian cricket team looking to prepare the next generation of Indian cricket.
5. Alastair Cook – 12472 Runs In 161 Matches
The southpaw is the only England batsman in this elite list. He ended his career as England’s highest run-getter in Test cricket besides being one of England’s most successful test captains. He also had 33 centuries and 57 fifties to his name in the format.
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6. Kumar Sangakkara – 12400 Runs In 134 Matches
The southpaw ended his career as Sri Lanka’s highest run-getter in Test and ODI cricket. He had 38 hundred, 52 fifties and 11 double tons to his credit as well. Sangakkara leads the list of batters with the most double-tons in Test cricket among the modern generation of batsmen. Sir Don Bradman leads the overall list with 12 double-tons in his Test career.
7. Brian Lara – 11953 Runs In 131 Matches
Brian Charles Lara is often considered as the greatest batsman of his generation including the likes of Tendulkar, Ponting amongst others. He was certainly amongst the classiest of batsmen. Lara holds the record of the highest individual score of 400* against England in 2004. He ended his career with 34 centuries and 48 fifties.
8. Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 11867 Runs in 164 Matches
Chanderpaul ranks eighth in the list of highest run-getters in Test cricket. Alongside Lara, he was another key figure in the West Indies batting lineup during his playing days. He ended his career with 30 centuries and 66 fifties. He was known for his unorthodox stance while batting something that many copied from his generation of players.
9. Mahela Jayawardene – 11814 In 149 Matches
Jayawardene is Sri Lanka’s second-highest run-getter in Test cricket. He and Sangakkara formed a terrific batting partnership for over a decade and a half. Both these players also have the record of scoring the most runs as a partnership in Test cricket (624 vs South Africa in Colombo in 2006). The right-hander ended his career with 34 centuries and 50 fifties to his credit.
10. Allan Border – 11174 Runs In 156 Matches
Former Australian skipper Allan Border concludes this list of top 10 run-getters in Test cricket. Though he ranks 10th in this list he was one of the first batsmen to cross the landmark of 10000 runs in Test cricket. Border had a glorious Test career which included 27 hundreds and 63 fifties.
READ MORE: Here are the top 5 ODI players who have scored the most runs in the history of the game
