The main motive for the teams in Test cricket is to bat long & once, score big and make the opposition bowlers sweat it out. The morale victory as a batting team comes when they get a first innings lead and this would significantly impact their side’s chances of winning the Test match.
However, there are times when a team after having a lot in the first innings, completely bettered their opposition by bowling them out rather cheaply and gaining a monumental first innings leads. We will list down those here in this article.
Highest First Innings Leads in Test Cricket
| Team | 1st Inns Lead | Opponent | Match Result | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (903/7d) |
702 | Australia (201) |
ENG won by an innings & 579 runs | The Oval | 1938 |
| Sri Lanka (756/5d) |
587 | South Africa (169) |
SL won by an innings & 153 runs | Colombo | 2006 |
| Pakistan (643) |
570 | New Zealand (73) |
PAK won by an innings & 324 runs | Lahore | 2002 |
| England (849) |
563 | West Indies (286) |
Match Drawn | Kingston | 1929 |
| Sri Lanka (602/5d) |
514 | New Zealand (88) |
SL won by an innings & 154 runs | Galle | 2024 |
| South Africa (682/6d) |
509 | England (173) |
SA won by an innings & 92 runs | Lord’s | 2003 |
| Australia (645) |
504 | England (141) |
AUS won by an innings & 332 runs | Brisbane | 1946 |
| Sri Lanka (730/6d) |
498 | Bangladesh (232) |
SL won by an innings & 248 runs | Mirpur | 2014 |
| Australia (735/6d) |
496 | Zimbabwe (239) |
AUS won by an innings & 175 runs | Perth | 2003 |
| Australia (652/7d) |
493 | South Africa (159) |
AUS won by an innings & 360 runs | Johannesburg | 2002 |
Key Stats:
67 – Aside from the 10 mentioned here, there have been another 57 instances of a team taking a first innings lead of 400 runs or more in Test cricket.
702 – The largest first innings lead ever taken in history of Test cricket and it was achieved by England back in 1938 at the Oval against Australia. England managed to post a whopping 903 on the board, the second highest Test total ever and bundled out Australia for a mere 201.
Innings and 579 runs – England’s win over Australia in the Oval Test still remains largest margin of win by an innings in Test cricket.
