5 Test records that were broken in 2016

While the usual tirade of Test cricket’s death, and the ill effects of T20s, continues to be a healthy topic of debate, 2016 gave enough evidence that the longest format is fairly hale and hearty, proving to be a year of records and milestones. Despite the World T20, and IPL and several of his sister leagues sprouting up, Test cricket held its own, although more innovative methods like day-night need to be incorporated to ensure that it doesn’t slip into coma. 

Here are five Test records that were broken this year:

#5 Brendon McCullum’s final flourish

His eccentric batting and astounding fielding/keeping skills garnered a huge fan base in his decade-long international career, but McCullum made sure that he left the longest format with an indelible mark. He mashed his free-spirit into the conventional whites, scoring the fastest hundred ever in Test cricket, that too, in his last ever Test.

He made a mockery of the Australian bowlers in his 101 Test, which is also a record for most consecutive Tests for a nation, beating AB De Villiers’ streak of 98 matches in one stretch. 

Having face two balls fewer, he usurped the joint record for the fastest hundred held by Vivian Richards and Misbah Ul Haq. On a lively pitch, and with the score reading 32-3, McCullum cared for nothing, carting the bowlers all over the park to give one final display of his madcap strokeplay.