Stats: Highest individual Test scores for each year starting from 1877 to 2015
There are many well-known Test centuries made by players that most of us have heard of. Many of us know about Brian Lara’s 400* or Matthew Hayden’s 380. Every die-hard cricket fan will know about Don Bradman and Virender Sehwag’s two triple centuries in Tests or Mahela Jayawardena’s 374 against South Africa in Tests.
But do you know the highest score made by a player in each year starting from 1877 to 2015 in Tests? You might have read about all who hold the records for the respective ages in Tests, but you may not know the same for years.
Even if you are a cricket fanatic, some of the record holders will certainly surprise you. While some legends like Don Bradman, Brian Lara are on this list, there are some you would least suspect of holding the record.
So, here we have presented a table that includes the highest score made by players in each year starting from 1877 to 2015 in Test cricket to this day:
Note: There were no Tests played in 1878, 1891, 1900 and during two World Wars 1915-1919 and 1940-1945.
| Year | Player name | Country | Runs | Opposition | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1877 | Charles Bannerman | Australia | 165* | England | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1879 | Alec Bannerman | Australia | 73 | England | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1880 | William Murdoch | Australia | 153* | England | Kennington Oval |
| 1881 | Thomas Horan | Australia | 124 | England | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1882 | George Ulyett | England | 149 | Australia | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1883 | Allan Steel | England | 135* | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1884 | William Murdoch | Australia | 211 | England | Kennington Oval |
| 1885 | George Bonnor | Australia | 128 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1886 | William Grace | England | 170 | Australia | Kennington Oval |
| 1887 | Dick Barlow | England | 42* | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1888 | Robert Abel | England | 70 | Australia | Kennington Oval |
| 1889 | Robert Abel | England | 120 | South Africa | Newlands |
| 1890 | William Grace | England | 75* | Australia | Lord’s |
| 1892 | John Lyons | Australia | 134 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| Andrew Stoddart | England | 134 | Australia | Adelaide Oval | |
| Henry Wood | England | 134* | South Africa | Newlands | |
| 1893 | Henry Graham | Australia | 107 | England | Lord’s |
| 1894 | Sydney Gregory | Australia | 201 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1895 | John Brown | England | 140 | Australia | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Francis Iredale | Australia | 140 | England | Adelaide Oval | |
| 1896 | Kumar Ranjintsinhji | England | 154* | Australia | Old Trafford |
| 1897 | Kumar Ranjintsinhji | England | 175 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1898 | Clement Hill | Australia | 188 | England | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1899 | Thomas Hayward | England | 137 | Australia | Kennington Oval |
| 1901 | Arechibald MacLaren | England | 116 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1902 | Warwick Armstrong | Australia | 159* | South Africa | Old Wanderers |
| 1903 | Reginald Foster | England | 287 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1904 | Victor Trumper | Australia | 113 | England | Adelaide Oval |
| 1905 | Reginald Duff | Australia | 146 | England | Kennington Oval |
| 1906 | Gordon White | South Africa | 147 | England | Old Wanderers |
| 1907 | Charles Fry | England | 129 | South Africa | Kennington Oval |
| 1908 | Victor Trumper | Australia | 166 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1909 | Vernon Ransford | Australia | 143* | England | Lord’s |
| 1910 | George Faulkner | South Africa | 204 | Australia | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1911 | Victor Trumper | Australia | 214* | South Africa | Adelaide Oval |
| 1912 | Jack Hobbs | England | 187 | Australia | Adelaide Oval |
| 1913 | Wilfred Rhodes | England | 152 | South Africa | Old Wanders |
| 1914 | Charles Mead | England | 117 | South Africa | St George's Park |
| 1920 | Warwick Armstrong | Australia | 158 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1921 | Herbert Collins | Australia | 203 | South Africa | Old Wanderers |
| 1922 | Herbert Taylor | South Africa | 176 | England | Old Wanderers |
| 1923 | Charles Mead | England | 181 | South Africa | Kinsmead |
| 1924 | Jack Hobbs | England | 211 | South Africa | Lord’s |
| 1925 | John Ryder | Australia | 201* | England | Adelaide Oval |
| 1926 | Warren Bardsley | Australia | 193* | England | Lord’s |
| 1927 | George Tyldesley | England | 122 | South Africa | Old Wanderers |
| 1928 | Walter Hammond | England | 251 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1929 | Walter Hammond | England | 177 | Australia | Adelaide Oval |
| 1930 | Don Bradman | Australia | 334 | England | Headingley |
| 1931 | Don Bradman | Australia | 226 | South Africa | Brisbane Cricket Ground |
| 1932 | Don Bradman | Australia | 299* | South Africa | Adelaide Oval |
| 1933 | Walter Hammond | England | 336* | New Zealand | Eden Park |
| 1934 | Don Bradman | Australia | 304 | England | Headingley |
| 1935 | Georgy Headley | West Indies | 270* | England | Sabina Park |
| 1936 | Walter Hammond | England | 231* | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1937 | Don Bradman | Australia | 270 | England | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1938 | Lenoard Hutton | England | 364 | Australia | Kennington Oval |
| 1939 | Edward Paynter | England | 243 | South Africa | Kingsmead |
| 1946 | Sidney Barnes | Australia | 234 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| Don Bradman | Australia | 234 | England | Sydney Cricket Ground | |
| 1947 | Denis Compton | England | 208 | South Africa | Lord’s |
| 1948 | Don Bradman | Australia | 201 | India | Adelaide Oval |
| 1949 | Martin Donnelly | New Zealand | 206 | England | Lord’s |
| Leonard Hutton | England | 206 | New Zealand | Kennington Oval | |
| 1950 | Frank Worrell | West Indies | 261 | England | Trent Bridge |
| 1951 | Eric Rowan | South Africa | 236 | England | Headingley |
| 1952 | Mulvantrai Mankad | India | 184 | England | Lord’s |
| 1953 | Derrick McGlew | South Africa | 255* | New Zealand | Basin Reserve |
| 1954 | Denis Compton | England | 278 | Pakistan | Trent Bridge |
| 1955 | Bert Sutcliffe | New Zealand | 230* | India | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1956 | Mulvantrai Mankad | India | 231 | New Zealand | Nehru Stadium (Chennai) |
| 1957 | Peter May | England | 285* | West Indies | Edgbaston |
| 1958 | Garry Sobers | West Indies | 365* | Pakistan | Sabina Park |
| 1959 | Rohan Kanhai | West Indies | 217 | Pakistan | Bagh-e-Jinnah |
| 1960 | Garry Sobers | West Indies | 226 | England | Kensington Oval |
| 1961 | Vijay Manjrekar | India | 189* | England | Feroz Shah Kotla |
| 1962 | Ted Dexter | England | 205 | Pakistan | National Stadium |
| 1963 | Conrad Hunte | West Indies | 182 | England | Old Trafford |
| 1964 | Robert Simpson | Australia | 311 | England | Old Trafford |
| 1965 | John Edrich | England | 310* | New Zealand | Headingley |
| 1966 | Robert Cowper | Australia | 307 | England | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| 1967 | Geoffrey Boycott | England | 246* | India | Headingley |
| 1968 | Graham Dowling | New Zealand | 239 | India | AMI Stadium |
| 1969 | Seymour Nurse | West Indies | 258 | New Zealand | AMI Stadium |
| 1970 | Graeme Pollock | South Africa | 274 | Australia | Kingsmead |
| 1971 | Zaheer Abbas | Pakistan | 274 | England | Edgbaston |
| 1972 | Glenn Turner | New Zealand | 259 | West Indies | Bourda |
| 1973 | Mushtaq Mohammad | Pakistan | 201 | New Zealand | Carisbrook |
| 1974 | Lawrence Rowe | West Indies | 302 | England | Kensington Oval |
| 1975 | Clive Lloyd | West Indies | 242* | India | Wankhede Stadium |
| 1976 | Viv Richards | West Indies | 291 | England | Kennington Oval |
| 1977 | Doug Walters | Australia | 250 | New Zealand | AMI Stadium |
| 1978 | Zaheer Abbas | Pakistan | 235* | India | Gaddafi Stadium |
| 1979 | Sheik Bacchus | West Indies | 250 | India | Green Park |
| 1980 | Greg Chappell | Australia | 235 | Pakistan | Iqbal Stadium |
| 1981 | Kimberley Hughes | Australia | 213 | India | Adelaide Oval |
| 1982 | Gundappa Viswanath | India | 222 | England | MA Chidambaram Stadium |
| 1983 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 280* | India | Niaz Stadium |
| 1984 | Gordon Greenidge | West Indies | 223 | England | Old Trafford |
| 1985 | David Gower | England | 215 | Australia | Edgbaston |
| 1986 | Dean Jones | Australia | 210 | India | MA Chidambaram Stadium |
| 1987 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 260 | England | Kennington Oval |
| 1988 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 211 | Australia | National Stadium |
| 1989 | Javed Miandad | Pakistan | 271 | New Zealand | Eden Park |
| 1990 | Graham Gooch | England | 333 | India | Lord’s |
| 1991 | Martin Crowe | New Zealand | 269 | Sri Lanka | Basin Reserve |
| 1992 | Ravi Shastri | India | 206 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1993 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 277 | Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 1994 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 375 | England | Antigua Recreation Ground |
| 1995 | Michael Slater | Australia | 219 | Sri Lanka | WACA Ground |
| 1996 | Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 257* | Zimbabwe | Sheikhupura Stadium |
| 1997 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 340 | India | R Premadasa Stadium |
| 1998 | Mark Taylor | Australia | 334* | Pakistan | Arbab Niaz Stadium |
| 1999 | Daryll Cullinan | South Africa | 275* | New Zealand | Eden Park |
| Gary Kirsten | South Africa | 275 | England | Kingsmead | |
| 2000 | Andy Flower | Zimbabwe | 232* | India | Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground |
| 2001 | VVS Laxam | India | 281 | Australia | Eden Gardens |
| 2002 | Inzamam-ul-Haq | Pakistan | 329 | New Zealand | Gaddafi Stadium |
| 2003 | Matthew Hayden | Australia | 380 | Zimbabwe | WACA Ground |
| 2004 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 400* | England | Antigua Recreation Ground |
| 2005 | Chris Gayle | West Indies | 317 | South Africa | Antigua Recreation Ground |
| 2006 | Mahela Jayawardena | Sri Lanka | 374 | South Africa | Sinhalese Sports Club Ground |
| 2007 | Sourav Ganguly | India | 239 | Pakistan | M Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| 2008 | Virender Sehwg | India | 319 | South Africa | MA Chidambaram Stadium |
| 2009 | Younis Khan | Pakistan | 313 | Sri Lanka | National Stadium |
| 2010 | Chris Gayle | West Indies | 333 | Sri Lanka | Galle International Stadium |
| 2011 | Alastir Cook | England | 294 | India | Edgbaston |
| 2012 | Michael Clarke | Australia | 329* | India | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| 2013 | Greame Smith | South Africa | 234 | Pakistan | Dubai International Cricket Stadium |
| 2014 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 319 | Bangladesh | Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium |
| 2015 | Ross Taylor | New Zealand | 290 | Australia | WACA Ground |
Here is an another table that shows team-wise distributions of highest scores made by their players in Test cricket:
| Count | Team |
|---|---|
| 39 | Australia |
| 38 | England |
| 17 | West Indies |
| 10 | Pakistan |
| 9 | South Africa |
| 8 | India |
| 6 | New Zealand |
| 3 | Sri Lanka |
| 1 | Zimbabwe |