England hold the record for the highest 1st innings score in Test cricket: 903 for 7 declared against Australia at The Oval in August 1938. It has stood for 88 years, and no side has made a first-innings score within 150 runs of it since.
Two things are worth being clear about before the list. This is the highest score made in the first innings of a Test match — the side that bats first. Sri Lanka’s 952 for 6 declared against India in 1997 is the highest total in all Test cricket, but it came second, after India had batted, so it is not on this list. More on that below.
Highest 1st innings score in Test cricket
The 20 highest first-innings totals in Test history, complete to 9 September 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo.
| Rank | Team | Score | Overs | RPO | Opposition | Ground | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 903/7d | 335.2 | 2.69 | Australia | The Oval | 1938 | Won |
| 2 | England | 849 | 258.2 | 3.28 | West Indies | Kingston | 1930 | Drawn |
| 3 | West Indies | 751/5d | 202.0 | 3.71 | England | St John’s | 2004 | Drawn |
| 4 | Australia | 735/6d | 146.3 | 5.01 | Zimbabwe | Perth | 2003 | Won |
| 5 | Pakistan | 708 | 220.3 | 3.21 | England | The Oval | 1987 | Drawn |
| 6 | India | 705/7d | 187.3 | 3.76 | Australia | Sydney | 2004 | Drawn |
| 7 | Australia | 701 | 171.2 | 4.09 | England | The Oval | 1934 | Won |
| 8 | West Indies | 687/8d | 182.5 | 3.75 | England | The Oval | 1976 | Won |
| 9 | India | 687/6d | 166.0 | 4.13 | Bangladesh | Hyderabad | 2017 | Won |
| 10 | West Indies | 681/8d | 198.4 | 3.42 | England | Port of Spain | 1954 | Drawn |
| 11 | Pakistan | 679/7d | 143.3 | 4.73 | India | Lahore | 2006 | Drawn |
| 12 | India | 675/5d | 161.5 | 4.17 | Pakistan | Multan | 2004 | Won |
| 13 | Australia | 674 | 151.3 | 3.33 | India | Adelaide | 1948 | Won |
| 14 | Australia | 668 | 235.5 | 2.83 | West Indies | Bridgetown | 1955 | Drawn |
| 15 | India | 664 | 170.0 | 3.90 | England | The Oval | 2007 | Drawn |
| 16 | West Indies | 660/5d | 169.2 | 3.89 | New Zealand | Wellington | 1995 | Won |
| 17 | England | 658/8d | 188.0 | 3.50 | Australia | Nottingham | 1938 | Drawn |
| 18 | England | 657 | 101.0 | 6.50 | Pakistan | Rawalpindi | 2022 | Won |
| 19 | Australia | 656/8d | 255.5 | 2.56 | England | Manchester | 1964 | Drawn |
| 20 | Australia | 654/6d | 154.0 | 4.24 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2025 | Won |
Australia’s 674 at Adelaide in 1948 was made in eight-ball overs, so its over count and run rate are not comparable with the rest of the column.
Ten of the twenty were won and ten were drawn. No side has ever lost a Test after making a first-innings score this big. Australia have six of the twenty, England, West Indies and India four each and Pakistan two. Five of the twenty were made at The Oval, more than at any other ground.
England’s 903 for 7 at The Oval, 1938
England batted for 335.2 overs — more than two and a half days — at 2.69 an over, one of only three rates in the top 20 under three. Leonard Hutton made 364 off 847 balls in 797 minutes, thirteen hours and seventeen minutes at the crease, and it remains the highest individual Test score by an England batter.
The bowling figures are their own record. Chuck Fleetwood-Smith went for 298 runs in 87 overs and took one wicket, still the most runs conceded by a bowler in one Test innings — 22 more than anyone else has managed since.
Australia, with Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton both injured and unable to bat, were bowled out for 201 and 123. England won by an innings and 579 runs, which is still the biggest winning margin in Test cricket and 219 runs clear of the next one.
England’s 849 at Kingston, 1930
The score England beat in 1938 was their own. At Sabina Park in April 1930, against Karl Nunes’ West Indies, England made 849, with Andy Sandham’s 325 the first triple century in Test cricket.
The match was played to a finish under timeless rules and never reached one: rain washed out days, England had a ship to catch home, and it was abandoned as a draw with West Indies 408 for 5 in their second innings. It was not a tied Test — there have only ever been two of those, Australia against West Indies at Brisbane in 1960 and Australia against India at Chennai in 1986.
Why Sri Lanka’s 952 is not on this list
At the R Premadasa Stadium in August 1997, India batted first and made 537 for 8 declared. Sri Lanka then made 952 for 6 declared, the highest total in Test history, with Sanath Jayasuriya making 340 and Roshan Mahanama 225. Because it was the second innings of the match, it is not a first-innings score.
Six of the eight highest totals in Test history were made batting second and are absent here for the same reason: Sri Lanka’s 952 for 6, England’s 823 for 7 declared against Pakistan at Multan in 2024, West Indies’ 790 for 3 against Pakistan in 1958, Pakistan’s 765 for 6 against Sri Lanka in 2009, Sri Lanka’s 760 for 7 against India in 2009 and India’s 759 for 7 against England in 2016. England’s 823 would sit third on this list if the order of innings did not matter.
Sri Lanka do not appear in the top 20 first-innings scores at all, despite holding the record for the highest Test total.
Highest 1st innings score in Test cricket for India
India’s 705 for 7 declared at Sydney is sixth in the world and the highest of their own.
| Rank | Score | Overs | Opposition | Ground | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 705/7d | 187.3 | Australia | Sydney | 2004 | Drawn |
| 2 | 687/6d | 166.0 | Bangladesh | Hyderabad | 2017 | Won |
| 3 | 675/5d | 161.5 | Pakistan | Multan | 2004 | Won |
| 4 | 664 | 170.0 | England | The Oval | 2007 | Drawn |
| 5 | 649/9d | 149.5 | West Indies | Rajkot | 2018 | Won |
| 6 | 644/7d | 189.4 | West Indies | Kanpur | 1979 | Drawn |
| 7 | 642 | 154.0 | Sri Lanka | Kanpur | 2009 | Won |
| 8 | 631/7d | 151.2 | West Indies | Eden Gardens | 2011 | Won |
Sydney 2004 was built on Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 241 and VVS Laxman’s 178. At Multan two months later, Virender Sehwag made 309, the first triple century by an Indian, and Tendulkar finished 194 not out when the declaration came. Hyderabad 2017 was Virat Kohli’s 204.
India’s highest total in any innings is higher than any of these: 759 for 7 declared against England at Chennai in December 2016, made batting second.
The two newest entries
Only three of the twenty have been made since 2010, and two of those are recent.
England’s 657 against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in December 2022 took 101 overs, at 6.50 an over. That is by far the fastest scoring in the top 20 — the next quickest is Australia’s 5.01 at Perth — and four England batters made hundreds in the innings: Harry Brook 153 off 116 balls, Zak Crawley 122 off 111, Ollie Pope 108 off 104 and Ben Duckett 107 off 110.
Australia’s 654 for 6 declared against Sri Lanka at Galle in January 2025 is the most recent addition, with Usman Khawaja making 232, Steve Smith 141 and Josh Inglis 102.
Highest 1st innings score in Test cricket: quick answers
What is the highest 1st innings score in Test cricket? England’s 903 for 7 declared against Australia at The Oval in 1938.
What is the highest team total in Test cricket? Sri Lanka’s 952 for 6 declared against India in 1997, made in the second innings of the match.
What is India’s highest 1st innings score in Test cricket? 705 for 7 declared against Australia at Sydney in January 2004.
Which team appears most often in the top 20? Australia, with six entries.
Has any team lost after a top-20 first-innings score? No. Ten of the twenty were won and ten drawn.
See also our lists of the most triple centuries in Test cricket and the quadruple centuries in cricket.
Author: William Paul
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