most number of runs in test cricket

Most runs in one over in Test cricket

The most in a single day of Test cricket is 588, on the second day of the 1936 Old Trafford Test. England, 173 for 2 overnight, declared at 571 for 8, then India reached 190 for 0 by the close. The most by one side in a day is 509 (from 32 for 0 to 541 for 9), by Sri Lanka on the second day of their first Test against Bangladesh in Colombo in 2002.

Munaf Patel has been the pick of Indian bowlers in the ongoing St. Kitts Test taking three wickets out of the five to fall in West Indies’ innings including the prized scalp of Brian Lara. But he entered the record books for wrong reasons on day two as he was carted for six consecutive fours in one single over by Ramnaresh Sarwan. This provided only the fifth instance in Test cricket history of a batsman hitting six boundaries in one over.

India's Sandeep Patil was the first batsman to perform this feat in Test cricket. Patil did so off the bowling of England’s Bob Willis at Manchester in 1982.One of the fours came off a no-ball (third ball of the over) with one ball not scored off.

There were just under 12 years between Les Jackson's first Test, against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1949, and his second and last, against Australia at Headingley in 1961. In terms of time, though, the overall record gap is an amazing 22 years and 222 days, by John Traicos. He played three Tests for South Africa in 1969-70 - the last three before their exclusion from international cricket - and was still wheeling down his offspin when Zimbabwe gained Test status in 1992-93. Traicos, who was then 45, played in Zimbabwe's first four Tests (he took 5 for 86 in 50 overs in their first one, against India at Harare).

New Zealand's Craig McMillan became the first batsman to hit a boundary of every ball of an over when he hit five fours and a six off Pakistan’s Younis Khan at Hamilton in 2000-01.

West Indies Brian Lara emulated McMillan by hitting South African Robin Peterson for four fours and two sixes at Johannesburg in 2003-04. Another West Indian Chris Gayle scored six consecutive fours of English paceman Matthew Hoggard at the Oval in 2004.

The record gap between appearances for the same country is 17 years 316 days, by England's George Gunn - between 1911-12 and 1929-30, by which time he was 50. The Warwickshire legspinner Eric Hollies is the only other England player with a longer time gap between Tests than Jackson: he did not appear between 1934-35 and 1947, 12 years 81 days in all. In terms of matches missed between appearances, the record is 114, by England's Martin Bicknell, when he reappeared after a ten-year gap against South Africa in 2003. The previous record was 104, by Younis Ahmed of Pakistan between 1969-70 and 1986-87. Another England player, Derek Shackleton, missed 103 Tests between 1951-52 and 1963.

Sarwan, in fact, had the opportunity to have his name in a separate league of his own, but he missed it by failing to score off any runs of the seventh ball of Patel’s over, which was there as a gift as Patel had over-stepped while delivering the sixth ball of this dreadful over. Had he scored another boundary off this ball, Sarwan would have created a new world record of most number of runs and boundaries in one over.