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Gill, Smith and Mulder Go Big in Week of Runs Galore

Cricket is a game that is perfect for fans of facts, stats, trivia and numbers. Rarely does a game go by without some sort of record being set or challenged, at least if you get specific enough. Few fans, maths nerds aside, will get too excited if the commentator reports on the highest partnership for the ninth wicket in the fourth innings of a game between Yorkshire and Derbyshire at Scarborough. But there are lots of records in the sport that hold great cachet and are pieces of trivia that are held onto by cricket fans, even those not normally inclined towards the statistical aspect of the game.

One of those is the highest individual score in Test cricket, and at the start of July, when we have witnessed a spate of big scores in different parts of the world, as well as in the English County Championship, we almost saw that record broken. We take a look back on three great performances with the bat and one strange declaration.

A Case for Mulder and Scully


TV show The X-Files was a 1990s phenomenon that made stars of David Duchovny (Fox Mulder) and Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully), so we accept this is not the most current reference. At the same time, Wiaan Mulder is almost certainly less well known than Fox, but the 27-year-old South African all-rounder is certainly a lot more well-known now than he was.

Acting as stand-in skipper for the Proteas in a Test against African rivals Zimbabwe, the Johannesburg native lost the toss and saw his side put in to bat. When the home side took two quick wickets it looked like it was a bad toss to lose and Zimbabwe might have dared to dream of causing an upset.

Mulder himself came in at 11/1 at the fall of the first wicket and his side slumped to 24/2. However, alongside David Bedingham, the skipper rebuilt and that pair led the tourists to 208/2 before Bedingham was dismissed. From there on it was all about the skipper though, as he piled on the runs, assisted by the middle order, who all acted very much as the support act.

However, with the score on 626/5, Mulder took the seemingly strange decision to declare. He was on a mammoth 367 from just 334 balls and Brian Lara’s longstanding record for the highest score in Test cricket was well within his grasp. He and his side had scored sufficiently quickly that there was no imperative to declare in terms of leaving time to bowl Zimbabwe out. Was this strange declaration a case for Mulder and Scully?

Mulder Explains Decision

When Mulder declared at lunch on the second day, many were shocked that he had done so when he had a chance to surpass Lara’s magical unbeaten 400 against England. That has stood as the best individual score in Test cricket since 2004 but the record was at Mulder’s mercy. Some concluded that perhaps he felt Lara was more worthy of the record, or that by breaking it against a weak Zimbabwe team there would always be a slight question mark about the new record’s worth.

The player essentially confirmed as much at the end of the day’s play, without being unkind to South Africa’s opponents. Mulder said that “Brian Lara is a legend, let’s be real. He got 400 against England and for someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special.” He noted that if he had the chance again he would “probably do the same thing”, and also revealed his coach Shukri Conrad “kind of said to me, ‘Listen, let the legends keep the really big scores.’”.

He concluded by saying that he thought “Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be”. There will be many who disagree with his decision and others who think it was an honourable and sporting thing to do. However, we feel that ultimately records are there to be broken and anyone capable of getting to 400 and beyond, against whatever opposition is before them, is worthy of being the new holder.

Gill Making Captaincy Look Easy with More Big Scores


Mulder was content with the highest score ever by a SA in Test cricket and the fifth-best of all time. It was the 33rd triple century but elsewhere in Test cricket, another player came up short of his 300. However, Indian skipper Shubman Gill will surely have been delighted with his score of 269 in the first innings of the second Test against England.

It was his highest Test score and he also played a key role in helping India win the match to level the series. It was Gill’s second Test match as skipper, and records are tumbling. He has played four innings as captain and recorded his three highest scores in Tests. He notched 147 in the first innings of the first game, before scores of 8, 269 and then 161.

His total haul of 585 runs in the series so far leaves him well placed to break various records but the 430 he scored in the second Test is second only to Graham Gooch in terms of most runs scored in a match. The England man got 333 and 123 (456 in total) against India back in 1990. He also became just the ninth player to score a double and a century in the same match.

World Class Smith Also Goes Big


England lost to India at Edgbaston but they will be very pleased with what they are seeing from keeper Jamie Smith. The tall, powerful Surrey man has moved up to 26th in the ICC Test rankings and will surely go higher in the weeks and months ahead. After 12 matches he has almost reached 1,000 Test runs, his 997 coming at an average of 58.64 and a strike rate of 76.81. He is an archetypal Bazball player who can take the game away from opponents.

In the second Test, he notched scores of 184 not out and 88. That was nowhere near enough to prevent his side slipping to a heavy defeat but on a personal level, saw him make history. His 184 is now the highest score ever by an English wicketkeeper, surpassing the previous mark set by Surrey legend Alec Stewart, who tipped Smith for England when the player was just 17. Unfortunately, the tail could not support Smith, who otherwise may well have become the first English wicketkeeper to make a double century. Watch this space!

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