As soon as the ink was dry on last week’s column extolling the virtues of Virender Sehwag, he not only played another astonishing innings, but one that rated higher than his other two mentioned last week. And so, to answer all the requests, here is the definitive list of the top ten innings of all time - in reverse order - as rated by the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings computer.
10 - Virender Sehwag, IND, 319 v SA, Chennai, 26/03/2008
The second triple-century of his career, this may have come on a featherbed Chennai pitch, but it was against the same attack who bowled South Africa to a series win over England this summer - Steyn, Ntini, Morkel, Kallis and Harris
9 - Len Hutton, ENG, 364 v AUS, The Oval, 20/08/1938
He broke Bradman’s Ashes record of 334 and Walter Hammond’s Test record of 336 not out, while leading England to victory by an innings and 579 runs. He also had to face 85 overs from the bowler the Don rated the greatest - Bill O’Reilly.8 - Virender Sehwag, IND, 306 v PAK, Multan, 28/03/2004 Pressure? What pressure! Batting against his side’s fiercest rivals, he brought up India’s first Test triple-century with a six, and the match was won by an innings.
7 - Brian Lara, WI, 213 v AUS, Kingston, 13/03/1999 The first of two mind-blowing innings in the same series from Lara as he lifted his side to a first-innings lead and eventual ten-wicket victory against the might of the Australians and McGrath, Gillespie, Warne and MacGill at the peak of their powers.
6 - Len Hutton, ENG, 202* v WI, The Oval, 12/08/1950 Until last week, England’s first-innings total of 344 was the lowest in Test to include an individual double-century. Hutton carried his bat right through it, but was powerless to prevent an innings defeat as those two little pals of mine - Ramadhin and Valentine caused havoc.
5 - Bill Ponsford, AUS, 266 v ENG, The Oval, 18/08/1934
It was not a bad effort to outscore Bradman, but that is what Ponsford did - if only by 22 runs in an Ashes-clinching partnership of 451. Australia piled up 701 for a mammoth 562-run triumph and England wouldn’t see The Ashes for another nineteen years.
4 - Don Bradman, AUS, 270 v ENG, Melbourne, 01/01/1937
Caught on a vicious "sticky" wicket, Bradman opened the batting with his tail-enders and batted at number seven. Coming in at 97 for five, his innings is still the highest-ever at that position. O’Reilly and Fleetwood-Smith did the rest.
3 - Virender Sehwag, IND, 201* v SL, Galle, 31/07/2008
Where to start? He carried his bat, scoring over 60% of his side’s runs against two men with more than a thousand Test wickets, not to mention wonderkid Ajantha Mendis. Only two other batsmen reached double figures as his innings was the difference between the sides.
2 - Don Bradman, AUS, 299* v SA, Adelaide, 29/01/1932
Ian Bell was gutted to have been dismissed on 199, but how would Bradman have felt to have been stranded on 299 when last man Pud Thurlow was run out? He added over two hundred runs for the last five wickets which helped Australia to a ten-wicket triumph.
1 - Garry Sobers, WI, 365* v PAK, Kingston, 26/02/1958
I know what you’re saying. 'What about Gooch?", "What about Botham?", "What about Laxman?". Well - how about setting a World Test record against two of the top ten Rated bowlers at the time and leading your team to an innings victory? All that at the age of 21.
Apologies to Messrs Gooch, Laxman and Botham, who didn’t quite make it, but now all that remains to be said is "let the debates begin".
