Cricket Records of All Time

Sports records are a way to remember and connect the achievements of players throughout the age. Some might even say records make players competitive in their effort in trying to break them. Some are easily broken, while some may last decades. Nonetheless, they bring us names which we will remember for a long time as legends. Cricket records are no different. In fact, cricket is a sport with several ways to reach the records hall of fame. The following is a list of the many cricket records set by a plethora of athletes.

Highest overall run score in ODI by a batsman

This is perhaps the most famous record in cricket itself and it belongs to the cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar is India’s child prodigy cricketer who debuted at the young age of 16. The more we talk about Tendulkar’s career the more it will become clear as to why he holds this record. The former team captain of the Indian team has a total of 49 centuries in the ODI’s to his name. Furthermore, there are 96 half-centuries in his career highlights. The cherry on top of all this was his staggering double century in a match against South Africa. This is a brief summary of his spectacular performance throughout his career.

The highest overall runs to score in an ODI are 18426 by batsman Sachin Tendulkar during the period of 1989 – 2012.

Highest overall run score in Test by a batsman

This is another record that belongs to “the little master”, Sachin Tendulkar. If it was not already established that Tendulkar was a magician on the pitch, it should be now. Not only Tendulkar was a star in his blue jersey but also in plain white. Tendulkar played a total of 200 matches in which he had 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries. His highest score in a test match is 248 against Bangladesh. Considering the number of matches and his total runs in his Test career, Tendulkar was surely a force to be reckoned with.

The highest overall run score in test cricket is 15921 by Sachin Tendulkar. 

Highest score in a test match

We know now Tendulkar reigns over the overall score in both test and ODIs. However, another legend holds this record to his name. West Indies Brian Lara and cricket legends list go hand in hand. Lara is often regarded as the greatest batsman of all time. Hence it comes as no surprise that Lara would be the one to set one of the high score records in cricket.

In 582 balls, Brian Lara made 400 runs without being dismissed. This record was made in a match against England on 10th April 2004.

Highest score in an ODI match

Cricket is seemingly an Indian game with most records belonging to the Indian team. This record belongs to an Indian batsman who is still in the game making his way to the top. Rohit Sharma is India’s top batsman who is famous for making centuries every time he steps on the pitch. So much so that people now expect a double century as soon as he crosses the 100 mark. Someone with such grand expectations has definitely set precedent before.

Rohit Sharma is responsible for making the highest score in an ODI match. His record score is 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014.

Highest strike rate in ODI by a batsman

A strike rate is the average rate at which the batsman makes his runs based on the number of balls faced. In this category the West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell. He has currently played 56 ODI’s which makes his score exceptional. Russell has managed to peak his performance in a short period of time and is now one of the top players of cricket. He is also a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the team Kolkata Knight Riders.

Andre Russell currently has the highest strike rate of 130.22.

Highest strike rate in T20 by a batsman

T20 is still a new variation in the cricket world. Therefore, it is an open field for all cricketers to perform and set records that change rather frequently. The up and coming player from Kuwait Ravija Sandurwan has already made his mark by setting the highest strike rate in T20.

Ravija Sandurwan has the latest highest strike rate of 165.80 in T20 after playing only 15 matches.

Highest strike rate in Test by a batsman

In the test matches, strike rates are generally high due to multiple innings of the game. Therefore, the strike rate is usually calculated per innings. Once again the record for having the highest strike rate in this cricket record goes to Indian batsman Umesh Yadav. Yadav is also an all-rounder with almost 10 years in his career.

The highest strike rate record is set by Umesh Yadav of 310 in an innings against South Africa. The match is the most recent one in 2019 with 31 runs in 10 balls.

Most centuries in ODI by a batsman

Once again we return to the cricket master, Sachin Tendulkar for another of the many records to his name. It has been 8 years since Tendulkar announced retirement and his record is yet to be broken. Tendulkar was a fierce yet balanced entity on the field which led him to make steady runs throughout his career. Therefore, till now he has the ultimate leader in batting practice.

Sachin Tendulkar has the most number of centuries in ODI so far. The total is 49 centuries by him in his 463 matches. However, another Indian batsman, Virat Kohli is on his way to breaking the record with 43 centuries up his sleeve so far.

Most centuries in T20 by a batsman

T20 is a respectively fast game in comparison to the two other variants. It makes batsmen less inclined to play slow and move towards a faster pace. On the contrary, they still need to play safe so the team does not start losing wickets by the minute. In such a situation only a well-trained batsman can survive the pressure. Hence, it only makes sense that Rohit Sharma would also occupy this spot due to his calculated playing style.

Rohit Sharma has a total of 4 centuries in T20 cricket.

Most centuries in Test by a batsman

If you guessed Tendulkar, you are right. Clearly, it is not an exaggeration when we say that Tendulkar dominates most of the cricket records which exist. Tendulkar played a total of 200 matches during his career. In these matches, he set the cricket record for the most centuries in test matches.

Sachin Tendulkar has a total of 51 centuries in his Test career. Combining his ODI and Test centuries, he is also the only batsman to have a total of 100 centuries.

Most 50s in ODI by a batsman

It makes sense the batsman with the most centuries would possibly have the most centuries as well. Therefore, this record also belongs to Tendulkar for having the most half-centuries. Tendulkar made these half-centuries over a total of 463 matches.

The most 50s in ODI by a batsman are a total of 96 by Sachin Tendulkar.

Most 50s in T20 by a batsman

We will do the same math here again. Since Rohit Sharma has the record for having the most centuries in T20, naturally he would also hold the record for having the most half-centuries as well.

Rohit Sharma is the batsman who owns the record of having 25 half-centuries in 108 matches.

Most 50s in Test by a batsman

This needs no mentioning like the previous categories that Sachin Tendulkar would of course be dominating this category as well. In his 200 test matches, the little master has managed to make 68 half-centuries. This is another record in his own personal hall of fame.

Most number of Wickets in ODI

Moving on to the bowling records, this record belongs to another cricket legend from Sri Lanka. Muttiah Muralitharan is one of the most exceptional bowlers in cricket who gave several unparalleled and memorable performances. His bowling history is an unmatched one with multiple bowling records to his name.

Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for taking 534 wickets in his ODI career over the course of 350 matches.

Most number of Wickets in T20

Another star from the Sri Lankan lineup is Lasith Malinga. His pace bowling style has set him apart from other bowlers. There are many remarkable achievements in Malinga’s corner, one of them being the highest wicket-taker in T20. His consistent performance granted him the captaincy of the Sri Lankan team in the T20.

Lasith Malinga has a total of 107 wickets so far in the T20 series, the highest in this variant.

Most number of Wickets in Test

Like batting records are for Tendulkar, bowling is seemingly for Muralitharan. Another record for the Sri Lankan megastar is taking most wickets in test cricket. Muralitharan’s bowling style has been quite distinguishable from the beginning. He was certainly a terrifying force for batsmen who would face him.

The Sri Lanka spin bowler, Muralitharan holds the highest record for taking 800 wickets in his career. His bowling score average is 22.73.

Most 5 wicket hauls in ODI

A 5 wicket haul in cricket refers to taking 5 wickets in a single inning. This is a rather difficult feat to achieve given the limited number of overs per bowler in cricket. Pakistan’s Waqar Younis ranks at the top of this list with his staggering performance as a bowler. The ex-captain of the Pakistani team participated in 262 One Day International matches in which he set his record for years to come.

Waqar Younis managed to perform the 5 wicket haul 13 times which is the most in ODI.

Most 5 wicket hauls in Test

Back to Muttiah Muralitharan with bowling records. 5 wicket hauls are made out to be some easy achievement when Muralitharan comes into the picture. If you thought about Waqar Younis’ 13 times, wait till you find out Muralitharan’s record.

He holds the record for doing the 5 wickets haul a total of 67 times in 133 test matches. Yes, you read that right.

4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls

This is perhaps one of the most exciting records in cricket. Not only does it sound exceptional on paper, but just imagining this happening in the stadium is an overwhelming vision. There have been several bowlers who have been able to achieve this feat. But there is one name that stands out from the rest. This record belongs to Malinga as well, who is a striking force on the field.

Lasith Malinga is the bowler who managed to take 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls. The first wicket was at the end of an over after which Malinga resumed the next overtaking the next 3 wickets. If you think doing this once is hard, just know that Malinga was able to repeat this astounding record twice.

Most catches in Test

Most people consider fielding a boring part of cricket, but it is one of the most crucial fragments of the entire game. Stopping the other team from scoring and trying to take them out is a tedious process. This brings us to the category of most catches in a Test career. This belongs to another Indian legend Rahul Dravid, an all-rounder. A former captain of the Indian cricket team, Dravid stands in the hall of fame of cricket geniuses.

Rahul Dravid has 210 catches in his Test career.

Find all the essential cricket odds and statistics at bet365

Most catches in ODI

In the ODI variant of cricket, it appears to be that the record belongs to a Sri Lankan mega star, Mahela Jayawardene. Jayawardene is a former cricketer who has had a marvelous career. He also holds a national record of being the first Sri Lankan cricketer to score 10,000 runs in Test runs. Apart from being an extraordinary batsman, Jayawardene is also exceptional when it comes to fielding.

Mahela Jayawardene holds the record for catching 218 balls, that’s 218 batsmen he knocked out. He played a total of 448 ODI cricket matches in his career.  Mahela is also a Sri Lankan cricket coach.

Most catches in T20

Since the T20 is a relatively new cricket variant, the number of most catches in T20 will not be in 3 digits. Despite that, we do have a competitive score tab running. The highest number of catches in T20 by a cricketer is 50 which is actually the record of 2 players. Shoaib Malik from Pakistan has a total of 50 catches in his T20 career in a total of 113 matches. On the other hand, David Miller from South Africa is also in a tie with 50 catches. However, his total number of matches is less in comparison to Malik’s. Therefore, we have a winner.

David Miller holds the record of having 50 catches in T20 cricket, in just 72 matches.

The highest number of dismissals in Test by a Wicketkeeper

Another immensely valuable part of cricket is wicketkeeping. An alert wicketkeeper can be a frightful force on the pitch and keeps the batsmen on edge. The job of the wicketkeeper is to be ready for the opportunity to stump, catch, or run out the batsman. There have been numerous wicket keepers with excellent records. But when it comes to Test cricket, everyone is aware of Mark Boucher; the South African cricketer, with an exceptional record.

Mark Boucher has 555 Test dismissals to his name throughout his Test career. This feat is achieved in just 147 matches and 281 innings. That is a seriously impressive record to have.

The highest number of dismissals in ODI by a Wicketkeeper

Just like Boucher’s name is famous in Test wicket-keeping, he is also among the top 5 in ODI tallies. However, the first position is occupied by another tremendous cricket personality, Kumar Sangakkara. Sangakkara is widely recognized as one of the greatest batsmen. Apart from his batting career, his extraordinary wicket-keeping skills also paved the way for his captaincy. Sangakkara has several remarkable feats to his name. But his record of the highest number of dismissals in ODI wicket keeping has him at the top of this record.

The Sri Lankan batsman and former captain, Kumar Sangakkara has 482 dismissals in a total of 353 ODI matches.

The highest number of dismissals in T20 by a Wicketkeeper

Talking about cricketers like Boucher and Sangakkara in wicket-keeping records seems incomplete without mentioning MS Dhoni might be considered as blasphemy in cricket. Dhoni is such an accomplished cricket personality in India that Bollywood made a film on him and might we say, rightfully so. Dhoni was the Indian cricket team captain for a long time which earned him a rather respectful career. He has been a sharp batsman on the field with several outstanding moments in his career. Although his most remarkable achievements lie in the wicketkeeping division.

MS Dhoni holds the record of a total of 91 dismissals in 98 T20 cricket matches. If that does not impress you, we do not know what will.

Fastest Wickets in Test

Another addition to the bowling records is this elaborate list of a competitive race to the fastest wickets in test cricket. Since this record is particularly about the time taken to gain a specific number of wickets, hence the measuring unit here will be time itself. Another factor is the number of matches played by each bowler which is directly proportional to the time. The number of matches is a constant which will help determine which player was fastest in achieving their record.

100 wickets

The fastest bowler to score 100 wickets is one of the earliest brilliant bowlers of all time. George Lohmann was the most competent bowler in the 19th century. Yes, you read that right. Lohmann to this day is ranked amongst the greatest bowlers of all time; quite rightfully so. Belonging to the English team, Lohmann’s performance is still one of the best to this day due to him being the bowler with the lowest bowling lifetime test average.

George Lohmann has the record of the fastest 100 wickets to this day. It took him 9 years and 241 days to complete 100 wickets. On top of this, this record was made in just 16 test matches.

200 wickets

Our next star is Pakistan’s very own Lionel Messi lookalike, Yasir Shah. Shah is an ace in the Pakistani bowling rank. The right-arm leg break bowler is second in the list as the fastest bowler to 100 wickets, this being one of his most recent achievements. However, his most prominent record is his fastest path to 200 wickets.

In a total of 4 years and 42 days, in 33 matches, Yasir Shah made it to 200 wickets. This is the fastest 200 wickets of all time.

300 wickets

Ravichandra Ashwin is an Indian all-rounder cricket player with a performance chart that keeps getting better. Ashwin is one of India’s strong front bowlers with a right-arm off break bowling style. Ashwin’s name is always on the bowling records list. However, this is the record where Ashwin’s name graces the top of the list.

Ravichandra Ashwin has a record of 6 years and 18 days in 54 matches to reach the fastest ever 300 wickets.

400 wickets

400 wickets is a huge number to even comprehend. Yet one of the greatest bowlers of all time has this and several other records to his name. It is of course none other than the phenomenal Muralitharan. The Sri Lankan bowler has an average of 6 wickets per match. If you think about it this average alone deserves praise. However, Muralitharan does not stop there.

The great Muralitharan has a record of the fastest 400 wickets in his Test career in 9 years and 137 days in 72 test matches.

500 wickets

If a bowler has a record of 400 records, it makes sense if the fastest 500 would also belong to him. That’s right. The fastest 500 wickets also belong to Muralitharan. He managed to achieve this record in the span of 11 years and 201 days over the course of 87 matches.

Fastest Wickets in ODI

Comparing the two types of cricket, it is safe to say that it takes longer to secure wickets in ODI than in Test. This is simply due to the increased number of innings in Test than in ODI. Therefore, it requires more number of matches as well to reach the precedent. Let’s take a look at the fastest wickets in One day International cricket.

100 wickets

Starting off with the lowest benchmark of wicketing records, the fastest 100 wickets. This record belongs to an upcoming talent from Afghanistan by the name of Rashid Khan. The young bowler of only 22 is no less than a star already in the cricket world. Along with the fastest 100 wicket record, Khan also is the youngest cricketer to captain their team in test cricket. Furthermore, he is also the youngest cricketer to be at the top of ICC cricket rankings of bowlers in ODI cricket. The right-arm leg-break bowler has several years ahead of him to mark more records to his name.

The Afghan bowler has the record of reaching 100 wickets in 2 years and 158 days in a total of 44 matches.

200 wickets

This record belongs to the Pakistani bowler Saqlain Mushtaq, who is regarded as one of the top spin bowlers of all time. Additionally, he is also responsible for introducing a variant of the leg-break delivery style. With all these accolades to his name, it is no wonder that he was a legend in the bowling division. The previous record of 100 fastest wickets, until 2016, also belonged to him along with the 200 wickets. On top of this, he also is the bowler with the fastest 250 wickets. All these records add more credibility to Saqlain Mushtaq’s bowling skills.

Saqlain Mushtaq has the record for the fastest 200 wickets in 3 years and 249 days. This feat has been achieved in 104 matches.

300 wickets

Since we have been mentioning records regarding bowling and legends, the list seems incomplete. Well, it may seem that the solution is to mention Brett Lee’s name. This Australian bowler is among the best bowlers of his generation. He is also famously referred to as the fastest bowler of the time due to his perplexing style of bowling. His wicket count in ODI is behind that of Muralitharan. With all these achievements it is borderline impossible to not be impressed by the one and only Brett Lee.

Brett Lee hails the record of the fastest 300 wickets in 8 years and 172 days in ODI cricket. This record was created in 171 matches.

400 wickets

It may not be wrong to say that the Pakistani team may have had a strong front of bowlers throughout the years. Waqar Younis one of the most celebrated cricketers in Pakistan takes this prestigious record to his name. He is also amongst one of the 3rd youngest cricketers to become a test captain and the youngest one on the Pakistani cricket team. Younis was most feared for his particular bowling style of reverse swing. This bewildering style of bowling earned him a plethora of wickets. Consequently, Younis is the one who holds the record for the fastest 400 wickets in the cricket records.

Waqar Younis managed to achieve this record in 13 years and 55 days over the course of 252 matches.

500 wickets

Similar to the fastest 500 wickets in Test cricket, Muttiah Muralitharan also takes the ultimate lead in the fastest 500 wickets in ODI cricket. Even in 2021, his record remains unbeaten. This record could very well last a long time since the only other player in the fastest 500 wickets in ODI is Pakistan’s, Waseem Akram. Akram managed to take 500 wickets in a period of 18 years and 94 days in the course of 354 matches. Muralitharan made it to 500 wickets in approximately 3 years less than Akram.

Muttiah Muralitharan has the record for the fastest 500 wickets in the span of 15 years and 165 days, in 324 matches.

Fastest Runs in Test

Just like the fastest wickets record, there is one for batting as well. It seems that this batting record is dominated by the Australian cricket players and specifically one batsman in particular. Let’s take a look at the cricket records of the fastest runs in Test.

Check out the actual Test’s odds at bet365

Fastest 1000 runs

Since these cricket records date back to the 20th century, it includes the cricket legends of that generation. Herbert Sutcliffe an English batsman was the first one to complete the fastest 1000 runs in a test match. This record was achieved in 1925 and since then has not yet been broken.

Sutcliffe was able to achieve this record in just 9 test matches.

Fastest 2000 runs

This record belongs to the Australian batsman who has the next 4 records to his name as well. Don Bradman is a name every cricket enthusiast knows since his achievements in batting are beyond belief. He is widely recognized as the greatest batsman to ever walk the earth. Sounds a little exaggerated? Not if you know that his batting average is at 99.94. This is perhaps an unparallel achievement by any cricketer and will forever be in recognition by the cricket fans. Hence, it may now be clear why Bradman has several batting records to his name.

His first is the fastest 2000 runs in test cricket. He set this cricket record in 1931 in just 15 matches, 22 innings.

Would you like to learn more about cricket betting options? Check out the best online sportsbook sites in the United Kingdom, or in your region

Fastest 3000 runs

This also belongs to Sir Don Bradman and was completed in 1933. According to the former Australian captain, Bradman was “worth three batsmen to Australia”. It is quite certain what Bradman was capable of doing on a field and is perhaps the pioneer in making Australia appear on the cricketing globe.

Bradman was able to achieve the fastest 3000 runs in 23 test matches and 33 innings.

Fastest 4000 runs

Another of Bradman‘s cricket records is the fastest 4000 runs in 1937. He was able to complete this record in 31 matches and 48 innings.

Fastest 5000 runs

When came to 5000 runs, Bradman really picked up his pace. It was only one year when Bradman was able to complete his 5000 runs in just 36 matches and 56 innings. 5 test matches are all it takes for Don Bradman to make 1000 runs.

Fastest 6000 runs

After the 5000 mark, the pace did slow down a little for the Australian legend. It was almost after 10 years in 1948 when he made his 6000 fastest runs in test cricket. This was achieved after a total of 45 matches in his career and 68 innings.

Fastest 7000 runs

The person behind this cricket record does change but the country remains the same. Australia is definitely leading in these cricket records category. However, this time it’s the former captain of Australia, Steve Smith. Smith is consistently at the top of batting ratings according to the ICC ranks. The 31-year old has been able to score a total of 7000 runs in just 70 matches and 126 innings.

Smith has been in the pursuit of this record for 9 years and 139 days and was finally able to complete it in 2018.

Fastest 8000 runs

Back to Kumar Sangakkara for another batting record. The former captain for Sri Lanka has several records and this is perhaps one of the most prominent ones. Sangakkara was able to achieve the fastest 8000 runs in cricket history in over 91 matches and 152 innings.

Fastest 9000 runs

Sangakkara did not just stop there and continued to make waves through the cricket world. He achieved the fastest 9000 runs record in 103 matches and 172 innings. It took him 12 matches to make a 1000 score. This is a feat similar to that of Don Bradman’s.

Fastest 10000 runs

For the final showdown, we have the powerful force of batsman Brian Lara from the West Indies cricket team. This list is full of accomplished batsmen. However, Lara has a league of his own. He was a sturdy batsman and it was tough for the bowlers facing him to dismiss him. That is another one of the cricket records in his hall of fame. His performance has been often compared to that of Sir Don Bradman himself.

Brian Lara has the record of the fastest 10000 runs in history. He completed this record in 111 matches and 195 innings. 

Click here to visit the bet365 Sportsbook