140th Anniversary of first Test match

The first officially recognised Test match began on 15 March 1877 and ended on 19 March 1877 and was played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Australia won by 45 runs. Australian opener Charles Bannerman was the scorer of the first run and later, he also scored the first hundred in Test cricket history.

The match started with England’s Alfred Shaw bowling the first ever delivery in Test cricket to Australia’s Charles Bannerman, after the hosts won the toss. Bannerman went on to score the first ever Test century and then 165 before retiring hurt, in a total of 245 during Australia’s first innings. 49-year-old James Southerton, who was joint top wicket taker in the first innings with 3-61, was the oldest player on either side and to this day remains the oldest Test debutant ever.

In response, England posted a total of 196 with Surrey’s Harry Jupp (63) being the top scorer. England fared better second time around, dismissing the hosts for 104 in their second innings in front of a 12,000-strong crowd on the Saturday. But set 154 to win, England crumbled to 108 all out, with English-born slow bowler Tom Kendall taking 7 for 55 as Australia won the first ever Test Match.

The test series had two matches. The result was a draw in the series with Australia winning the first match and England winning the second. England won the next match by four wickets. Later this rivalry between England and Australia came to be known as the Ashes. Google has also celebrated the 140th anniversary of the first test match with a spirit of sportsmanship.

Test cricket Records:

• 2,254 Test matches have been played till date. England has played the maximum – 983; Australia are second – 799. India has played 510 Test matches
• Sri Lanka hold the record of maximum runs scored in one inning; 952 runs against India in 1997 in Colombo
• New Zealand hold the record of lowest runs scored in one inning; 26 runs against England in 1955
• Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of most runs scored; 15,921 runs in 200 Tests. He also holds the record of most centuries – 51
• Sir Don Bradman holds the record of having the best strike rate – 99.96 in 52 Tests. Australia’s Adam Vogues lies second – 61.87; South Africa’s Graeme Pollock is third – 60.97
• Bradman holds the record of most runs scored in a Test series. He scored 974 runs in 7 innings against England in 1930; another record to his name is of most double tons – 12
• England hold the record of biggest winning margin. They defeated Australia in 1938 by an inning and 579 runs
• Brian Lara holds the record for highest score in a Test match. He scored 400 runs against England in Antigua
• Australia’s Graham Gooch holds the record of scoring maximum runs in a match. He scored 456 runs against India in 1990
• Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record of most wickets in Test cricket history – 800 wickets in 133 matches
• Rahul Dravid is undoubtedly he was one of the best fielders in the game – record of 210 catches in 164 matches
• Mark Boucher holds the record of maximum stumps (555) as a wicketkeeper