Test cricket comes with some staggering numbers. A game is played for a total of five days, and it gives ample time to the team to plan their strategies for the win. And over the years, we have seen many big wins in the history of the game. Especially when a team beats the second team by an inning, it is a dominating win.
But it’s not just the inning margin; sometimes a team goes on to win by an unbelievable large run margin, far exceeding anything the team could have hoped for. And here we will discuss the list of the biggest wins in the longest formats in terms of runs ever recorded in the 150-plus years of test format.
Biggest Win Margin in Test Cricket
| Team | Margin | Target | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 675 runs | 742 | Australia | Brisbane | 30 Nov 1928 |
| Australia | 562 runs | 708 | England | The Oval | 18 Aug 1934 |
| Bangladesh | 546 | 662 | Afghanistan | Mirpur | 14 June 2023 |
| Australia | 530 runs | 702 | South Africa | Melbourne | 17 Feb 1911 |
| South Africa | 492 runs | 612 | Australia | Johannesburg | 30 Mar 2018 |
| Australia | 491 runs | 564 | Pakistan | Perth | 16 Dec 2004 |
| Sri Lanka | 465 runs | 624 | Bangladesh | Chattogram | 3 Jan 2009 |
| West Indies | 425 runs | 552 | England | Manchester | 8 Jul 1976 |
| New Zealand | 423 runs | 660 | Sri Lanka | Christchurch | 26 Dec 2018 |
| Australia | 419 runs | 497 | West Indies | Adelaide | 8 Dec 2022 |
| Australia | 409 runs | 596 | England | Lord’s | 24 Jun 1948 |
4. Australia won by 530 runs vs South Africa in February 1911
Although the majority of these victories occurred between 1990 and 1950, they are still incredible. The 4th highest win margin was recorded when Australia took on South Africa in Melbourne in February 1911. Australia scored 328 runs in their first inning, with Warren Bardsley scoring 82 runs. In reply, South Africa managed a score of 205 runs in 62.5 overs, with Dave Nourse scoring 92 runs.
Australia got a 123-run lead in the first inning. Then in the second inning, the Aussies scored another 578 runs in 126.2 overs. Warwick Armstrong scored 132 runs while skipper Clem Hill made 100 runs. They gave South Africa a massive target of 702 runs to win. And after suffering in the first inning, the Proteas again had a poor display in their second inning. They got all out for 171 runs and lost the game by 530 runs, the third highest total in team history.
3. Bangladesh won by 546 runs against Afghanistan in June 2023
After 2019, Afghanistan visited Bangladesh for one-off test match series. It was not a high scoring test match but Afghanistan played really bad cricket and got all-out under 150 runs in both innings.
2. Australia won by 562 runs vs England in August 1934
Australia also holds the record for the second highest test win, which came against England in August 1934 at the Oval Ground. It was the fifth and final game of the five-match series, which was tied at 1-1. Batting first, Australia scored a mammoth total of 701 runs in 171.2 overs. Bill Ponsford scored 266 runs, while Don Bradman scored 244 runs. On the other hand, England managed a 321 all-out in 117.3 overs.
Australia got a lead of 380 runs in their first inning. They didn’t force the follow-on and batted again. In the second innings, the Aussies scored another 327 runs in 68.3 overs. They have given England a target of 708 runs to win. It was an impossible task for any team to complete, and England was thrashed. They got dismissed for just 145 runs and lost the game by an unbelievable margin of 562 runs.
1. England won by 675 runs vs Australia in Nov 1928
The biggest win margin in the longest format is registered against Australia by none other than England. It came in November 1928 in Brisbane. England batted first and scored a decent total of 521 runs in 175.3 overs with the help of Patsy Hendren, who scored 169 runs. But Australia couldn’t play in that fashion and got all out for 122 runs in 50.4 overs. For England, Harold Larwood took 6/32.
England got a first inning lead of 399 runs, but they didn’t enforce the follow-in. They batted again and declared their second inning at 342/8. With this, they have Australia a target of 742 runs, which was an uphil task. In the chase, Australia had an even worse performance than in the first inning. They registered a 66-run all out and lost the game by a huge margin of 675 runs, the highest ever in test cricket.