As you know, cricket is a team sport, requiring all individuals in the squad to contribute significantly to help their side win matches. But there are instances when only one or two of them perform in crunch situations while the rest falter.
These couple of individuals assume the roles of lone warriors, trying to save their side from a defeat. But the inevitable happens, with the team losing the match and their performances going into the vain.
There are a few batters who, despite their solid run-making, couldn’t save their team from jaws of defeat, with their runs also ending up on a losing side.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 batters with the most runs in losing causes in Test cricket.
Most Runs in Losing Causes in Tests
| Player | Innings | Runs in Losses | Average | 100/50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) | 153 | 5370 | 40.07 | 9/32 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 126 | 5316 | 42.19 | 14/22 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 112 | 4088 | 37.16 | 11/88 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 116 | 3806 | 34.60 | 4/27 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) | 122 | 3619 | 31.19 | 5/16 |
| Angelo Mathews (SL) | 103 | 3488 | 35.59 | 5/22 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 110 | 3221 | 29.28 | 5/18 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 89 | 2997 | 34.44 | 3/21 |
| Alec Stewart (ENG) | 107 | 2993 | 29.93 | 0/23 |
| Tamim Iqbal (BAN) | 93 | 2982 | 32.06 | 4/20 |
Key Insights
1: Shivnarine Chanderpaul holds the record for scoring the most runs in losing causes in Test cricket. The former Caribbean batter scored 5370 runs in 153 innings (77 matches), which ended up on the losing side.
77: Apart from his runs, Chanderpaul has also featured in most Test losses. He was part of 77 Test matches where the West Indies conceded a defeat – the highest by any cricketer. Check the top ten cricketers with the most Test losses here.
5000: Chanderpaul’s batting partner Brian Lara is right behind him at the second spot with 5316 runs. Lara is the only other batter with 5000-plus runs in Test losses.
14: Lara’s 14 centuries, though, are the most by a batter in Test losses. Sachin Tendulkar (11) is the other batter with 10 or more hundreds in losing causes in the format.
242: Ricky Ponting’s score against India in the 2003 Adelaide Test. This is the highest individual score by a batter in a losing cause in Tests. Despite Ponting’s double ton, Australia lost the match by four wickets.
43.06: The batting average of Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower in Test defeats. This is the highest batting average by a batter with a minimum of 2000 runs in losing causes. Flower accumulated 2713 runs in 34 matches for Zimbabwe
2000: Over 45 batters have accumulated 2000-plus runs in losing causes in Test cricket.
