Being a captain comes with the huge responsibility of leading the team from the front. Apart from getting the best out of the players, a captain also needs to perform at his best with the ball or the bat.
A few mould themselves well under pressure and showcase their brilliance with the bat in their hands. One among them is England’s former captain Joe Root, who accumulated the most Test runs in a single year as a skipper.
On that note, here are the top 10 instances of captains scoring the most Test runs in a calendar year.
Most Test Runs in a Calendar Year as Captain
| Captain | Innings | Runs | Avg | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Root (ENG) | 29 | 1708 | 61.00 | 2021 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 25 | 1656 | 72.00 | 2008 |
| Michael Clarke (AUS) | 18 | 1595 | 106.33 | 2012 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 28 | 1544 | 67.13 | 2005 |
| Bob Simpson (AUS) | 26 | 1381 | 60.04 | 1964 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 26 | 1364 | 54.56 | 2015 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 19 | 1344 | 74.66 | 2003 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 18 | 1333 | 88.86 | 2006 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 24 | 1322 | 55.08 | 2018 |
| Steve Smith (AUS) | 20 | 1305 | 76.76 | 2017 |
Key Insights
1708: Joe Root holds the record for scoring the most Test runs in a calendar year as a captain. Root amassed a staggering 1708 runs in 2021, going past Graeme Smith’s 13-year-old record of 1656 runs. With that, he also became the third batter after Viv Richards and Mohammad Yousuf to score 1700+ Test runs in a particular year.
113.88: The batting average of Australia’s great Don Bradman as a captain in 1948. This is the highest average attained by a skipper in a single year, and he was also the first to cross the 1000-run mark.
5: South Africa’s former skipper, Graeme Smith, is the most consistent with the bat, having scored 900+ runs in 5 calendar years. He did so in 3 back-to-back years between 2003 and 2005, along with 2008 and 2010.
Fab 4: Out of the Fab 4 batters, Joe Root, Virat Kohli, and Steve Smith have scored 1000+ runs in a calendar year at least once. Kane Williamson, though, managed to score 651 runs in 2018, his highest tally as a Test captain.
400: 2004 was a memorable year for West Indies batting maestro Brian Lara. He not only scored 1178 runs but also hammered the highest individual score by a captain in Tests. Lara accumulated an unbeaten 400 runs against England.
