Impossible Cricket Records

There have been, from time to time, inexplicable individual performances that have rocked the cricket record books. These feats of athleticism seem impossible to match once set and many have stood the test of time remaining unbroken for almost 100 years.

The following are 5 cricket records that are absurd in their enormity and that we think are unlikely to ever be matched never mind broken.
 

1. 974 Runs in a Test Series

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At an average if 139.14 runs per innings, Australian Don Bradman destroyed the English bowlers during the 1930 Ashes series. Bradman scored 974 runs during the 5-match series including two double hundreds and one triple hundred. The feat broke the record for most runs scored during a Test series. Even more amazingly, Bradman broke Englishman Wally Hammond’s record by 69 runs despite facing two fewer innings.
 

2. 1347 International Wickets

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At just 20 years old, Muttiah Muralitharan took his first wicket for Sri Lanka. Over the next 20 years, the spinner took 800 Test wickets, 534 one-day wickets and 13 Twenty20 wickets for his country. His wicket taking is so immensely prolific that he surpassed the second highest wicket taker, Australia’s Shane Warne by over 300 wickets. Muralitharan retired in July 2010 after taking his 800th international Test wicket.
   

3. 300 Runs in Test Day

 
Another Don Bradman record. The Australian batsman scored 309 not out in a single day during the third Test match of the 1930 Ashes. Bradman started the first day of the Test match scoring a century before lunch. He would add another between lunch and tea and a third before the end of the day. He not only holds the record but he is also the only batsman in Test history to score 300 runs on a single day of a Test match.
 

4. International Test Runs and Centuries

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Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is arguably the greatest batsman in the history of the sport. The former Indian international stepped onto the world stage for the first time against Pakistan in 1989 at just 16 years old. Although his first time at the crease was somewhat underwhelming scoring just 15, his composure against a fiery Pakistani attack impressed many. Over the next 20 years, Tendulkar would come to define the modern game batsman scoring 15,921 Test runs including 51 hundreds and 68 fifties in 200 matches. Both second and third on the list of highest test run scorers are retired and trail Tendulkar’s record by almost 3,000 runs.
 

5. Highest Successful ODI Run Chase

 
As Australia won the toss and elected to bat in the 5th ODI against South Africa in March 2006 in Johannesburg, few could have guessed what would follow. Australia came out strong destroying the South African bowlers and posting a massive 434 runs in their 50 overs. The score surpassed the record for the most runs in an ODI innings ever, with many fans opting to leave the stadium convinced the home team had little chance of chasing the mammoth total. They were wrong. The South African batsman came out strong and managed to post 438, scoring the winnings runs with just one ball to spare. The chase would break the record for highest successful ODI run chase ever surpassing the previous record by almost 80 runs.

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