What’s the Longest Test Match Ever Recorded in Cricket?

Test cricket has been played over five days for several decades, but the sport’s longest format hasn’t always had a time limit. 

What Was the Longest Test Match Ever Played?

The longest Test match was between England and South Africa in Durban in 1939.

The match had nine days of play across 12 days. It was the last timeless Test match and was ultimately called a draw as England had to stop playing so they didn’t miss their boat home.

England scored 654 for 5 in the fourth innings, which is the highest first-class score in the fourth innings of a match. The tourists only needed 42 runs to win the match when it was decided to end in a draw.

There were over 43 hours of cricket played during the match with a record aggregate of 1,981 runs.

What’s the Longest Over in Cricket History?

The longest over in cricket history lasted 22 balls. Bert Vance, playing for Wellington against Canterbury in 1990, was part of a plan to tempt Canterbury into giving away their last two wickets. 

Wellington needed a win to secure the title and had got Canterbury eight wickets down. Vance bowled a succession of no-balls, leading to Canterbury scoring 77 runs off the longest over in cricket history.

The ploy didn’t work out for Wellington. Vance was left with astonishing bowling figures and a peculiar place in cricket’s history books.

Has Any Team Scored 500 Runs in a day 1 of a Test Match?

In December 2022, England became the first team to score 500 runs on the first day of a Test match. Playing against Pakistan on a flat Rawalpindi pitch, England were aggressive from the first over and finished the day with a run rate of 6.74. 

Zak Crawley recorded the fastest century by an England opener. Harry Brook took 80 balls for his maiden Test ton. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope also reached three figures.

England were ultimately bowled out for 657 and went on to win the match by 74 runs. 

The way Ben Stokes’ team played in Pakistan transformed how touring teams think about batter-friendly pitches in the subcontinent and gave bettors something to think about when considering the cricket betting odds at the BetMGM online sportsbook.