Most Double Centuries in Test Cricket

Sir Donald Bradman scored the most double-centuries in Test cricket. Bradman is considered one of the greatest players in the history of cricket.

‘The Don’, as he was and is fondly known, scored a Test-record 12 double centuries during his illustrious 20-year international cricket career. 

He became his country’s first celebrity and was called “the greatest living Australian” by former Prime Minister John Howard in 1997. 

Bradman was infamously dismissed second ball by Eric Hollies for a duck (zero runs) in his last Test innings at the Kennington Oval (The Oval) in London. 

The Australian legend was denied a chance to bat in the second innings of the fifth Ashes Test and was left stranded with an average of 99.94, one of the most famous sports statistics of all time.

He only needed four runs to register 7,000 Test runs and the only 100-run average in the game, a feat no player has achieved.

Bradman was also the first batsman to score two triple centuries. He is one of only four players in the history of the sport to bag a brace of triple tons. 

Kumar Sangakkara, the great Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batsman, is the only other cricketer to score double-figure double centuries (11), one fewer than The Don. 

At SportsBoom, we are looking at the list of players to score the most double centuries in Test Match cricket. 

List of Double Centuries in Test Cricket History

The top three players to notch the most 200-run Test innings is Bradman , Sangakkara, and West Indies legend Brian Lara (9), who is the only player to score a quadruple century in Test cricket.

Three players have scored seven double tons: Wally Hammond, England; Virat Kohli, India, and Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka. 

Seven other batsmen have topped 200 runs in an innings six times. Four batters from the sub-continent have score more than 200 runs half-a-dozen times.

Pakistan’s Javed Miandad and Younis Khan, and India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

Marvin Atapattu, Sri Lanka; Ricky Ponting, Australia, and Kane Williamson, New Zealand also reached 200 runs in an innings on six occasions. 

Most double centuries in Test

List of Double Centuries in Test Cricket by Indian Players

Batting on the sub-continent is not easy, nor is scoring a Test Match hundred, never mind a double century.

However, 25 different India batsmen have scored double centuries in a Test Match.

Kohli is one of the all-time Indian greats of the game of cricket, and he leads the double centuries list for India’s batmen with seven. 

A unique feature of Kohli’s double tons is they were scored while captain of India, which a world record.

Sehwag and Tendulkar managed six double centuries during their illustrious careers.

Rahul Dravid notched five double tons, while Sunil Gavaskar totalled four in his career. 

Cheteshwar Pujara managed to score 200 three times for India. 

Seven Indian batsmen have scored two double tons, while 12 have registered one 200 in their Test match careers.

Indian Test Cricketers with Three or More Test Double Centuries

The First Double Century in Test Cricket History

William ‘Billy’ Murdoch scored the first double-century in Test cricket history.

The Australian notched his only career double-century against England in the country's first-ever Ashes tour at the Oval on August 12, 1884.

Murdoch scored 211 to record the first-ever international double ton.

SportsBoom delved into the archives to find out more about Murdoch and his historic cricket feats. 

Who is Billy Murdoch, and when did he score Test cricket's first-ever double century?

Murdoch was raised in Sydney, Australia. He played domestic cricket for New South Wales, making his first-class cricket debut in 1875. 

His Test debut came in 1877, the second Test Match ever played. 

Murdoch began his career as a wicket-keeper, but he kept wicket once in a Test Match. 

His 211 against England was the first double century by an Australian, the first 200 score away from home, and the first in an official Ashes series. 

Murdoch also scored the first triple-century in Australian domestic cricket (321 against Victoria in 1882).

A right-handed top-order batsman, Murdoch played 19 Test Matches and scored 908 runs, including two hundreds and one fifty, with an average of 31.31. 

He scored 16,953 runs in 391 first-class matches, including 19 centuries and 85 half-centuries, with a 26.86 batting average.

This is considered excellent because batting averages were lower than in the modern era, and matches were played on uncovered pitches.

The Oval: A home away from home for Murdoch

Murdoch enjoyed playing at the Oval in London, and his best Test batting performances occurred in England, where his only two Test centuries were scored.

He scored 153 not out in the first Test in 1880 and 211 at the same ground four years later. 

Murdoch led the Australian batting averages on both the 1880 and 1884 tours of England.

The Australian's 150 score was the first instance of a captain scoring a Test match ton and the first time a skipper passed 150+ runs. 

Murdoch became one of the first players to play international cricket for two countries after fellow countryman Billy Midwinter.

Midwinter played for Australia in 1877 but switched to England for the 1881-82 series before hopping back down under to represent the Aussies in 1883. 

Murdoch, who was by this time living in Britain, toured South Africa with England in 1892 and played in one Test match at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. 

To date (April 2024), only 17 male players have played Test cricket for two different nations. 

Murdoch was inducted into the Australian Cricket (CA) Hall of Fame in 2019. 

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