350+ Runs on Opening Day of a Test Match

Less than 24 hours after Ricky Ponting issued a statement doing a damage control of his previous statement, which resulted in Cricket Australia issuing a statement in support of Bangladesh playing Test cricket, Bangladesh proved they really did improve a lot and deserve to be a part of Test Cricket. The statement he made to London’s Daily Telegraph in February ‘What I would not have is the minnow nations in the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, and I would not have Bangladesh and Zimbabwe playing Tests at present" were somewhat taken back by Ponting on Thrusday. ‘Bangladesh is improving gradually and they deserve their Test status. Looking back, I think I was wrong with what I said," said Ponting, addressing a press conference at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on the eve of the first of the two Tests against Bangladesh.

Like the centurion Shahriar Nafees, who spearheaded Bangladesh's 350+ runs, said, scoring 350 in a day is not a joke. His Captain Habibul Bashar concurred saying "But it was never on our mind that we would score 350 runs on a day against a team like Australia. I want to say that it is a clear message that we are improving. If you consider the previous record, definitely it is the best day in our history and the most significant thing is not many teams in the world score 350 runs on a single day."

Ponting must be feeling glad and thanking himself for digressing from his earlier stance and doing some damage control, after the 1st day of their Test encounter with Bangladesh. Australian bowling attack , which was in its full strength and included Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Stuart MacGill, were taken for a leatherhunt by Bangladesh and they have certainly shown Ponting how much they have improved.

Infact Bangladesh provided only the 4th instance of amassing 350plus runs on the opening day of a Test match against Australia since New Zealand hit 372 runs for the loss of 4 wickets at Basin Reserve in 1973-74 series. England had hit 350+ runs on the opening day of the Test against the Aussies twice. They made 376/3 at the Oval in 1985 and 407 all out at Edgbaston in 2005. West Indies scored 352 runs on the opening day of the 3rd and final test of the 2005-06 series played at Adelaide.

Overall, Bangladesh provided the 100th instance of a team piling up 350+ runs on the opening day of a Test .

Bangladesh scored 355 runs for the loss of 5 wickets on the the opening day of their Test against Australia at the new Test Venue Fatullah. By the end of second day's play Australia were reeling at 145/6 and trailing Bangladesh by 282 runs. But for Gilchrist's fighting innings they would have been in even worse situation as they lost 6 wickets for 93 runs. Ponting may be already thinking why he made his comments to Daily Telegraph.

Follwing list provides all the instances when a side batting on the opening day had scored 350 or more runs with the Test#, Home Country, Scores of Home Country, Visiting Team, Scores of Visiting Team, Season, Venue and runs scored on the opening day by one team along with the no of wickets lost. If two team have combined to score more than 350+ on opening day , those occassions are not included.

1. Test #0004 ENG 420 & 5/57 AUS 149 & 327 1880 The Oval 410 8wkts
2. Test #0016 ENG 346 & 2/85 AUS 551 1884 The Oval 363 2wkts
3. Test #0040 ENG 483 AUS 91 & 349 1893 The Oval 378 5wkts
4. Test #0048 RSA 151 & 134 ENG 482 1895-96 Old Wanderers 355 7wkts
5. Test #0051 ENG 231 & 305 AUS 412 & 7/125 1896 Old Trafford 366 8wkts
6. Test #0063 ENG 372 & 3/94 AUS 196 & 7/346 1899 Old Trafford 372
7. Test #0064 ENG 576 AUS 352 & 5/254 1899 The Oval 435 4wkts
8. Test #0070 ENG 9/376 AUS 36 & 2/46 1902 Edgbaston 351 9wkts
9. Test #0075 RSA 454 & 4/101 AUS 296 & 7/372 1902-03 Old Wanderers 428 7wkts
10. Test #0080 AUS 388 & 351 ENG 245 & 278 1903-04 Adelaide Oval 355 6wkts
11. Test #0086 ENG 446 AUS 197 & 169 1905 Old Trafford 352 6wkts
12. Test #0087 ENG 430 & 6/261 AUS 363 & 4/124 1905 The Oval 381 7wkts
13. Test #0093 ENG 428 RSA 140 & 3/185 1907 Lord's 428
14. Test #0110 RSA 103 & 327 ENG 417 & 1/16 1909-10 Newlands 406 7wkts
15. Test #0111 AUS 528 RSA 174 & 240 1910-11 Sydney Cricket Ground 494 6wkts
16. Test #0121 AUS 448 RSA 265 & 95 1912 Old Trafford 448
17. Test #0142 ENG 259 & 202 AUS 407 & 7/273 1921 Headingley 407
18. Test #0143 ENG 4/362 & 1/44 AUS 175 1921 Old Trafford 362 4wkts
19. Test #0146 RSA 243 & 8/472 AUS 450 & 0/7 1921-22 Old Wanderers 450
20. Test #0153 ENG 438 RSA 30 & 390 1924 Edgbaston 398 7wkts
21. Test #0155 ENG 396 & 1/60 RSA 132 & 323 1924 Headingley 396
22. Test #0165 ENG 294 & 3/254 AUS 494 1926 Headingley 366 3wkts
23. Test #0173 ENG 401 WI 177 & 166 1928 Lord's 382 8wkts
24. Test #0184 ENG 7/427 RSA 130 & 265 1929 Old Trafford 427 7wkts
25. Test #0191 NZ 387 ENG 540 & 3/22 1929-30 Eden Park 375 6wkts
26. Test #0195 ENG 425 & 375 AUS 6/729 & 3/72 1930 Lord's 405 9wkts
27. Test #0196 ENG 391 & 3/95 AUS 566 1930 Headingley 458 3wkts
28. Test #0203 AUS 558 WI 193 & 148 1930-31 Exhibition Ground 428 3wkts
29. Test #0218 NZ 364 & 193 RSA 410 & 2/150 1931-32 Basin Reserve 364
30. Test #0225 NZ 223 & 0/35 ENG 8/560 1932-33 Lancaster Park 418 5wkts
31. Test #0235 ENG 9/627 & 0/123 AUS 491 & 1/66 1934 Old Trafford 355 5 wkts
32. Test #0237 ENG 321 & 145 AUS 701 & 327 1934 The Oval 475 2wkts
33. Test #0242 ENG 7/384 RSA 220 & 1/17 1935 Trent Bridge 384 7wkts
34. Test #0245 ENG 357 & 6/231 RSA 318 & 2/169 1935 Old Trafford 357
35. Test #0249 RSA 102 & 182 AUS 8/362 1935-36 Newlands 362 8 wkts
36. Test #0254 ENG 8/471 & 1/64 IND 222 & 312 1936 The Oval 471 8wkts
37. Test #0260 ENG 424 & 4/226 NZ 295 & 8/175 1937 Lord's 370 7wkts
38. Test #0261 ENG 9/358 & 187 NZ 281 & 134 1937 Old Trafford 358 9wkts
39. Test #0263 ENG 8/658 AUS 411 & 6/427 1938 Trent Bridge 422 4wkts
40. Test #0264 ENG 494 & 8/242 AUS 422 & 6/204 1938 Lord's 409 5wkts
41. Test #0269 RSA 103 & 353 ENG 4/469 1938-39 Kingsmead 373 2wkts
42. Test #0274 ENG 352 & 3/366 WI 498 1939 The Oval 352
43. Test #0285 ENG 208 & 551 RSA 533 & 1/166 1947 Trent Bridge 376 3wkts
44. Test #0292 AUS 394 & 4/255 IND 9/291 & 125 1947-48 Melbourne Cricket Ground 355 8wkts
45. Test #0294 AUS 674 IND 381 & 277 1947-48 Adelaide Oval 370 3wkts
46. Test #0307 RSA 315 & 2/270 ENG 608 1948-49 Ellis Park 387 2wkts
47. Test #0322 RSA 158 & 132 AUS 7/549 1949-50 St. Georges’s Park 380 4wkts
48. Test #0423 NZ 208 & 208 WI 404 & 1/13 1955-56 Basin Reserve 361 6wkts
49. Test #0441 ENG 6/619 & 1/64 WI 372 & 367 1957 Trent Bridge 360 2wkts
50. Test #0463 IND 124 & 154 WI 5/614 1958-59 Eden Gardens 359 3wkts
51. Test #0474 ENG 422 IND 206 & 157 1959 Trent Bridge 358 6wkts
52. Test #0498 AUS 505 & 232 WI 453 & 284 1960-61 Woolloongabba 359 7wkts
53. Test #0530 ENG 5/544 PAK 246 & 274 1962 Edgbaston 386 4wkts
54. Test #0534 ENG 5/480 & 0/27 PAK 183 & 323 1962 The Oval 406 2wkts
55. Test #0593 ENG 4/546 NZ 193 & 166 1965 Headingly 366 1wkt
56. Test #0671 RSA 9/622 AUS 157 & 336 1969-70 Kingmead 386 5 wkts
57. Test #0692 ENG 355 & 101 IND 284 & 6/174 1971 The Oval 355
58. Test #0733 NZ 484 AUS 6/511 & 8/460 1973-74 Basin Reserve 372 4wkts
59. Test #0780 ENG 387 & 204 WI 450 & 196 1976 Headingley 437 9wkts
60. Test #0781 ENG 435 & 203 WI 8/687 & 0/182 1976 The Oval 373 3wkts
61. Test #0816 AUS 505 & 256 IND 269 & 445 1977-78 Adelaide Oval 353 5wkts
62. Test #0960 ENG 420 & 297 NZ 207 & 345 1983 Trent Bridge 362 7wkts
63. Test #0970 AUS 465 & 7/310 PAK 624 1983-84 Adelaide Oval 376 5wkts
64. Test #1022 ENG 464 AUS 241 & 129 1985 The Oval 376 3wkts
65. Test #1139 NZ 391 & 5/483 IND 482 & 0/149 1989-90 Eden Park 387 9wkts
66. Test #1148 ENG 4/653 & 4/272 IND 454 & 224 1990 Lord’s 359 2wkts
67. Test #1170 WI 214 & 297 AUS 403 & 265 1990-91 Antigua Recreation Ground 355 5wkts
68. Test #1191 ENG 390 PAK 9/505 & 5/239 1992 Old Trafford 388 3wkts
69. Test #1221 WI 455 & 0/29 PAK 221 & 262 1992-93 Kensington Oval 351 4wkts
70. Test #1231 ENG 380 & 313 AUS 303 & 229 1993 The Oval 353 7wkts
71. Test #1283 RSA 460 & 7/259 PAK 230 & 165 1994-95 New Wanderers Stadium 354 7wkts
72. Test #1289 NZ 216 & 122 WI 5/660 1994-95 Basin Reserve 356 3wkts
73. Test #1445 SL 485 IND 7/518 & 5/306 1998-99 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 351 3wkts
74. Test #1529 RSA 378 SL 119 & 252 2000-01 Centurion Park 375 9wkts
75. Test #1547 ENG 357 & 261 PAK 403 & 323 2001 Old Trafford 370 8wkts
76. Test #1562 ZIM 286 & 391 RSA 3/600 2001-02 Harare Sports Club 414 1wkt
77. Test #1564 RSA 563 & 1/54 IND 379 & 237 2001-02 Goodyear Park 372 7wkts
78. Test #1571 AUS 8/558 NZ 7/243 2001-02 Bellerive Oval 411 6wkts
79. Test #1600 PAK 643 NZ 73 & 246 2002 Gaddafi Stadium 355 4wkts
80. Test #1619 RSA 4/529 BAN 170 & 252 2002-03 Buffalo Park 369 2wkts
81. Test #1623 AUS 492 & 5/296 ENG 325 & 79 2002-03 Woolloongabba 364 2wkts
82. Test #1634 AUS 6/551 & 5/107 ENG 270 & 387 2002-03 Melbourne Cricket Ground 356 3wkts
83. Test #1637 RSA 7/620 PAK 252 & 226 2002-03 Newlands 445 wkts
84. Test #1639 WI 408 & 288 AUS 4/576 & 3/238 2002-03 Queen's Park Oval 391 3wkts
85. Test #1651 ENG 408 & 1/110 RSA 5/594 & 4/134 2003 Edgbaston 398 1wkt
86. Test #1659 RSA 9/604 & 1/110 ENG 484 & 229 2003 The Oval 362 4wkts
87. Test #1661 AUS 6/735 ZIM 239 & 321 2003-04 W.A.C.A Ground Perth 368 3wkts
88. Test #1673 AUS 556 & 196 IND 523 & 6/233 2003-04 Adelaide Oval 400 5wkts
89. Test #1674 RSA 561 & 6/226 WI 410 & 188 2003-04 New Wanderers Stadium 368 3wkts
90. Test #1693 PAK 407 & 216 IND 5/675 2003-04 Multan Cricket Stadium 356 2wkts
91. Test #1706 AUS 517 & 9/292 SL 455 & 8/183 2004 Bundaberg Rum Stadium 370 2wkts
92. Test #1707 ENG 568 & 5/325 WI 416 & 267 2004 Lord's 391 2wkts
93. Test #1718 IND 185 & 200 AUS 398 & 5/329 2004-05 Vidarbha C.A. Ground 362 7wkts
94. Test #1726 AUS 381 & 5/361 PAK 179 & 72 2004-05 W.A.C.A. Ground 357 8wkts
95. Test #1758 ENG 407 & 182 AUS 308 & 279 2005 Edgbaston 407
96. Test #1759 NZ 9/452 ZIM 59 & 99 2005-06 P.Saravanamuttu Stadium , Colombo 449 7wkts
97. Test #1766 SL 9/457 BAN 191 & 197 2005-06 Harare Sports Club 454 9wkts
98. Test #1773 AUS 428 & 3/182 WI 405 & 204 2005-06 Adelaide Oval 352 7wkts
99. Test #1782 PAK 588 & 8/490 IND 603 & 0/21 2005-06 Iqbal Stadium 379 4wkts
100. Test #1797 BAN 427 & 148 AUS 269 & 7/307 2005-06 Narayanganj Osmani Stadium (Fatullah) 355 5wkts

Some Interesting Facts about the 350+ runs on the opening day of a test match.

• Highest score on opening day of a test match ever recorded by either one team or both teams combined was recorded by Australia in Test # 111 at Sydney against South Africa, when they hit 494 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.
• The record for most no of runs (588) scored in on day of a test match, though not on opening day belongs to England and India together. On the 2nd day of the 2nd test of the 1936 series against India played at Old Trafford, England took their overnight score of 173/2 to 571/8 before declaring their innings . India then went onto score 190 runs without losing any wicket. Vijay Merchant and Muhstaq Ali remained unbeaten on 79 & 105 respectively.
• No team has touched the 500 mark and Australia’s 494 runs is the highest in a day of Test match which involved only one team on the opening day. But there are two occasions on which a team could plunder 500+ runs in a Test Match on a single day.
• In the 1st Test of their 2002-03 series at P.Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo , Sri Lanka smashed Bangladesh for 509 runs taking their overnight score of 32 for no wicket to 541 for 9. This remains the highest number of runs ever recorded by one team on any day of test match. Though England 12 years earlier, on the 2nd day of the 2nd Test played at Lord’s took their overnight total from 28/0 to 531/2 and declared their innings , thus scoring 503 runs in a day. South Africa relied with 19 for no wicket. So altogether a recod 522 runs were scored on that day.
• Don Bradman’s unbeaten 309 on the 1st day of the 3rd Test played at Leeds during the 1930 Ashes is the highest score ever recorded by a batsman on the opening day of Test Match. This incidentally is also the record for most number of runs hit by a batsman and only triple hundred ever scored by a batsman on a single day of a Test match.
• Don Bradman also figures in the highest partnership for any wicket on the opening day of a Test match. He scored 266 runs on the opening ay of the 5th and final Test of the 1934 Ashes. Along with Bill Ponsford, who remained unbeaten on 205 at the end of the 1st day, Bradman added a record 451 runs for the 2nd wicket while Australia amassed 475 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
• Graeme Smith (151) & Herschel Gibbs (228) of South Africa hold the record for highest partnership for 1st wicket on an opening day of a Test match in which 350 or more runs were scored. They added 368 runs for the 1st wicket in the 2nd Test of the 2002-2003 series against Pakistan at Newlands, while South Africa recorded 445/3 on the Opening day of the Test Match. In the process they eclipsed previously held record of 359 runs for the 1st wicket by Len Hutton (158) and Cyril Washbrook (195), which they established against South Africa at Ellis Park, Johannesburg in the 2nd Test of the 1948/49 series, while England recorded 387 runs for the loss of just 2 wickets on the 1st day of that Test.
• Home team clearly had an advantage over the visiting team when compiling 350+ runs on the Opening day of the Test match. As many as 66 times the home team have scored 350 or more whereas the visiting team could hit 350+ only 34 times.
• Though no team batting on the opening day in a test match could pile up 500 or more runs, there are 27 instances when a team touched or passed the 400 mark. England leads the pack with 12 times followed by Australia with 9 times and South Africa 3 times. Sri Lanka, New Zealand & West Indies have all crossed the 400 mark once on the Opening day of a Test match.
• Though England holds the record for scoring 400+ runs, they could touch the 450 mark only once. Australia passed the 450 mark 4 times out of the 9 times they touched 400 mark and holds the record for scoring 450+ most times on the opening day of a Test .New Zealand is the only other team that had touched the 450 mark.