It has been half a century, and Sir Donald Bran’s numbers against England in Test cricket still stand high. He is the only player to score more than 5000 runs against a single opponent in any format of the game. However, contrary to the myth that says Bran played most of his games against a single opponent, the number of innings he batted against England is still lesser than others who are privileged to play and score against multiple sides in bulk.
One should read these five insane cricketing records that Don Bran holds in Tests to understand his supremacy.
In the table below, we will list the top ten players who have scored the most runs against a single opponent in Test cricket.
Bonus: Read the same list for ODIs.
Most Runs against Single Opponent in Tests
| BATSMEN | VS | RUNS | INNS | AVG | HS | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bran (AUS) | England | 5028 | 63 | 89.78 | 334 | 19 |
| Jack Hobbs (ENG) | Australia | 3636 | 71 | 54.26 | 187 | 12 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | Australia | 3630 | 74 | 55.00 | 241* | 11 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | England | 3548 | 82 | 56.31 | 200* | 8 |
| Steve Smith (AUS) | England | 3417 | 66 | 56.01 | 239 | 12 |
| David Gower (ENG) | Australia | 3269 | 77 | 44.78 | 215 | 9 |
| Garry Sobers (WI) | England | 3214 | 61 | 60.64 | 226 | 10 |
| Steve Waugh (AUS) | England | 3200 | 73 | 58.18 | 177* | 10 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | England | 2983 | 51 | 62.14 | 400* | 7 |
| Geoffrey Boycott (ENG) | Australia | 2945 | 71 | 47.50 | 191 | 7 |
Key Stats
Steve Smith is the only current-day cricketer in the list above. Find out Steve Smith’s Test stats classified on the yearly basis.
Joe Root is the other non-retired batsman to score 2000+ runs against a single opponent in Tests. He has a 2000+ runs tally against two teams – Australia and India.
Virat Kohli against England is the next on the list to reach the milestone number of 2000.
Bran’s 19 centuries against England, Bran’s Ashes records which Steve Smith might beat in the coming days.
Australia’s Syd Gregory, who played for Australia between 1890 and 1912, holds the record for batting in most Test innings against a single team. He played 52 matches versus England and batted for a massive 92 times. Fourth in our list, Allan Border comes second to Gregory with 82 batted innings against England.
