One thing that makes an event or a sport great is the names involved in it. The Ashes, also called the greatest rivalry in cricket, has tons of it.
Batters like Don Bran, Allan Border, Jack Hobbs, Steve Waugh, Wally Hammond, and the recent sensation Steve Smith have been a major reason why the contests in the Ashes throughout these years stayed superlative. Even today, when we have more superpowers in cricket, the Ashes stand out!
Donald George Bran, the legendary Australian batsman, tops the batters with the most runs in the Ashes series. He has a whopping tally of 5028 runs in the 63 Ashes innings he batted. Bran, known for his insanity in scoring runs in bulk, boasts an average of 89.78 in the Australia vs England Test Series. Check here for five insane batting records held by Don Bran.
He is followed by John Berry Hobbs, aka Jack Hobbs, the 1882-born English batsman, also known as ‘The Master’. Hobbs, the oldest player to score a Test century in his 46th age, scored 5410 in his Test career, in which 3636 has come in the Ashes.
Below is the list of the top 10 batsmen who have been the leading run-scorers in the Ashes tournament overall.
Most Runs in The Ashes
| BATSMEN | RUNS | INNS | CENTURIES | AVERAGE | HIGH SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bran (AUS) | 5028 | 63 | 19 | 89.78 | 334 |
| Jack Hobbs (ENG) | 3636 | 71 | 12 | 54.26 | 187 |
| Steve Smith (AUS) | 3417 | 66 | 12 | 54.75 | 239 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 3222 | 73 | 7 | 55.55 | 200* |
| Steve Waugh (AUS) | 3173 | 72 | 10 | 58.75 | 177* |
| David Gower (ENG) | 3037 | 69 | 9 | 46.01 | 215 |
| Wally Hammond (ENG) | 2852 | 58 | 9 | 51.85 | 251 |
| Herbert Sutcliffe (ENG) | 2741 | 46 | 8 | 66.85 | 194 |
| Clem Hill (AUS) | 2660 | 76 | 4 | 35.46 | 188 |
| John Edrich (ENG) | 2644 | 57 | 7 | 48.96 | 175 |
Bran also holds the following records in the Ashes Series:
- Most Centuries – 19
- Highest Average for a batsman (who has played more than 5 innings) – 89.78
- Only Player to score more than 4000 runs
- Highest Score while batting at No. 7 – 270 (Also, a Test record)
Leonard Hutton’s 364 against Australia in 1938 is still the highest individual score ever scored by a batsman in the Ashes. He batted 847 balls in this innings – the longest innings played by a batsman in Test cricket. Check the top 5 here.
Among the current lot of players,
- Steve Smith is the only player to be in the top-10 list. He has an average of 63+ in the tournament.
- Joe Root and David Warner are the other players in the top-50 list, currently totalling around 1800 and 1700.
