5 Batting records held by bowlers in Test cricket

Test cricket has witnessed bowlers coming up with surprises not just with the ball but also with the bat at times. Some of them had the talent of playing big knocks while few of them are known to produce impactful innings despite their short stay in the middle.

In this article, we discuss few batting records which are on the name of bowlers. The list does not include records such as most ducks, performances as night-watchman and knocks while batting down the order.

Here we look at five batting records of Test cricket which are held by specialist bowlers:

5. Most balls faced duck in Test cricket

Geoff Allott had a tough start with the ball during the 1999 Auckland Test against South Africa. He bowled 38 overs and conceded 153 runs while the Proteas smashed 621/5 in 200 overs. The Blackcaps were nine down for 320 after resuming the 4th day on 204/2.

Allott joined hands with Chris Harris as the duo batted nearly a session. They added 32 runs in 27.2 overs for the 10th wicket but none of the runs came from  Allott’s bat. The No.11 batsman Geoff Allott spent 101 minutes at the crease before bagging a 77-ball duck.

This is the longest balls faced duck in the history of Test cricket. In fact, Allott’s 77 balls are the 2nd most for any player before scoring first run in an innings. England’s John Murray scored his first run on the 80th ball he faced during the 1962-63 Sydney Test match against Australia.