There are certain standards against which a sportsperson’s ability is judged and his/her achievements acknowledged. Scoring 10,000 runs in any format in cricket is a significant achievement, but it becomes extremely special when it comes in the longest form of the game, considering the fierce level of competition that is prevalent in the topmost level of the game.
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There comes a time in sport when a player scales new mountains of records that first seem impossible to even get close to, but as sports so often teaches us there is no sportsperson bigger than the sport itself and as time progresses a new superstar emerges which makes the other numbers dwarf and as life goes on and evolves, so does sports. Gavaskar and Sachin retired but Indian cricket didn’t stop. Lee, Warne, McGrath retired but Australian cricket didn’t stop. And forever it will remain that way!
Let’s have a look at the players who have made 10,000 or more Test runs.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
At the zenith of this list sits comfortably the man from India, Sachin Tendulkar, with 15,921 runs in 200 Test Matches (also a record) with 51 Test Centuries and 56 half centuries. India’s highest civilian award winner Sachin Tendulkar served the country for 24 years representing the nation in six World Cups. Sachin is widely regarded as the one of the all-time greats.
2. Ricky Ponting
Ponting for a long time in his career was in race to get ahead of Sachin and he came close enough but couldn’t surpass Sachin’s tally. Ponting scored 13, 378 runs in 168 Tests with 41 Test Hundreds alongside his name. Ponting holds the record of being the only cricketer in the history of Test cricket to be a part of 100 Test match wins. He was named "Cricketer of the decade 2000". He led Australia to victory at the 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups and was also a member of the 1999 World Cup winning team under Steve Waugh. Are you having a bad day? Try watching Ricky Ponting’s pull, the world would seem all the more beautiful.
3. Jacques Kallis
The South African legend is one of the finest athletes in the world. In terms of adding value to the team Kallis was one of the rare all-rounders who could open the innings both with the bat and bowl. For all existing all-rounders, Kallis is surely the benchmark. In the list of highest test runs Kallis is number 3 in the list with 13,289 runs in 166 Tests. Kallis average of over 55 was the best among top 3 run scorer in Tests.
4. Rahul Dravid
Popularly known as the Wall of Indian Batting order, Dravid holds the world record of facing the most number of balls. Rahul Dravid was India’s overseas hero for a significant time of his career and when nobody fired it was inevitably Dravid who would come to India’s rescue. Perhaps the best player of the front foot defense, Dravid is number 4 in the highest run getters list. Dravid scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests. Dravid holds a unique record of never getting out for a Golden duck in the 286 Test innings which he has played.
5. Kumar Sangakkara
One of the best batsmen to have ever played the game for Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara’s average of over 57 is highest among batsmen who have scored more than 10,000 runs. Along with Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar has been a vital member of the Sri Lankan squad for their entire careers. He is second to Tendulkar in terms of most international runs with 28,016. Sangakkara has scored 12,400 runs in 134 Tests.
6. Brian Lara
The West Indian is a technical genius. Lara topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple hundred in first-class cricket history. Lara also holds the record of the highest individual Test score of 400*. Lara scored 11,953 runs in 131 Tests.
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7. Shivnarine Chanderpaul
A left-handed batsman from West Indies, Chanderpaul is well known for his unorthodox batting stance but a stance which proved extremely successful for him evident in his tally of more than 20,000 international runs. Chanderpaul received the ICC Player of the year in 2008. Chanderpaul scored 11,867 runs in 164 tests and is presently number 7 in the list.
8. MahelaJayawardene
Mahela and Sanga have lived their dream together, shared victories and defeats together, innumerable partnerships together and won Sri Lanka games together, even in this list they are the only 2 Sri Lankan. With 11,814 runs in 149 Tests Mahela is number 8 in this list. Mahela achieved this feat with the help of 34 Test Hundreds.
9. Allan Border
The second man to go past the 10,000 run mark the Australian was flawless when he came to his own. Border still retains the world record for the number of consecutive Test appearances of 153 and the number of Tests as captain. Border’s tally of 11,174 runs remained the highest until Brian Lara surpassed it in 2005. Border accumulated this mountain of runs with the help of 27 Test Hundreds.
10. Alaistar Cook
England’s present Test skipper Cook happens to be the only active International cricketer in the list and with cricket ahead of him can surely go up the ladder. If he plays as well as he has played Cook could even go on to surpass Tendulkar’s tally of runs. Alaistar Cook is the highest run getterfor England in Tests and has scored more than 11,000 runs till now.
11. Steve Waugh
Arguably, Australia’s most attacking captain, thought of in the early stages of his career as only a "moderately talented" player, at one point losing his Test place to his brother Mark, Steve Waugh went on to become one of the leading batsmen of his time and one of the all-time highest run scorer. Steve Waugh finished his career with 168 Tests, the most at that time until it was broken by Sachin in 2010 who later went on to play 200 Tests. Steve scored 10,927 runs with 32 Test Hundreds.
12. Sunil Gavaskar
The original Indian Little Master and the first man ever to reach the 10,000 run mark Sunil Gavaskar was an absolute genius when it came to batting and especially facing the new ball bowlers. Gavaskar scored a 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12 with 34 Test Hundreds and 45 half centuries. Gavaskar’s numbers must be interpreted keeping in mind the era it came in.
