10 biggest innings defeats in Test cricket

#1 England vs Australia at the Oval, London (20-24 August 1938)

Margin: Innings & 579 runs

England’s Len Hutton who scored 364 in the first innings to set the hosts on their way

Australia are accustomed to the No 1 ranking but this is one instance that they were on the receiving end for a change. The fifth and final Test of the 1938 Ashes series turned out to be a historic one as it brought an end to the timeless Tests that were played out those days and forced the cricket authorities to have a big rethink on the way pitches were being made.

Billed as the battle between the two skippers – England’s Wally Hammond and Australia’s Don Bradman – the legendary Australian cricketer was left helpless in this match as he couldn’t bat in either innings with an ankle injury. The Don would have had to bat out of his skin to prevent a defeat but a more respectable defeat could have been secured.

Batting first, England scored a mammoth 903 runs in 335 overs with opener Len Hutton scoring the then highest Test score of 364. Maurice Leyland and J Hardstaff also scored big as the Australians were simply made to toil on the field of play.

In the absence of Bradman as well as Jack Fingleton, another injury casualty, a demoralised Australian side could only muster 201 and 123 in the first and second innings respectively to give England what is, till date, the biggest ever victory margin, in the history of Test cricket.