12 Test-playing nations and the highest individual score by their wicket-keepers in Tests

In the sport of cricket, the wicket-keeper is the one who dons the keeping gloves and stands behind the stumps to stop the ball missed by the batsman. Besides the aforementioned job, the wicket-keeper plays a vital role in various kinds of dismissals such as caught behind, stumpings and run outs. Earlier, the teams used to focus only on the wicket-keeping skills of a player to allow him a place in the team. But the game has evolved with time and the wicket-keeper's role has been transformed into the wicket-keeper batsman role. Many teams prefer a batsman who can keep rather than having a keeper who can bat.

The wicket-keeper batsmen have always played a vital role in the success of a team. Their role is sometimes only limited to keeping in T20s but in the longest format of the game, they need to perform with the bat too. Here’s a look at the best batting performances by a wicket-keeper of each Test playing nation.

(Note- This list considers Test matches after 2010)

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#1 England - Jonny Bairstow - 167* (251) vs Sri Lanka, Lord's

Jonny Bairstow, the English wicket-keeper was in the form of his life in the season 2016-17 where he was one of the top run-getters for his side in Test matches. In the 3rd Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, English captain Alaistair Cook elected to bat first after the coin tossed in his favour. Cook (85) kept on scoring from one end but got no support from his partners.

Jonny Bairstow came in to bat after the fall of the 4th wicket and stabilised the innings along with his skipper. When Cook departed, Jonny Bairstow joined hands with Moeen Ali (25) and Chris Woakes (66) to take the team’s total past 350. Woakes lost his wicket when England had put 371 on the board and Bairstow added 45 more to that while batting with the tail.

The wicket-keeper ran out of partners as he remained not out on 167. He was adjudged the Man of the Match in the drawn Test for his unbeaten knock.

#2 Sri Lanka - Dinesh Chandimal - 162* (247) vs India, Galle

Dinesh Chandimal's knock helped Sri Lanka script an epic comeback in the Test match

After conceding a humongous 192 run lead in the first innings against Virat Kohli’s team India, very few expected Sri Lanka to even escape an innings defeat. However, the team showed character despite the collapse at the top of the order, as wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Chandimal led the Lankan Lions to a famous victory. The home team lost their 3 wickets with just 5 runs on the board but Kumar Sangakkara (40) and Angelo Mathews (39) stitched an 87-run partnership to kick off Sri Lanka’s fightback. After the former’s departure, Dinesh Chandimal walked in to play the best innings of his cricket career.

The right-handed batsman’s gritty 162* left the Indian bowling attack clueless as he added 48 runs to the team total batting with the last 2 batsmen. Sri Lanka set an achievable target of 176 for India however, Rangana Herath’s 7 wicket-haul dismantled the Indian batting as Angelo Mathews’ men won the match by 63 runs.

#3 Bangladesh - Mushfiqur Rahim - 200 vs Sri Lanka, Galle

Mushfiqur Rahim is the best wicket-keeper batsman to have played for Bangladesh

Mushfiqur Rahim has been the cornerstone of the Bangladeshi cricket team for a long time and he proved why he is considered the best wicket-keeper batsman to have played for his country in the Test match against Sri Lanka. In the 1st Test of the series played at Galle, Sri Lanka declared their innings after scoring a monumental 570 at the loss of just 4 wickets.

Avoiding an innings defeat seemed improbable for the Bangladeshi Tigers. But the visitors put on an epic fight as Mohammad Ashraful’s 190 and Nasser Hossain’s 100 pushed them towards the total. Mushfiqur Rahim provided huge support to both the batsmen as he kept on piling runs from the other end. He became the first Bangladeshi wicket-keeper to score a double century on foreign soil by scoring 200 off 321 balls before Nuwan Kulasekara dismissed him. Bangladesh ended their innings with a first innings lead of 68 runs.

#4 New Zealand - Brendon McCullum -185 (272) vs Bangladesh, Hamilton

In 2010, Bangladesh toured New Zealand and took part in a one-off Test. Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and invited the home side to bat first and they had a shaky start, losing their first 5 wickets with just 158 on the board. Martin Guptill (189) and Brendon McCullum then destroyed the Bangladeshi bowling attack as the duo added 339 for the sixth wicket before Rubel Hossain uprooted the stumps of Brendon McCullum.

The Kiwi wicket-keeper had made sure that he did his job before departing, as his knock of 185 comprised 17 fours and 3 sixes. New Zealand declared the first innings at 553-7 with major contributions from the two centurions. The visitors could not match the level of the higher-ranked New Zealand team as they lost the match by 121 runs.

#5 South Africa - AB de Villiers 169 (184) vs Australia, Perth

South Africa batted first in their 3rd Test match against the home side Australia in 2012. Faf du Plessis’ 78* helped the Proteas reach 225 before losing their 10 wickets. A spirited performance by their bowlers handed them a first innings lead of 62 runs after Australia could manage only 163 in their innings. The Test match turned dramatically in the 3rd innings of the match as Hashim Amla’s 196 and AB de Villiers’ quick-fire 169 off just 184 balls led the visitors to a huge 569 in their second innings. De Villiers stuck 21 fours and 3 sixes in his onslaught over the Australian bowlers.

Chasing 632, Australia lost the match by a big margin of 309 runs despite valiant efforts from Ed Cowan (53) and Mitchell Starc (64).

#6 Australia - Brad Haddin 136 (287) vs England, Brisbane

In the 1st Ashes Test of 2010-11, England elected to bat first after winning the toss and put 260 on the board. The Australian side began the innings on a positive note with a half century from Simon Katich (50) laying the perfect platform for the middle order batsmen to take the home side past their nemesis’ total. Michael Hussey (195) and Brad Haddin not only took Australia ahead of the English side’s total but also gave Australia a gigantic first innings lead of 221 runs.

However, England scripted a fightback of their own as they scored 517-1 and declared their second innings, setting Australia a target of 297 runs. The Test ended in a draw as Australia could score only 107/1 in the remaining time.

#7 Afghanistan - Afzar Zazai 6 (18) vs India, Bengaluru

Not the debut that the Afghan wicket-keeper would have dreamt of

ICC allotted Afghanistan Test status in 2017-18 and the BCCI announced that India would be the first opponents of the minnows. In a two-day Test match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the Afghan bowlers were shattered by the Indian batsmen as Murali Vijay (105), Shikhar Dhawan (107), Hardik Pandya (71) and KL Rahul (54) led the Indian team to a huge 474 on a green wicket.

When Afghanistan walked in to bat in the first innings, their wicket-keeper Afsar Zazai could score only 6 runs off the 21 balls he faced before Ishant Sharma cleaned him up with a beautiful in-swinger. He came out to bat at no.7 in the second innings but that did no good to him as Ravindra Jadeja uprooted his stumps when the inexperienced Afghan had scored 1 run facing 9 balls.

#8 Ireland - Niall O' Brien 18 (45) vs Pakistan, Dublin

Niall O’ Brien, the Irish veteran who recently announced his retirement from cricket had a horrendous outing when Ireland played their first ever Test match against Pakistan. After Pakistan declared their first innings at 310/9, Ireland lost all its 10 wickets for 130 runs which led the visitors to enforce a follow-on. O’ Brien was dismissed for a duck in his debut innings. However, he had a chance to improve his performance in the second innings.

The Irish player failed to make the most out of that opportunity as he could manage only 18 runs after playing 45 balls. Niall’s brother Kevin O’ Brien registered a memorable hundred in the second innings which forced the visitors to bat again. However, the target was too small for the Asian giants as Ireland lost their first ever Test match.

#9 Zimbabwe - Regis Chakabva 101 (226) vs Bangaldesh, 2014

Regis Chakabva's 101 wasn't enough as Zimbabwe lost the match to Bangladesh by 162 runs

The Zimbabwean batsman Regis Chakabva was the last wicket-keeper to score a century for his country when he scored 101 against Bangladesh in 2014. After Bangladesh put 433 on the board in the first innings, Zimbabwe started their innings quite slowly as they lost both the openers at 84. However, Hamilton Masakadza’s 158 powered them back into the match. Their wicket-keeper Regis Chakabva also stepped up and delivered a century to decrease Bangladesh’s lead. The duo’s centuries helped the visitors reach 368 in the first innings.

Bangladesh expanded their 65 run lead by adding 248 in the second innings. Set a target of 313 in the 4th innings, the Zimbabwean batting order suffered a collapse as they slumped to a huge 162-run defeat at the hands of the Bangla Tigers.

#10 West Indies - Shane Dowrich - 125* (325) vs Sri Lanka, Port Of Spain

Dowrich's 125 helped Windies script a memorable win in their test match against Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka toured the Windies in June 2018 to play a Test series and in the 1st match of the series, the home side elected to bat first after Jason Holder won the toss. Small contributions from Kieran Powell (38), Shai Hope (44) and Roston Chase (38) kept the Windies scoreboard ticking. But it was the wicket-keeper batsman Shane Dowrich’s century which helped them reach 414-8 before Holder declared the innings. Dowrich’s patient knock comprised 12 fours as the middle order batsman kept on adding runs with the tail-enders.

The home team took a big lead in the first innings which helped them set up a 226-run victory over the depleted Lankan side. Shane Dowrich was also a part of the Windies Test squad that India whitewashed last week.

#11 Pakistan - Sarfraz Ahmed - 112 (215) vs New Zealand, Dubai

The current skipper of the Pakistani Test team has the highest score by a Pakistani wicketkeeper in Tests since 2010

When New Zealand and Pakistan played a Test series in 2014, Sarfraz Ahmed was an emerging wicket-keeper who used to bat at number 7 or number 8. In this Test match too he came out to bat at number 7 after Ish Sodhi bowled Azhar Ali and Pakistan were trailing by 183 runs. Sarfraz showed character and played excellent strokes against the New Zealand bowling attack. The wicket-keeper batsman added 81 for the last wicket with Rahat Ali before becoming the final Pakistani batsman to be dismissed in the 1st innings.

His 125 run innings helped Pakistan reduce New Zealand’s lead to a mere 10 runs. Chasing 261 in the second innings, Sarfraz remained not out on 24 as the match ended in a draw.

#12 India- MS Dhoni - 224 (365) vs Australia, Chennai

MS Dhoni holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian wicket-keeper

The Aussies powered by Michael Clarke’s 130 and Moises Henriques’ 68 scored 380 in the first innings when they toured India for a 4-match Test series. Sachin Tendulkar’s 81 and Virat Kohli’s century helped India reach closer to Australia’s total, but it was the Ranchi boy who played a memorable knock in front the Chennai crowd. This was MS Dhoni’s first and only double century in his Test career as his 224 off 365 blew away the Australian bowling attack. Australia could only give a target of 50 runs in the 4th innings to the home side as India took a 1-0 lead in the series by winning the match by 8 wickets.

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