England recorded the highest total on Day 1 of a Test match during the first Test against Pakistan on December 1, 2022 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.
England etched their name in the record books after piling up 506 runs on the first day despite the viral infection that struck the visitor’s camp and the certainty of the day’s play was hanging by a thread. England broke Australia’s 112-year-old record of scoring the most runs on the first day of a Test. Australia scored 494 runs against South Africa in a match in December 1910.
It was the fourth instance of a team scoring more than 500 runs on a particular day of Test cricket. This was the third time England was involved in attaining the milestone and Sri Lanka is the only other team to hit more than 500 in a day of a Test match.
England scored 588 runs on the second day during the Manchester Test against India in 1936, which is the highest total scored on any day of a Test match.
How did England record 506/4 vs Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Day 1?
England adopted a new mantra to revive their Test cricket under head coach Brendon McCullum. The motive was to play with high-level intensity right from the word-go, which popularly came to be known as ‘Baz Ball’ by the journalists.
The Baz Ball was on the song on the first day of the Rawalpindi Test between Pakistan and England. England’s new opening combination Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett recorded a blistering 233-run opening stand as they dominated the first session of the day. Responding to his axing over lack of runs, Crawley scored 122 (21 x 4s), while Duckett registered his maiden Test hundred playing in his fifth Test, which was his first since 2016.
Batting at No.3, Ollie Pope, who was named the designated wicketkeeper after Ben Foakes couldn’t recover from the infection, scored 104 from 108 balls and added 176 runs with Harry Brook for the fourth wicket. Brook remained unbeaten on 101 along with England skipper Ben Stokes, who was batting on 34 off 15 balls at the end of the day’s play.
England batters smashed a total of 73 boundaries and three sixes on Day 1 of the first day, the count went up to 87 fours and nine sixes as their innings folded up at 657/10 on the second day.
Top 10 Most runs in a day in Test cricket
| No. | Team 1 | Team 2 | Runs | Wickets | Day of Test Match | Venue | Match Date |
| 1 | England | India | 588 | 6 | 2 | Old Trafford, Manchester | July 25, 1936 |
| 2 | England | South Africa | 522 | 2 | 2 | Lord's, London | June 28, 1924 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 509 | 9 | 2 | P Sara Oval, Combo | July 21, 2002 |
| 4 | England | South Africa | 508 | 8 | 3 | The Oval, London | August 17, 1935 |
| 5 | England | Pakistan | 504 | 4 | 1 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | December 1, 2002 |
| 6 | England | Pakistan | 496 | 4 | 2 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | July 1, 1954 |
| 7 | Australia | South Africa | 494 | 6 | 1 | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | December 9, 1910 |
| 8 | England | South Africa | 492 | 8 | 2 | The Oval, London | August 17, 1935 |
| 9 | England | New Zealand | 491 | 7 | 3 | Headingley, Leeds | July 11, 1949 |
| 10 | Australia | India | 482 | 10 | 3 | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | January 2, 2000 |
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