Top 10 double hundreds by Captains away from home

Very few sporting formats need a strong captain as desperately as cricket does. The captain marshals his resources in real-time, far away from the coaches and the support staff and has to take decisions on the fly. So, when the captain turns up even with the bat, to lead from the front, it gives the team a colossal boost. Graeme Smith, almost characteristically, holds the record for the most double hundreds by a skipper, away from home – 4.

Virat Kohli, by scoring a double hundred in his maiden Test in West Indies as skipper, became the 26th captain to score a double hundred away from home (includes neutral venues) and the first Indian to do so. In the long history of cricket, that is a small number, very small one indeed. Some of these double hundreds have come on prosaic pitches, but some of them have come under fiery conditions, against brilliant bowling line-ups.

Although no double hundred by a skipper, that too away from home, can be a mean achievement, we celebrate here, the spirit of cricketing resilience by looking at the top 10 double-hundreds by captains batting away from home.

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#10 Len Hutton (Eng), 205 (470 mins) v West Indies, Kingston, 1954

In what was probably one of the greatest innings by a visiting captain, Len Hutton scored 205 out of a score of 414 where the next highest scores were 66 and 31. England posted 414 thanks to that in response to West Indies’ 139 on a tough surface.

West Indies came back with 346 but England took the Test, reaching the target of 72 runs by losing just 1 wicket.

#9 Brendon McCullum (NZ), 202 (188 balls) v Pakistan, Sharjah, 2014

Once again, a great innings by a captain away from home, McCullum scored one of the fastest double hundreds ever in Test cricket. His 202 off just 188 balls was studded with 21 fours and an incredible 11 sixes.

McCullum added a mammoth 297 for the second wicket with Kane Williamson and inspired NZ to a massive win by an innings and 80 runs, helping his team draw the series, a great achievement for any team in UAE against Pakistan.

#8 Graeme Smith (SA), 234 (388 balls) v Pakistan, Dubai, 2013

One of the youngest skippers in Test cricket, when he took the reins of a tainted and beleaguered South African team, Graeme ‘The Biff’ Smith, had scored four double hundreds away from home, as captain, one in UAE, one in Chittagong and two more in England.

Against Pakistan in Dubai, in October 2013, Smith scored 234 adding an incredible 338 for the fifth wicket with AB de Villiers, taking South Africa from a precarious 134 for 4 to 472 for 5. South Africa won the match by an innings and 92 runs and Smith took the Man of the Match award.

#7 Alastair Cook (Eng), 263 (528 balls) v Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, 2015

Batting second, Cook had a massive job on his hands. Pakistan had posted a massive 523 thanks to a Shoaib Malik’s double century. Cook did a wonderful job as an opener, eventually dismissed when his team was on 549 for 6. England managed a healthy 75 run lead.

After a Pakistan collapse in the final innings, the match hurtled towards a nail-biting finish. England almost pulled it off, requiring 99 runs in the final innings. Eventually, they managed 74 for 4 in 11 overs with the match ending in a draw. Nevertheless, Cook impressed with the fifth highest Test score by a captain away from home.

#6 Graeme Smith (SA), 259 (370 balls) v England, London, 2003

Smith makes another entry on this list, this time with a trailblazing 259 at the Mecca of Cricket, Lord’s. Smith’s double ton ensured South Africa posted a massive 682 against a bowling line-up that had Darren Gough, James Anderson, Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff. South Africa took the match by an innings and 92 runs. This was Smith’s second consecutive double ton after scoring one a week before at Birmingham.

#5 Brian Lara (WI), 202 (274 balls) v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2003

In a losing cause, against a good South African bowling line-up, Lara scored a breath-taking 202 in an innings studded with 32 fours and 2 sixes. Lara scored 202 of West Indies’ 410 but the deficit was too big and thanks to a daring declaration, West Indies fumbled in the final innings, chasing 378 and losing by 189 runs. To Lara’s credit, the second and third highest scores behind his 202 were 60 and 34.

#4 Allan Border (Aus), 200 (399 balls) v England, Leeds, 1993

Border, one of Australia’s most inspirational captains and the man who resurrected them from a slump during the 80s, played one of the more defining Ashes knocks. In an unbeaten 200, Border hammered 26 fours to take Australia to 653 batting first. England never really had an answer to the mammoth Border-Waugh partnership and lost the Test by an innings and 148 runs, propelling this innings into this list.

#3 Dudley Nourse (SA), 208 (555 mins) v England, Trent Bridge, 1951

Way back in 1951, Nourse played a powerful innings, scoring 208 and taking South Africa to 483. England responded with 419. Nourse was absent hurt in the second innings and South Africa were all out for 121. Needing just 186 England were all out though for 114 giving South Africa a win by 71 runs. Nourse’s 208 came in 555 minutes with 25 fours.

#2 Clive Lloyd (WI), 242 (429 mins) v India, Bombay, 1975

In one of the toughest grounds for visiting batsman, Clive Lloyd inspired his West Indian team to a whopping 201 run win in what was close to a revenge series. West Indies eventually won the series 3-2, Lloyd’s double ton in the deciding Test proving to be crucial as he took his team to 604 in the first innings, a gap India could never bridge.

#1 Mark Taylor (Aus) 334 (564 balls) v Pakistan, Peshawar, 1998

The highest score by a skipper away from home, 334* also represented one of the great gestures in cricket. Taylor declared on 334* because he didn’t want to overtake Bradman. The match ended in a draw with Pakistan scoring 580 in the second innings on an absolutely flat pitch.