Top 10 highest scores by batsmen in Tests

#1 BRIAN LARA (400*)

Lara walks off to a guard of honour after the world record

The undisputed champion of stacking up huge scores in the longest format, Lara had a massive appetite for staying put for long sessions at a stretch. The high backlift and the subsequent flourish of the bat made for an enchanting sight.

In 1994, he broke two long standing records in the space of three months, first bettering fellow countryman Gary Sobers’ record for the highest score in Tests, and then usurping Hanif Mohammad’s 499 to become the first batsman to score a quintuple century in first class cricket.

10 years later, the hunger for runs hadn’t vanished, as he became the first batsman to score 400 runs in a single innings in Tests.

In the fourth Test of West Indies’ series against England in 2004, he swept Gareth Batty towards deep backward square leg for his four hundredth run, having spent almost 13 hours at the crease, undefeated.