5 shortest Test matches ever played

Test cricket is supposed to be the longest format in cricket, but here we have a list of shortest Test matches ever played, shorter than even a T20. Here’s the list:

#5 Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Gujranwala, 1991

A rain hit Test match. Pakistan batting first were at 109/2 after 36 overs. With no super soppers at that point of time, the possibility to clear the outfield is almost impossible. Four and half days were lost due to rain and wet outfield. This is the fifth shortest Test match ever played.

#4 England vs Australia, Nottingham, 1926

Another rain hit game with just 17.1 overs bowled in it. England batting first after winning the toss were at 32/0 with Sir Jack Hobbs, the man with most number of first class centuries (199) at the crease playing his 44th Test match. The match couldn’t progress further due to persistent rain.

#3 Sri Lanka v India, Kandy, 1993

This Test marked a significant record for India with Kapil appearing in his 125th Test match, a record for most number of appearances for India then along with Sunil Gavaskar.

The match was called off due to continuous rain with no chance ofplay after 12 overs.

#2 West Indies vs England, Jamaica, 1998

This time, there is no rain involved at all. The conditions were perfect for Test match cricket, except the pitch. The match ended in 10.1 overs after the pitch was declared dangerous to play on.

With Walsh and Ambrose bowling, one has to say that it was even more dangerous. Umpires Steve Bucknor and S. Venkataraghavan took the decision to call off the match after 55 minutes of play on Day 1. It was the first ever occasion in the history of Test cricket when the match was called off due to the state of the pitch.

In the 10 overs played till then, England batsmen were hit many a times on their body, making the physio appear on the ground far too often in that first hour. After the fall of 3 wickets on 17, Grahap Thorpe was hit on his right hand, and this time the England captain Michael Atherton arrived with the physio on the field.

After discussions in the middle, the match was finally called off.

#1 West Indies vs England, Antigua, 2009

Can you imagine a Test match played for just 10 balls? Yes, we have one. It is West Indies and England again.

This Test match was abandonded because of a poor outfield and raised many eyebrows. The outfield was too sandy, in a way the bowlers could not get any solid footholds during their run-up.

Alan Hurst, the ICC match referee, ruled: "The ground conditions, and especially the bowlers' run-ups, were unfit and potentially dangerous and we decided it would not be possible to rectify those fundamental issues over the course of a day or so."

Many said that the match should not be allowed to start at all. This Test match with 10 balls is the shortest Test match ever played in the history of the game.