I did not see Inzamam's name in the list of 290+. He scored against Newzealnd in the year 2002 at Lahore.

Andy,you forgot to mention most number of mis-fields in a single innings.Ishant Sharma must be up there with Dilip Doshi ,Devon Malcolm and Bob Holland for most runs conceded by a fielder.Ricky ponting was going after Graham Thorp's record of most number of glove changes-oh I forgot,Monty Panesar smashed that record at Cardiff in 2009.
Great article anyway.

You forgot Martin Crowe!

While I do rate each of batsmen among Virender Sehwag, Younis Khan, Sarwan, Sehwag again, Chris Gayle, Cook and Clarke - well - obviliously - they are not in the same class as Hanif Mohammad, Garry Sobers, Bob Simpson, Lawrence Rowe and Viv Richards....

Clear sign of batsmen friendly turf, covered wickets, restrictions on bouncers/ more attacking bowling...

Awesome stats Andy...

Does the increase in number of 290+ scores in last four years mean that recently the pitches have been more batsmen friendly along with deteriorating quality of bowlers?

With the exception of Dale Steyn, though.

you ar incredible..the no of 290s in th lst four yrs..ausum..clarke shd hv declard on 299..it wud hv been sexy

Although it was only Zimbabwe, what about Matty Haydens 380???? Call yourself a cricket expert???

useful of accumulator of runs hahahahaha

wow! Brilliant Zaltzman, those are some facts that I was looking really forward to read!
Cheers mate!

Regarding 290+ scores, where does Brian Charles Lara stands during the period of 1990's and early 2000?

BTW, super article (Y)...

This writer foget, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardana and Kumar Sangakkara.

A great innings by Clarke but you are on the money concerning India. They look like they have little interest in the series & are happy to do well only if it comes with little effort. Their fielding is the measure, as in it is something every player has to do whether they are a specialist with bat or ball & they look positively pedestrian.
I haven't seen them play elsewhere but it is very disappointing to be looking forward to a hard fought summer of skillful cricket against some of the best players & team in the world & it seems like they'd rather be somewhere else.
Looking like soon to be two-nil down in the series they'd hardly do their reputation any more damage if they flew out next week & left the controversy behind them, at this point I don't think I could think any less of them if they did.
Many Australian fans will revel in the slaughter but it really is a poor show thus far.

You are forcing me 2 b'cm ur FAN. Ths is a gr8 post...

Multistat : 1 - Number of genius-witty-multistates-writer ever to grace this earth. All-hail Andy Zaltaman. It is beacuse of you this page 2 got to survive to this day.

Also: The number of international centuries needed by Sachin Tendulkar to get the frigging record done with, in case anyone forgot

Awesome as usual! Loving that last stat, amazing!

india slaughtered again on foreign soil.. tigers at home, kittens abroad..

"mostly careless and uncertain with the bat, listless with the ball and snoozy in the field." - perfect summary of last 5 and a half tests by Team India...

I fell very good that M.C hit Tripplle centuary.worth it

Nice said andy. As always spot on but you didnt help us solving one question ie Where is the unplayable spin of ashwin and where is the fire and aggression of yadav and ishant.

Regards

Martin Crowe 299 sits in there too

4-0 loss against England according to Dhoni was an isolated incident.now dhoni ran out of excuses.how much more shame these players considered like semigods by indian masses will bring for the country.it looks like Australia is playing against some mohalla team from new delhi.

Is that correct, what about the marathon test innings in Sri Lanka (900+ against India). How could 900+ be made without more than two 250+ partnerships? Theoretically, yes, 9 partnerships of 100 each but, could you please confirm?

AJ

I totally agree with you..Clarke should have declared at lunch and showed that he wanted his first triple century..and 150 for Hussey..They were playing for the records.. 400 would make obvious to everybody so he declared..It is not like Aussie were batting first they knew Inida's total and rain in the forecast..

IT IS VERY PATHETIC TO SEE THAT THE SO CALLED BEST TEST TEAM ( IN HOME TURF ONLY? .) IN THE WORLD , IS GETTING PUNISHED DUE TO AGEING DOMINAED BATSMEN FILLED INDIAN LINEUP AND INEXPERIANED BOWLING ATTACK . WILL ITSURVIVE THIS TEST ?

Well wait when Aussies tour India where they will face the same issues with spin as India is facing against them with pace. It is bad that all teams prepare pitches to the liking of home teams to win test matches. Same with Aussies, Indians, lankans, everyone. So if it has to be even then ICC should be the one who should take care of pitches and provide same surface everywhere. Fast bowlers are successful in Aus, SA & Eng. Spinners in India and SL. So let us compare apples to apples.

Hilarious stuff , especially abouT Edmund Hillary running downhill , only India,s decent from the summit has been a little faster. No body in the world , least of all us discerning Indians ever believed that our team desreved to be the number one Test Team. we were pretenders to the throne , and occupied the spot due to a arithmetical miscalculation and a deviously planned international tour schedule . Now look " THE EMPROROR HAS NO CLOTHES"

Martin Crowe claims that him and Bradman are the only two members of the '299 Club'.

Michael Clarke had the opportunity to join this illustrious club that I am sure every child dreams of being a member of.....

its all the ipl money thats pulling the indian team down...shame on u indians!!

Awesome stats Mr.Zaltzman.

Did you miss Taufeeq Umar's double vs. SL in October

correction... he did not get 290-plus ... apologies.. you are right

Being an Indian supporter I feel cheated by the Indian team and BCCI. Most of the current Indian team deserve to be dropped.

So how many during 1989 - 2007. Inzi, Lara x2, Hayden, Crowe?

Its more accurate to say that Indians have bolted on seeing the abominable snowman, slipping, sliding, panicking and flailing past base camp. A flight reminiscent of the deer who dispersed efficiently at Richmond Park to avoid confrontation with Fenton (or Benton)

love the article, keep em coming - indian fan

India is my best team in the world but today is india in very poor stage of test cricket they must thank again why they not score 250plus in the many innings some time they droop catch their bowling is not good like Australia africa and also they are the home tiger but in the Forion Country they are like fox because some time ago their was two test match between india and australia both test won india because they were at home*they will make for himself like australia africa england Pitch to play Good on that pitch good luck to india team in the final they must bring irfan pathan back for Ishant sharma*

Seriously, I wonder guys like Sachin, Dravid and Laxman have been around for 20 or more years and still can't figure out how to bat on Australian pitches. They have performed better against McGrath and Gillespie. I think it is time for them to give way to younger players. They will falter but atleast have the urge to improve, which I see is missing in the so called BIG 3.

can't see our senior citizens saving the match. with rains expected on the fourth day, it will be difficult to face the australian pace bowlers.

mr.clarke is always as the potentials to destroy any bowling lineup,thus he as proven it in this innings , looking at india's they would recovery in this series if sachin don't strike big,australia will win the series 3nil. congradulation to mr clarke

The manner in which India has got down from the No.1 spot is a great blow for the Indian fans.Though your comments may sound a bit harsh,it is absolutely true.BCCI needs to have a thorough introspection.Their only concern seems to be to amass money and they will put the game for sale if it brings in money.

Michael Clarke may be the first triple centurion to have *intentionally* batted at 5 or lower in the order, with a full hand of recognised batsmen above him. Bradman, in his triple century scored as the fifth batsman, would normally have batted at 3 or 4, but there had been a nightwatchman (Bert Oldfield, who failed at his job, out for a fourth-ball duck).

That Australian team contained, in fact, three experienced openers (Brown, Ponsford and Woodfull). Brown opened with Ponsford but was dismissed early. After Oldfield also fell, Woodfull came in at 4th, but lasted only two balls. Ponsford (22*, Australia 39/3) appealed against the light: Bradman, demoted to 5th, did not join him till the next morning. The pair batted nearly all day for a partnership of 388.

It's quite possible that, had Ponsford's appeal been refused, either he or Bradman could have been dismissed that evening - both had surprisingly poor eyesight and would have struggled in dark conditions.

Andy - Why are you attempting to disguise your satire with so much statistics?!

No matter what, India will face an innings defeat.

1 is also the number of Indian 'cricket fans' out of 1 million who will not deride you for being such a (fill blank with) India/Sachin hater, no matter that your article put the truth of the matter so gently that a father's act of fondly patting his son on the back would seem like corporal punishment/child abuse in comparison.

Also, did anyone notice anything amiss in the headlines of the day regarding the Ind-Aus and SL-SAf test matches? Colour me stupid, but methinks the sky is going to fall on our heads!

India's decline is a surprise only to Indian fans. It took every ounce of effort, organization, practice and thought to win the world cup. They are spent. I always figured it would take a year to recoup from that effort. They were fat, happy and content from the world cup. And now they are being caned. Next they need to become lean and mean again. I figure by year end, they'll be a better team. But for this test, I expect them to fight till morning drinks and then head to the airport by lunch.

Andy
You missed out Martin Crowe's 299 against Sri Lanka in NZ

Poor Selection is to blame...... the seniors are inconsistent and they need to be replaced.... unfortunately the BCCI is not brave enough to do so...... My team for test matches in Australia would be ... Gambhir, Sehwag, Rahane, Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, 12th Man - Praveen Kumar........ Jadeja and Pathan would give India the extra batting depth that they desperately need as the batsmen keep failing.... plus pathans swing is a great advantage.... have always rated munaf highly in terms of bowling talent..... his line and length is very close to how glenn mcgrath used to bowl.... Jadeja is a very decent spinner and can take wickets.... BCCI needs to be brave now... the time has come.

When I was a small boy, I used to read the comic stories of Shikari Shambhu. Though Shamu is stupid, meek, lazy, cowardly hunter who is afraid of wild animals, world perceive him as courageous, powerful, intelligent hunter.Through some stroke of luck, Shambu always ended up as hero. Like wise Dhoni is shikari shambu of Indian cricket. Below average keeping, lacking proper batting techniques, yet media hail him as the most clever, intelligent, smart, cool cricketer. He shot in to fame through the 20-20 world cup victory which itself was through stroke of good luck. Now our Shambhus luck is running aways and he is exposed, but vested interests will always protect this stupid hero.
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"an over-excited Edmund Hillary desperate to get home to tell his mummy about how he had just conquered that really big mountain that she had promised him a new bicycle for climbing."

I wonder why Tenzing to stay on that peak so long and soak it all in. Me, I just wanted my bicycle.

Zaltz, you are awesome man!

With a bowling attack that is so weak and has been weak for a long time, India should never have been #1. If there is a bench strength of wicket takes in the squad, then, we have something. Right now, Zaheer meets the requirements only partially and the rest are mediocre.

This is also the difference in career premiership goals scored by Tim Howard and Sachin Tendulkar.....

We indians need another sport to pour our nationalist passion into. An Indian version of Roger Federer maybe? OK! We'll take an Indian version of Andy Murray if it get's to that. Cricket and the BCCI desperately need some competition. Otherwise this crap will continue for ever

Brilliant, biting stuff, Andy. Was also hoping you'd comment on why that Indian toboggan has come sliding back so alarmingly.

With Kallis' score more than 201 you are pushing it too far. Its customary to the double (200).

Money = IPL!! Root of all evil. 'nuf said

We India's will rock once again every dog has a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also: Most near hundreds by a batsman, while trying to make a 100 of 100s.

Can we request Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman to retire after this series?

Interesting article zeeman!

Pakistani's must understand the value of people like Azhar Ali more after this test. he is perhaps the most rare gem of batting in this era of big bashes and IPLs. In a test match, the mental stamina of blocking an entire day worth of bowling deliveries without getting stressed, perhaps only he possesses now a days. India needed people like him today, not stroke makers.

Winning a test match is certainly the goal but not losing a match also comes handy. Once in 1980's Ravi shastri and Dilip Vengsarker, played out the entire last day without getting separated (5 down after 4th day against Pakistan). Abdul razzaq and Kamran Akmal did the same very recently in India. Pakistan has recently not lost any series, more because they know how to NOT LOSE a test match better than anyone presently. Play out long innings with complete concentration, is really their forte.

Congratulations to the Australian team on this great performance in Sydney... and Andy Zaltman... you're an idiot to use a throwaway line on a great man in Edmond Hilary... good luck India... you're going to need it.

i truly believe that indians are way overrated in cricket. they are flat pitch players and make most records on their own grounds.

All these records hardly matter. Men who have real guts, who can outwit their opponents win and the weak minded lose. Its all in the mind. This series has seperated the men from the boys.
Good work aussies.

this is bloody funny! hah..hah...indians ponnayo!!!!!

Team indian proved this once more , they are good at home only. No matter how strong the team india is on paper or on ground still not good enough to win series abroad against the fair competetors. Winning series in West Indies is not good enough to prove this point indians can win the series abroad. I think there is no doubt on the flair and experience of the indian team but big question mark is against the mental strength which is non existent.

I think its time to either change Captain of India Mr. MS Dhoni or BCCI needs to step up and reduce the Test Match format to a 4-day match when ever India plays against any top order opposition except for teams like Bangladesh, Kenya etc.

Its pity that a team which was named No. 1 just an year ago is finding it hard to last for complete five days and also make scores beyond 300 in any inning's. people are furious about Sachin and make stupid statements like let him get his 100 century so that he will International Cricket and make way for youngsters, where as our beloved captain always thinks about breaks, even today after the match he stated "we have 5 days before next match we need to take a break and come back fresh" whereas the old man will put on his pads n go for practice right after he gets up in the morning. So do we want to see a dedicated old man carrying billions of hopes for 2 decades on his shoulders or people who see cricket as just a game and nothing more to them?

Simply brilliant!!!!!!!

Here's hoping for India to lose Eight away Tests in a row, then they can forget about Test Cricket and stick to what they do best ODI's and 20/20 cricket at home. I think they've forgotten what a forward short leg looks like, much less a silly point, they looked a far better outfit when Kumble was around, now Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal is actually better than India's best spinner, Ashwin. Why they don't play Ojha is beyond me, I suppose they don't rate left arm orthodox..I wish India would play South Africa next , yet another team better than them, then they could slip to number four, where they belong.

To all the people saying what about X. Hayden, Inzy and Martin Crowe all scored 290+ outside of the last four years and 1939-1989 and therefore are correctly not mentioned. Do not doubt Zaltor the merciless.

I also think Dravid should open with Gambhir, he did very well in England as a make-shift opener, a solid start then you can bring in Sachin at three and give Rohit Sharma a chance, keep Kohli and have Sehwag bat at 6, the only guy you drop is Laxman. Change the order to ensure stability at the top.