Highest run rate by a team in Test series
Scoring quickly and maintaining a higher run rate is not of that importance in cricket’s longest format of the game. In Test cricket, batters take their own time to settle down and then play cautiously. But players from a few teams have managed to score at a good rate throughout a particular series in this format.
Let’s take a look at the highest run rate by a team in a Test series:
3. Australia (4.69)
Australia hosted Zimbabwe for a two-match Test series in October 2003 and they managed to register the second-highest run rate of 4.69 by a team in a series. The Aussies posted a mammoth 735/6d in the first innings of the first match, their second-highest total in the history of the game to date, 403 and 172/1 in the second game to smash 1310 runs in total in the series. The hosts faced 1675 deliveries throughout the two clashes.
2. South Africa (5.13)
Zimbabwe again was on the receiving end, this time against South Africa in South Africa. The Proteas hosted their African neighbors in the year 2005 for a two-match series. The hosts put on 340/3d in their first innings of the first game in Cape Town and 480/7d in the second encounter to make it 820 runs in the series. The Rainbow nation faced 959 deliveries in total to record a joint-highest run rate of 5.13.
- England (5.13)
England smashed a total of 975 runs in 1140 balls against Bangladesh in a two-match series held in England in the year 2005. The English side posted a massive total of 528/3d in their first innings of the first game at Lord’s and 447/3d in the second clash at Chester-le-Street to script the joint-highest run rate of 5.13 in a Test series. The hosts convincingly clean swept the Bangla Tigers 2-0.
