Okay cricket fans, gathering this list of the lowest scores was harder than facing Curtly Ambrose on a green top! Took me ages digging through dusty old scorecards and arguing with blokes online about what counts. Here’s how this deep dive into cricketing disasters shook out.
The Start: A Simple Question That Got Messy
It kicked off easy enough. Sitting there after seeing England collapse again, I thought, “What’s the absolute lowest anyone’s ever been skittled out for?” Typed it into the web browser, figuring it’d be straightforward. Man, was I wrong. First page hits showed me scores like 30 and 26, but digging deeper? Total chaos. You got records kept differently back in the day, incomplete matches, different number of overs… my notes looked like a toddler’s scribbles. Realised I needed to nail down clear rules: official Test matches only, all out innings, no forfeits or declarations counted. Otherwise, it was just messy.
Hitting Rock Bottom: Finding the Bottom Five
Started sorting through the carnage once I knew what counted. Some names popped up again and again, like NZ against England. Felt like walking through a cricketing graveyard! Every score lower than the last seemed almost impossible. Ended up circling these five horrors – the absolute cellar dwellers:
- 26 Runs – New Zealand vs England, 1955: Man, stumbling on this scorecard felt like unearthing buried treasure. 26! And it wasn’t some team of mugs either. Just… everything went wrong. Opened the bowling, wickets fell like rain. Hard to imagine being in that dressing room.
- 30 Runs (Twice!): South Africa vs England, 1924 & South Africa vs England, 1896: That’s right, England managed to skittle the Proteas for 30 twice, decades apart! Found the second one almost by accident. Shows some bad luck just sticks around. Finding that second score felt like finding proof ghosts exist.
- 35 Runs – South Africa vs England, 1899: Right after that second 30, they couldn’t escape the horror. Another England tour, another total disaster. England must have loved touring South Africa back then – guaranteed cheap wickets! Looked it up, confirmed it was indeed back-to-back tours. Brutal.
- 36 Runs – Australia vs England, 1902: This one surprised me. Australia? The mighty Aussies? Collapsed against England at Edgbaston. “The Timeless Test” they called it later, but this innings ended real quick! Stared at the scorecard a good few minutes, double-checking it was really Australia. Still doesn’t sit right.
- 36 Runs (Again!) – New Zealand vs Australia, 1946: Poor Kiwis were back at it. War had just ended, Australia bowling like demons, and boom – rolled over for 36. Seeing New Zealand pop up again down here? Felt like they were stuck in the cellar.
The Wrap: Why These Numbers Haunt Me
Once I finally pieced together this miserable top five, something hit me. These scores aren’t just numbers. Imagine stepping onto the pitch expecting a contest, and suddenly you’re fighting for basic survival against the bowling attack. Everything falls apart – your technique, your partner’s batting, your luck. The crowd gets silent, then the groans start. And that walk back? Forget facing Mitchell Starc; facing your own teammates after a collapse like that… brutal. It’s the sheer unexpectedness of it. One minute you’re playing cricket, the next you’re part of history nobody wants to be in.
Researching this list, man… it makes you appreciate every single run scored in Tests. It’s cricket stripped down to its most vulnerable, terrifying moments. Can’t look at a score of 50-for-odd without sweating a little now! Utter chaos captured forever on some old card or webpage.
