Why I Dug Into Cricket Records
Lately I’ve been binge-watching test cricket matches while drinking chai every afternoon. Saw this player smash century after century and wondered – who holds the record for the most runs in a test series? Sounded simple, but finding legit stats felt like searching for a needle in a haystack. Started scrolling through random sites showing recent matches only, nothing historical. Total waste of time.
Hitting Dead Ends At First
First I tried that big cricket stats platform everyone uses. Searched “highest runs in series” – got flooded with IPL junk and T20 nonsense instead of proper test cricket records. Then I remembered that old fan forum where retired players post sometimes. Scrolled through years of rambling threads about ball tampering controversies. Found zero useful stats. Almost gave up after thirty minutes.
The Turning Point
Finally dug into official match archives – those dusty PDF scorecards from before internet times. Took me two hours flipping through virtual paperwork. First compiled all Ashes series scores manually since they’ve played forever. Then moved to India vs Australia series. My spreadsheet looked like a toddler’s scribble at this point. But when I sorted the totals…holy cow!
- Found Sir Donald Bradman’s 1930 Ashes total buried deep – dude scored 974 runs across just seven innings! Almost averaged 140 per game!
- Nobody’s come within 150 runs of that since World War II. Current players? Not even close.
- Bonus shocker: A modern great who’ll remain nameless averages under 40 in day/night tests. Wouldn’t have guessed that from TV hype.
Why It Blew My Mind
Comparing eras is wild. Back then they played on uncovered pitches with no helmets against brutal bowling. Today’s players get physio teams and tech analysis. Yet that 90-year-old record still stands untouched. Shows how stats can shatter your assumptions. Never trusting commentary hype again without checking the archives myself. Next project? Investigating why some legends always collapse in fourth innings – another rabbit hole for next Sunday’s chai session!
