The Numbers That Define a Test: 952, 26, 400*, 99.94, 800 | THE LONG FORM Ep. 6 (Finale)

THE COUNT

Test No. 1, MCG, March 1877: Charles Bannerman made 165 of Australia's 245, 67%, still the record share of a completed Test innings. Test No. 1,000 took 107 years (1984); the next 1,000 took 27 (Lord's, 2011).

THE EXTREMES

Highest total 952/6d (Sri Lanka, Colombo 1997); lowest 26 (New Zealand, Auckland 1955); longest, Durban 1939; shortest with a result, 642 balls, Cape Town 2024.

THE BATTERS

Lara's 400*, Antigua 2004; Tendulkar 200 Tests, 15,921 runs; Bradman's 99.94.

THE BOWLERS

Muralitharan 800, Warne 708, Anderson 704.

THE RESULTS

Roughly 3 in 10 Tests drawn; only two ties, Brisbane 1960 and Madras 1986.

THE ENDING

Australia won Test No. 1 by 45 runs; the 1977 Centenary Test, also by 45. March 2027: back to the MCG for the 150th.