A low score in an innings in a test match is usually not ideal. However, in some exceptional cases, the team achieves an innings victory. This could occur due to multiple reasons. The most common reason would be that the pitch and conditions are tilted heavily in favour of bowlers. We will now look at the lowest team scores in a test in an innings victory.
1. Australia (1932)
South Africa toured Australia for a five-match series. Australia won all the first four games. The final game was at Melbourne. South Africa batted first and got shot out for just 36 due to a fifer by Bert Ironmonger. Australian batting was pretty mediocre too, as they scored just above 150. In the next innings, Ironmonger got to yet another fifer, as this time, South Africa got bowled out for just 45. Bert Ironmonger finished with insane match figures of 22.5-12-24-11. During the Australian innings, Alan Kippax top-scored with his 42. Australia scored 153 runs in this innings.
2. England (1888)
This game saw England bat first and post slightly above 170. Then, Australia set out to bat. Australia got bowled out for 81 and then had to follow-on. This time around, they got bowled out for 70. The English bowler Bobby Peel took 11 wickets in the match. During English batting, the top scorer was the legendary batsman W.G. Grace. England scored 172 runs in this innings.
3. Australia (1946)
Australia toured New Zealand for a solitary test. New Zealand was a poor team during this time, which looked apparent in this match. New Zealand batted first and got shot out for paltry totals of 42 and 54. In the middle, Australia batted and declared their innings when they were just about to reach 200. Australia scored 199 runs in this innings.
4. West Indies (1986)
This game was the second test of the West Indies tour of Pakistan. Pakistan batted first and scored 131 and 77 during their innings. West Indies batted just once and outscored them during their innings. West Indies scored 218 runs in this innings.
5. Pakistan (1986)
Pakistan toured Sri Lanka for a three-match test series. Sri Lanka was a full-member nation for just about five years. In the first game, Pakistan bowled first and bowled Sri Lanka out for just 109. They then batted and secured a lead of over 120 runs. During the next innings, the Pakistani bowler Tauseef Ahmed took six wickets and shot down Sri Lanka for just 101. He now had nine wickets in the match. Moreover, he also scored 23 not out when they were batting. Pakistan scored 230 runs in this innings.
6. England (1955)
New Zealand hosted England in this match. They batted first and made 200. England then batted and had a slender lead of just above 45 runs. What followed was absolute carnage. New Zealand was a poor team during this time, but no one knew what was to happen in this innings. New Zealand got bowled out for just 26. The star performers of this game were Bob Appleyard and Brian Statham, who took seven wickets each. Peter May was the top-scorer for England during their batting, as he scored 48. England scored 246 runs in this innings.
7. England (1896)
This game was the third test of the England tour of South Africa. South Africa batted first and scored 115 and 17 during their innings. England batted just once and outscored them during their innings. England scored 265 runs in this innings.
8. England (1958)
This game was the third test of the New Zealand tour of England. New Zealand batted first and scored 67 and 129 during their innings. England batted just once and outscored them during their innings. England scored 267 runs in this innings.
9. Australia (2021)
This game was the third test of the 2021-22 Ashes in Australia. Australia had won the previous two games. This game was the Boxing Day test in Melbourne. England batted first and got bowled out for 185. Australia then started batting and was at 219-8. At this point, it didn’t look like the lead will be quite significant. However, a late flourish by Mitchell Starc and the captain Pat Cummins meant that the lead was above 80. It proved sufficient, as the Australian debutant Scott Boland took 6-7 in the next innings, and England got bowled out for just 68. The Australian batting saw the opener Marcus Harris top score with his 76. Australia scored 267 runs in this innings.
10. England (1958)
This game was the second test in the New Zealand of England. England batted first and scored over 250 runs. In the end, it proved to be too much for New Zealand. They got bowled out for 47 and 74 in the next successive innings. During England’s batting, Colin Cowdrey top-scored with his 65. England scored 269 runs in this innings.
