First class cricket is all about showing your class to the world of cricket. Many cricketers have recorded uncountable numbers of milestones in first class cricket. However, West Indies legend Brian Lara is one of them who have smashed 501* runs in first class cricket which is the highest score in the format.

Also Read: Most international hundreds among active players

Brian Charles Lara Just the name is enough. A player who made and broke records on the cricket field. Lara is counted among the great batsmen of the world. June 6 is a very special day for Lara and her fans.

On this day(June 6) 28 years ago in 1994, the charisma that Lara did, became an example. If we talk about the highest score personally in Test cricket or first class cricket, then the name of Brian Lara comes first in the mind. This left-handed batsman played an unbeaten innings of 501 runs in county cricket on 6 June. In his innings, he hit 62 fours and 10 sixes.

Let's check out the complete list of players with the highest first-class score in an innings.

Highest First-Class score in an innings

Brian Lara - 501*
Hanif Mohammad - 499
Sir Don Bradman - 452*
BB Nimbalkar - 443*
Will Ponsford - 437
Will Ponsford - 429

ICC tournaments is what for every cricket player is waits for. However, reaching the finals as a captain of their national side is a different kind of achievement for any player around the globe.

Meanwhile, in this article Sportzpoint will give you the details of the players who played the most ICC Finals as captain of their side.

Read Also: Player of the series winners in T20 World Cup History

Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 3 ICC Finals

• ICC ODI World Cup 2019
  
• ICC World Test Championship 2021
  
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021

The former blackcaps captain Kane Williamson has played 3 ICC finals as captain. That's include, 2019 ICC ODI World Cup, 2021 WTC and 2021 T20 World Cup.

In which, Kane led his team through the finals but failed two times to lift the trophy. However, New Zealand lifted the first World Test Championship under him in 2021.

Although, Kane loses the world cup 2019 final against England on a boundary count. After the loss in 2019 NZ again loses under Kane in the T20 World Cup 2021 final against the Aussies.

Sourav Ganguly | India | 3 ICC Finals

• ICC Champions Trophy 2000
• ICC Champions Trophy 2002
• ICC ODI World Cup 2003

The former BCCI President and Indian skipper, Sourav Ganguly has guided India in 3 ICC finals. In those finals India lost two of them.

Sourav Ganguly's only victory in an ICC tournament, 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. However, that trophy was shared with Sri Lanka. Dada had two more hits at an ICC championship but unfortunately failed.

Ganguly had taken over the reins of the Indian Team after the infamous fixing controversy. A relatively inexperienced skipper then, Ganguly did well to help India reach the finals of the 2000 Champions Trophy.

The southpaw even hit a century in that game and had the match in control, but the Kiwis chased down India's target of 265 with two balls remaining.

Later, in South Africa, Ganguly led India to the finals of the 2003 World Cup but was blown away by a dominant performance by the Aussies.

Clive Lloyd | West Indies | 3 ICC Finals

• ICC ODI World Cup 1975
• ICC ODI World Cup 1979
• ICC ODI World Cup 1983

No true cricket fan can ever forget the name of the first-ever World Cup-winning captain Clive Lloyd.

Clive Lloyd is credited for leading West Indies to both of its ICC Cricket World Cup titles. He captained the West Indian side between 1974 to 1985 and moulded them into a dominant test-playing nation during his time.

West Indies won both the inaugural ICC Cricket World Cup in 1975 and the second Cricket World Cup in 1979 under Lloyd.

However, in 1983 ODI World Cup Clive Lloyd's team loses in the finals against India. So the carebean great played 3 ICC finals as captain for his side.

Brian Lara | West Indies | 3 ICC Finals

• ICC Champions Trophy 1998
• ICC ODI World Cup 1999
• ICC Champions Trophy 2000

Another carebean batting giant, Brian Lara comes on the list of most ICC Finals as captain.

Lara has played 3 ICC finals as captain in his career and two of them are Champions Trophy. However, another one is ICC cricket World Cup in 1999,that they lost in the finals.

After the 1979 World Cup, West Indies had not won an ICC Trophy.

A legendary batsman, the task of winning a trophy fell on Brian Lara's shoulders. The most experienced ODI captain of the West Indies, Lara won one Champions Trophy but lost two of them in the finals.

Rohit Sharma* | India | 4 ICC Finals

• ICC World Test Championship 2023
• ICC ODI World Cup 2023
• ICC T20 World Cup 2024
• ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Rohit Sharma is now the only captain to have led his team to the finals of all International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments: ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and World Test Championship (WTC). And he has achieved that in just three years' time.

In 2023, India qualified for the WTC final and the ODI World Cup final, losing to Australia on both the occasions. The next year, in 2024, India won the T20 World Cup under Rohit by beating South Africa in the final.

It was India's first ICC title in 10 years and the second T20 World Cup triumph since 2007.

India defeated New Zealand by four wickets to lift the Champions Trophy 2025 title. After this Rohit joins MS Dhoni as the two captains to have led India to victory in the tournament. India previously won the title under MS Dhoni's captaincy in 2013.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni | India | 4 ICC Finals

• ICC T20 World Cup 2007
• ICC ODI World Cup 2011
• ICC Champions Trophy 2013
• ICC T20 World Cup 2014

The leader who changed the face of Indian Cricket holds the second position in the Most ICC Finals as captain list.

From winning a T20 and an ODI World Cup to taking India to the top of Test Cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has done it all for the Indian Cricket Team. Apart from test mace, India has won three ICC trophies under his leadership.

Dhoni's journey of being a successful captain began when he led India to the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup win in 2007. However, his most significant achievement as the captain of the Indian Cricket team came in 2011.

Under his leadership, India finally ended their 28-year World Cup drought and defeated Sri Lanka to lift their second ODI World Cup. Almost every one of you might remember Dhoni's unbeaten 91 in the final, which was one of the factors that helped India win the trophy.

Finally, Dhoni also helped add ICC Champions Trophy 2013 to India's trophy cabinet. They defeated England and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the final.

Ricky Ponting | Australia | 4 ICC Finals

• ICC ODI World Cup 2003
• ICC Champions Trophy 2006
  
• ICC ODI World Cup 2007
  
• ICC Champions Trophy 2009

Former Australia skipper, Ricky Ponting is one of the most successful captains in the history of International Cricket. He made sure that Australia remains the dominating force in International Cricket after the retirement of Steve Waugh. 

Ponting led Australia in 77 Tests, 230 ODIs, and 17 T20Is.
Ricky Ponting led Australia to four ICC finals in his career.

Meanwhile, he wins four of them and became the most successful captain in cricket history. A fascinating thing about these four trophy wins is that they all came during just seven years, from 2003 to 2009.

Under Ponting, Australia first retained the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2003. He came out as the third-highest scorer of the tournament with three centuries and won the man of the match award in the final.

Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis is breaking records with his batting. He scored his fifth century in the 13th innings of his debut in the second Test against New Zealand in Galle on Friday. This Sri Lankan batsman also scored a century in the second Test against New Zealand. 

Also Read: Ashwin with most test wickets in Asia; Breaks Kumble's Records

Kamindu has become the Asian battler to score 5 centuries in the shortest innings. He thus broke the record of Fawad Alam of Pakistan. Earlier, Fawad was the fastest Asian batsman to score 5 centuries. He scored five Test centuries in 22 innings. The record of scoring the fastest five centuries in Tests for Sri Lanka was in the name of Aravinda de Silva. He scored his fifth century in the 38th innings.

Equals Don Bradman's record

Kamindu Mendis has also equaled Sir Don Bradman in this matter by scoring his 5th century in the 13th innings. He is the joint third fastest batsman to score five centuries on debut, equaling the greats Don Bradman and George Headley in 13 innings. Bradman and Headley also scored their 5th century in the 13th innings. A day earlier, Kamindu had made a world record of scoring half-centuries in 8 consecutive Test matches.

Before Mendis, only Everton Weekes (10), Herbert Sutcliffe (12) and Robert Harvey (12) have achieved this feat. Mendis has played only 8 Tests so far and has scored five centuries in them.

Fastest to five hundreds from Test debut (innings)

• 10 – Everton Weekes (West Indies) – 1948
• 12 – Robert Harvey (Australia) – 1925
• 12 – Herbert Sutcliffe (England) – 1931
• 13 – Don Bradman (Australia) – 1930
• 13 – George Headley (West Indies) – 1931
• 13* – Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka) – 2024

Kamindu's innings against New Zealand

25-year-old Kamindu Mendis came to the crease in the second Test match against New Zealand when Dinesh Chandimal was out after scoring a century. He took Sri Lanka beyond 400 runs by making a partnership of 74 runs for the fifth wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva. After the dismissal of Dhananjaya, Kamindu and Kusal Mendis took the innings forward.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma creates record: first captain in 60 years to bowl first at Kanpur

Mendis' Test career

Kamindu Mendis began his Test career at home in Galle in 2022, scoring a half-century in his first innings at No. 6 against Australia. He made a Test comeback earlier this year and scored innings of 102, 164, 92* and 9 against Bangladesh in Sylhet and Chittagong. Which included consecutive centuries while batting at numbers 7 and 8. 

The left-handed batsman again took charge of the lower order on the England tour and became Sri Lanka's leading run-scorer with another century. Mendis currently holds the third-highest first-class average among active cricketers who have scored at least 2000 runs in the format.

Test cricket, being the purest and best format of the game, holds a special place in the hearts of cricket enthusiasts. Any achievement in this format is always significant. Among the many records in Test cricket, the most prestigious are those related to run-scoring and centuries. So, let's take a look at the most memorable Test centuries in cricket history.

Also Read: Most Test centuries in overseas by active batters

Sir Donald Bradman's 254 at Lord's

Sir Donald Bradman scored his first century in his maiden Test match at Lord's during the summer of 1930, when he hit 254 for Australia versus England. This is one of the most memorable Test centuries in cricket history.

Just aged 21 and batting at three, Bradman scored 254 during his knock off 376 balls, hitting 25 fours in an innings that helped his side make a total of 729/6d. That innings would be the highest individual score by an overseas batsman for just over 70 years before Graeme Smith scored 259 at the Home of Cricket in 2003.

Brian Lara's 400* against England

Brian Lara holds the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket, scoring an unbeaten 400  off just 582 balls against England in 2004. Lara reclaimed his record from Australian Matthew Hayden, who only six months earlier had broken the record with 380 in Perth in October 2003.

After Lara’s mammoth innings of 400*, West Indies decided to call it a day and declared their innings on 751/5. On a laboring three days, three England bowlers were smashed for more than 100 runs with the ball.

To date, Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka is the only batter to get any closer to the record as he smashed 374 against South Africa in July 2006, but could not break Lara’s legendary feat. 

Sachin Tendulkar’s 241 vs Australia

Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 241 off 436 balls during the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar trophy is one of the most memorable Test centuries in cricket history. 

Tendulkar's innings enabled India to draw the Test match against Australia as the series finished on a 1-1 scoreline. He hit 33 boundaries during his innings which lasted for 10 hours and 13 minutes but he did not hit a single cover drive as he was repeatedly getting out while trying to play shots outside the off-stump. it was the one time when the Master Blaster shackled himself into playing like a commoner but the innings was as exquisite as any of his flashier ones.

Also Read: Most Test centuries in the World Test Championship

Ricky Ponting’s twin centuries at the SCG

For most players, playing 100 Test matches is a huge achievement, only 50 have achieved it in the history of Test cricket and Ricky Ponting is one of them. Apart from that feat, the ex-Australia captain also smashed twin centuries in his 100th Test match. He scored 120 and 143* in the first and second innings respectively against South Africa in the SCG Test.

Ponting scored 120 from 174 balls in the first innings, smashing as many as 13 boundaries to become the first Australian to score a hundred in his 100th Test match. A total of five players had recorded a century in their 100th Test match but none of them was an Australian.

Ponting brought up his 2nd century (143*) of the game in only 111 balls. In this process, Ponting became the first player to smash a twin hundred in his career’s 100th Test match and is also the only player with this feat to date.

Rahul Dravid’s 233 at Adelaide 

Rahul Dravid's 233 off 446 balls against the mighty Australian bowling attack was nothing but a great innings, hitting 23 fours and 1 sixes. Probably, one of the best Tests came from Dravid as he turned around the game in India’s favor with a brilliant innings. 

Australia posted a big total on board and the onus was on Dravid to take India close to it after four wickets fell. Dravid played responsibly and ensured India came within shouting distance of this total. He made a 303-run partnership alongside VVS Laxman that took India’s fight back. Dravid was the last man to get out after facing 446 balls and spending close to 10 hours in the middle.

Dravid was not done, though. He remained unbeaten on 73 as India chased down a target of 230, winning by four wickets. It was India's first Test win Down Under after 22 years.

VVS Laxman’s 281 at Eden Gardens

VVS Laxman scored an epic 281 against the mighty Australians at the Eden Gardens in 2001. It is a knock that defined the word legend and put Laxman’s name into the annals of cricketing history for eternity. 

Australia enforced the follow-on after being a comfortable 274 runs ahead. Steve Waugh and his men would have expected to wrap up pretty quickly. Then Laxman walked in at No 3 and delivered a memorable performance at the Eden Gardens. In the company of Rahul Dravid, he put on 376 runs that took India past 600. India declared on the final day and bowled out Australia to win the game by 171 runs.

Kevin Pietersen’s 186 in Mumbai 

Kevin Pietersen’s 186 against India in Mumbai is the best of the lot, surely. With the pressure on after his double failure at Ahmedabad, Pietersen showed he was none for the worse for his exile. Walked off to a standing ovation at the Wankhede.

Pietersen came to the crease with England 68-2 in their first innings, batting after India's effort of 326. He dominated a stand of 206 with fellow centurion Alastair Cook as England leveled the score at 1-1 and took the momentum on for another victory in Kolkata and eventual 2-1 success.

Also Read: Fab Four: Most Test Centuries

Alastair Cook’s 263 in Abu Dhabi

Alastair Cook showed ultimate endurance in baking-hot Abu Dhabi to beat the record for the longest Test innings by an Englishman.

Cook's 836-minute vigil surpassed the 797 minutes Sir Len Hutton spent at the crease against Australia in 1938 and now only Gary Kirsten (878 minutes) and Hanif Mohammad (970 minutes) have registered longer knocks in Test cricket than Cook.

Another quirk from the England captain's masterclass, which included just the 18 fours, was that when it reached 783 minutes it exceeded the length of the fourth Ashes Test of the 2015 series at Trent Bridge.

Former Team Indian opener Gautam Gambhir set a remarkable record 15 years ago that remains unbroken.

In test cricket, Gautam Gambhir achieved the feat of scoring centuries in five consecutive matches in 2009.

Gautam Gambhir fell short of surpassing Australia's Don Bradman. Bradman holds the record with six back-to-back centuries in 1937-38

Gautam Gambhir had an opportunity to break Don Bradman's record in January 2010 during the Mirpur test against Bangladesh. But he was dismissed for 68 runs.

Notably, among other Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Rahul Dravid (2002), and Sunil Gavaskar (1977) have also scored centuries in four consecutive Test matches.

In the world of cricket, a double century refers to a batsman scoring 200 or more runs in a single innings of a match. It is a remarkable achievement in the sport and signifies exceptional batting prowess. Some players have mastered the art in terms of scoring double centuries.

Players with multiple double-centuries display remarkable batting performance consistently throughout their careers. Cricketing Legend, Sir Donald Bradman has scored the most number of double-centuries in first-class cricket. It's time, we look at the players with the most double-centuries in first-class cricket.

Also Read: Most Double Centuries in Ranji Trophy History

Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 17th first-class century during the Ranji Trophy 2024 match against Jharkhand. It ties him up with Herbert Sutcliffe and Mark Ramprakash. He is now behind only the great Don Bradman (37), Wally Haymond (36) and Patsy Hendren (22).

Most double-centuries in first-class cricket