ENG vs ZIM: Can England break highest innings total in Tests?

England posted a historic score on the first day of the ongoing one-off Test against Zimbabwe, scoring 498 runs for losing 3 wickets on the opening day of the game. The top three batters scored amazing centuries, which helped the hosts post the sixth-highest total on the game’s first day in history.

Notably, Sri Lanka has the record of the highest innings total to their name in the history of Test cricket. The Islanders achieved this feat 28 years ago in 1997, against India. Arjun Ranatunga’s men started batting in the Colombo Test’s second innings and smashed a mammoth total of 952 runs for the loss of 6 wickets before declaring the innings as the game ended in a ‘dragged draw’.

Returning to England’s position in the ongoing one-off Test against Zimbabwe, they are already looking dominant. So, here we’ll have a look at the possibilities of England breaking the record of the highest innings total in the Tests.

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England aim 1000-run mark in a Test innings

Notably, England have the record of the second-highest total in a Test innings, a record that lasted for 59 years. It happened in 1938, when England scored 903 runs for the loss of 7 wickets before declaring the innings against Australia. It was the first time in cricket that a team crossed the 900-run mark in a Test innings.

Coming back to the ongoing one-off Test between England and Zimbabwe, the hosts will now aim for the 1000-run mark as they 7 wickets left and have almost touched the milestone of 500 runs, being just 2 runs away. So, there are good enough chances of the Three Lions registering a historic mark of scoring the highest Test innings total in this one-off Test against Zimbabwe to gear up their preparations ahead of the big Test series against India.

Speaking of the action of the game on the first day, Zimbabwe won the toss and asked England to bat first. Batting first, the hosts got a sensational opening start of 231 runs by the duo of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. Crawley scored 124 runs, with 14 fours, followed by Duckett’s 140 runs, with 20 fours and two sixes. Later in the day, Ollie Pope also smashed 169 runs off just 163 balls, with 24 fours and 2 sixes. He also went unbeaten at the end of the day, alongside Harry Brook.

For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, and Brian Bennett scalped a wicket each on the first day.