On April 18, 1994, Brian Lara hooked Chris Lewis to the leg-side boundary to move from 365 to 375, breaking Sir Garfield Sobers' Test batting record that had stood since 1958. The 24-year-old left-hander batted nearly 13 hours and faced 538 deliveries before edging Andy Caddick to wicketkeeper Jack Russell.
Sobers' 365 not out had stood since February 1958 in Jamaica against Pakistan. Several players — Hanif Mohammad (337), Len Hutton (364), Bob Cowper (307) — had attacked the record without success. Lara had announced himself with 277 in Sydney in January 1993 and was already considered the most exciting young left-hander in the world.
England were 1-3 down in the series and Lara had passed fifty in three of the previous four Tests but never converted. He came in on day two with West Indies 12 for 1. By stumps on day three he was 320 not out and Sobers had been flown to Antigua at the West Indies board's expense.
It was the fifth and final Test of England's 1993-94 tour, and the series was already lost. England, beaten in four straight Tests by a still-fearsome West Indian attack of Ambrose, Walsh, Benjamin and Chris Lewis, arrived in Antigua simply hoping to avoid further humiliation. They got more than they bargained for. Brian Lara, only his third Test century to his name, walked out at No. 3 after Phil Simmons fell early and proceeded to compile one of the longest and most carefully constructed innings in Test history. He was 320 not out at stumps on day three, with Sir Garry Sobers — whose 365 not out against Pakistan in Kingston in 1958 had stood for 36 years — sitting in the stands as a guest of the West Indies board. Lara crawled through the morning of day four, ticking past 350, and at 11:46 a.m. local time Chris Lewis dropped short. Lara rocked back, swivelled and hooked the ball flat to the square-leg boundary. The Antigua Recreation Ground erupted; Sobers walked onto the field to embrace him. Lara fell five balls later for 375, edging Caddick to Jack Russell, and West Indies declared at 593 for 5 — Shivnarine Chanderpaul, just 19, had added 219 with him for the fifth wicket.
Lara reaches 277 (his previous Test best) on day three afternoon
Stumps day three: Lara 320 not out, Sobers in the dressing room area
Day four 11:46am: Chris Lewis short ball, hook for four — 375, new world record
Sobers walks onto the field and embraces Lara as the crowd invades the pitch
Lara falls for 375, edging Caddick to Jack Russell five balls later
West Indies declare 593/5; Chanderpaul 75* in his second Test
April 16, 1994 — Day 1
England 380 all out (Atherton 135). West Indies 12/1 at stumps; Lara not out 10.
April 17, 1994 — Day 2
Lara compiles 164 not out by stumps.
April 18, 1994 — Day 3
Lara 320 not out at close; Sobers arrives in Antigua.
April 18, 1994 — 11:46 a.m. Day 4
Hook off Chris Lewis takes Lara from 365 to 375; world record.
April 18, 1994 — afternoon
Lara out for 375 c Russell b Caddick; West Indies declare 593/5.
“I'd like to thank everybody who came to support me, and Sir Garfield Sobers, who came all the way from Barbados to share this moment with me.”
“He played the perfect Test innings. He was just so calm and disciplined.”
England, demoralised, were dismissed for 593 in reply (Robin Smith 175, Graeme Hick 20) and the match was drawn. Lara was mobbed at every airport for months. Just seven weeks later he scored 501 not out for Warwickshire vs Durham, becoming the first player to hold the world records for both Test and first-class individual scores simultaneously.
A flawless run-record innings — 538 balls, 766 minutes, 45 fours — that defined the Lara mythology and set the template for his 501 not out only seven weeks later.
The 375 stood for nine years until Matthew Hayden made 380 against Zimbabwe in October 2003. Lara then reclaimed it with 400 not out — also at the Antigua Recreation Ground, also against England — in April 2004, exactly ten years on. No batter has held the Test record on two separate occasions before or since.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.