Akram's batting zenith, and 300 in a final Test

Wasim Akram was an artist with the ball and 916 international wickets is proof of his mastery. He was a handy batsman as well with a modest Test average of 22.64 that didn't quite do justice to his ability. But at Sheikhupura in 1996, when Zimbabwe were enjoying a rare upper-hand in a Test against Pakistan, Akram exploded. The focus this week is on players with high scores that are grossly disproportionate to their averages.

257 Wasim Akram v Zimbabwe, Sheikhupura, 1996
The Sheikhupura Stadium was hosting its maiden Test and Zimbabwe frittered a decent start to be reduced to 142 for 6. Thus began a topsy-turvy match for Paul Strang who created history by becoming the only Zimbabwean to score a hundred and take five wickets in an innings. Zimbabwe closed on 375 and Strang's five-for had Pakistan battling at 237 for 7. Akram, who averaged 19.20 before this match, hammered an unbeaten 257, the highest score by a batsman at No.8, and set a world-record partnership of 313 for the eighth wicket with Saqlain Mushtaq. His 12 sixes, nine off Strang, surpassed Wally Hammond's 10 for most sixes in an innings. Pakistan claimed a 178-run lead and had Zimbabwe on the ropes at 177 for 5 half-an-hour before tea on the fifth day. Resolute batting by Andy Flower and Guy Whittal ensured that the match was drawn.

250 Faoud Bacchus v India, Kanpur, 1979
Faoud Bacchus got a chance to play for his country because a lot of West Indian players were sacked for playing World Series Cricket (WSC). His only century came at Kanpur after India had amassed a massive 644 for 7. Bacchus batted for 510 minutes and scored 250, more than half the West Indies total. The match was drawn and the series lost 0-1. Haynes, Greenidge, Lloyd, Richards and Rowe returned from WSC and Bacchus was axed in spite of his double-hundred. He played 11 more Tests but scored just one fifty and was dropped. An interesting fact about Bacchus's career is that all his 19 Tests were played on different grounds.

325 Andy Sandham v West Indies, Kingston, 1930
Andy Sandham became the first batsman to score a triple-century as England piled up 849 runs in the first innings, the highest total at the time. Both teams had agreed that the series decider would be a timeless Test but they could have scarcely imagined that even after nine days there still would be no result. Sandham's match aggregate of 375 (325 and 50) was the highest until Greg Chappell beat it at Wellington 44 years later. Ironically, Sandham was never picked again for England, giving him the record for highest score in the last match of a career.

61 Glenn McGrath v New Zealand, Brisbane, 2004
It took McGrath 115 innings to score his first Test fifty and when it did come, it was salt in New Zealand's wounds after Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist had scored hundreds and Jason Gillespie has also posted a half-century. McGrath's 61 was the second highest score by a No.11 at the time, behind Richard Collinge's 68 (Zaheer Khan scored 75 against Bangladesh a month later), and it came off just 92 balls. He and Gillespie added 114 runs for the last wicket and extended Australia's lead to 232. Buoyed by his batting, McGrath snapped up the top three batsmen for just 19 and sent New Zealand crashing to an innings defeat.

Largest ratio of high score to batting average - Tests

Player	Runs	Opp	Ground	Year	Card		Mat	Ave		Ratio
Wasim Akram (Pak)	257	v Zim	Sheikhupura	1996	Card		104	22.64		11.35
SFAF Bacchus (WI)	250	v Ind	Kanpur	1979	Card		19	26.06		9.59
RW Blair (NZ)	64	v Eng	Wellington	1963	Card		19	6.75		9.48
A Sandham (Eng)	325	v WI	Kingston	1930	Card		14	38.21		8.50
XC Balaskas (SAf)	122	v NZ	Wellington	1932	Card		9	14.50		8.41
BA Young (NZ)	267	v SL	Dunedin	1997	Card		35	31.78		8.40
SE Gregory (Aust)	201	v Eng	Sydney	1894	Card		58	24.53		8.19
CH Gayle (WI)	317	v SA	St John's	2005	Card		54	38.79		8.17
GD McGrath (Aust)	61	v NZ	Brisbane	2004	Card		119	7.51		8.12
CL Badcock (Aust)	118	v Eng	Melbourne	1937	Card		7	14.54		8.11

175 Kapil Dev v Zimbabwe, Tunbridge Wells, 1983

Perhaps the ultimate captain's innings, Kapil Dev's 175 not out in the 1983 World Cup, then the world record, was not recorded because BBC television workers were on strike. India were reduced to 17 for 5 and then 78 for 7 but Kapil Dev took charge and brought up his hundred off 72 balls, equaling Zaheer Abbas for the fastest century. Kapil clattered 16 fours and six sixes and dominated a 126-run partnership with Syed Kirmani for the ninth wicket - a record that still stands. The onslaught was too much for Zimbabwe and they fell 31 runs short, Kapil Dev fittingly taking the final wicket.

64 Michael Holding v Australia, Perth, 1984

Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding had bowled superbly to restrict Australia to 211 for 8 in the World Series Cup, and Holding was in no mood to give it up even though West Indies had collapsed to 102 for 7. He walloped ten fours and a six in his 64 off 39 balls and brought West Indies within 23 runs of victory before he was lbw to the part-time medium pace of Kepler Wessels. Australia dismissed West Indies in 43.3 overs and won by 14 runs.

Largest ratio of high score to batting average - ODIs

Player	Runs	Opp	Ground	Year	Card		Mat	Ave		Ratio
CB Wishart (Zimb)	172	v Nam	Harare	2003	Card		90	23.22		7.40
N Kapil Dev (India)	175	v Zim	Tunbridge Wells	1983	Card		225	23.79		7.35
MA Holding (WI)	64	v Aus	Perth	1984	Card		102	9.09		7.03
L Vincent (NZ)	172	v Zim	Bulawayo	2005	Card		79	25.88		6.64
DJ Callaghan (SAf)	169	v NZ	Centurion	1994	Card		29	25.94		6.51
TM Chappell (Aust)	110	v Ind	Nottingham	1983	Card		20	17.61		6.24
DL Vettori (NZ)	83	v Aus	Christchurch	2005	Card		169	13.56		6.12
KO Otieno (Kenya)	144	v Ban	Nairobi (Gym)	1997	Card		63	23.68		6.07
DN Patel (NZ)	71	v WI	Kingston	1996	Card		75	11.75		6.04
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	189	v Ind	Sharjah	2000	Card		347	31.99		5.90