When Australia won with a high score of 22

Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe at the WACA is the highest top score for a winning team in a Test. Brian Lara made 400 against England but that was in a draw. Last week, however, West Indies beat Pakistan at Providence despite two meagre batting performances, in which Lendl Simmons' 49 in the first innings was their best individual score. Have many Tests been won by teams despite extremely low top scores?

The previous time a team won a Test without any of their batsmen scoring more than 50 was in Hamilton in 2002, when New Zealand hosted India on perhaps the most bowler-friendly pitch of the 21st century. Nobody even got to 40 in that game. It was the first time that both teams were dismissed for fewer than 100 in the first innings. India made 99, New Zealand 94. Rahul Dravid's 39 was the top score of the Test but it was Stephen Fleming's 32, which was New Zealand's best, that successfully guided a chase of 160. It was only the second time in Tests that a part of all four innings had been played on the same day (the third).

The first such occurrence also appears in the table below - the Lord's Test in 2000, when England beat West Indies by two wickets despite their top scorer being Michael Atherton, who made 45 in the chase of 188. The second day of that match began with West Indies nine down in the first innings and ended with England on 0 for 0 in the fourth.

The lowest top score to contribute to a team's victory was also made at Lord's, in 1888. Percy McDonnell and Jack Blackham scored 22 each in Australia's first-innings total of 116. England were shot out for 53, after which Australia collapsed for 60 in their second innings. WG Grace's 24 during England's chase of 124 was the highest individual score of the Test, but the hosts were routed for 62.

Lowest individual top-score by the winning team in a Test

Team	HS	Inns	Runs	Ave		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Australia	22	22	167	8.35		v England	Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
New Zealand	32	19	234	14.62		v India	Hamilton	Dec 19, 2002	Test 1633
England	33	22	212	10.60		v Australia	Sydney	Jan 28, 1887	Test 25
England	35	21	180	10.00		v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1890	Test 34
England	38	11	170	17.00		v Australia	Manchester	Aug 30, 1888	Test 30
Australia	42	10	150	16.66		v South Africa	Melbourne	Feb 12, 1932	Test 216
England	42	14	221	22.10		v New Zealand	Dunedin	Mar 11, 1955	Test 401
West Indies	42	14	224	20.36		v Australia	Port of Spain	Apr 21, 1995	Test 1296
England	42*	22	274	13.70		v Australia	Sydney	Feb 25, 1887	Test 26
Pakistan	42*	22	292	14.60		v England	The Oval	Aug 12, 1954	Test 390
England	43	16	149	11.46		v West Indies	Bridgetown	Jan 8, 1935	Test 238
England	44	22	234	11.70		v Australia	Sydney	Feb 10, 1888	Test 27
England	45	22	226	11.30		v Australia	The Oval	Aug 10, 1896	Test 52
England	45	22	335	17.63		v South Africa	Cape Town	Jan 1, 1923	Test 149
England	45	21	293	16.27		v West Indies	Lord's	Jun 29, 2000	Test 1503
England	46	15	202	16.83		v South Africa	Port Elizabeth	Mar 12, 1889	Test 31
Australia	46	22	371	18.55		v England	Leeds	Jul 1, 1909	Test 103
West Indies	47	17	321	22.92		v Australia	Adelaide	Dec 22, 1951	Test 343
England	47	16	397	30.53		v New Zealand	Christchurch	Mar 15, 1963	Test 542
Pakistan	47	22	343	17.15		v India	Bangalore	Mar 13, 1987	Test 1073
New Zealand	47*	17	312	22.28		v Sri Lanka	Wellington	Mar 11, 1983	Test 951
England	48	22	375	18.75		v Australia	Birmingham	Jul 30, 1981	Test 906
Australia	49	18	356	23.73		v England	Sydney	Feb 17, 1882	Test 6
England	49	15	239	19.91		v New Zealand	Christchurch	Jan 10, 1930	Test 186
West Indies	49	22	282	14.10		v Zimbabwe	Port of Spain	Mar 16, 2000	Test 1490
West Indies	49	22	336	16.80		v Pakistan	Providence	May 12, 2011	Test 1992
South Africa	49*	19	351	21.93		v England	Cape Town	Mar 7, 1910	Test 109

While there have been 27 instances of a team winning a Test without any of its batsmen scoring a half-century, in only 13 has there been no score in excess of 50 in the entire match (excluding draws). The recent Providence Test does not figure among them because Misbah-ul-Haq made 52 in Pakistan's defeat. Hamilton 2000 and Lord's 1888 do feature though.

That 1888 tour of England was an unhappy one for Australia's batsmen. After the visitors won at Lord's, they were beaten at The Oval and at Old Trafford. England had stormed to an innings victory in the second Test by posting 317, and their batsmen made 172 in the first innings of the final match, with WG Grace top scoring with 38. In reply, Australia were skittled for 81 and 70, with a high score of 32. It was the first time that a team had failed to score a half-century in a series comprising at least three Tests. It's only happened once since, when South Africa hosted England in 1895-96 and were routed by George Lohmann. South Africa had a top score of 41 in that series.

Lowest individual top-score by both teams in a Test (qualification: excluding draws)

Team	Team	HS	Inns	Runs	Ave		Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
England	Australia	24	44	281	7.02		Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
Australia	England	33	44	413	10.32		Sydney	Jan 28, 1887	Test 25
England	Australia	38	33	316	10.53		Manchester	Aug 30, 1888	Test 30
England	Australia	39	43	366	9.63		The Oval	Aug 11, 1890	Test 34
New Zealand	India	39	41	465	12.91		Hamilton	Dec 19, 2002	Test 1633
Australia	South Africa	42	32	219	7.55		Melbourne	Feb 12, 1932	Test 216
Australia	England	42*	44	490	12.25		Sydney	Feb 25, 1887	Test 26
Australia	England	44	44	348	8.70		Sydney	Feb 10, 1888	Test 27
West Indies	England	44	35	287	9.89		Bridgetown	Jan 8, 1935	Test 238
South Africa	England	46	37	398	12.43		Port Elizabeth	Mar 12, 1889	Test 31
England	Australia	47	44	378	9.45		The Oval	Aug 10, 1896	Test 52
England	Australia	48	44	696	17.40		Birmingham	Jul 30, 1981	Test 906
New Zealand	England	49	37	449	14.03		Christchurch	Jan 10, 1930	Test 186
West Indies	Pakistan	52	44	649	16.22		Providence	May 12, 2011	Test 1992
South Africa	England	53	44	510	12.75		Port Elizabeth	Feb 13, 1896	Test 47
England	Pakistan	53	44	557	13.92		The Oval	Aug 12, 1954	Test 390
England	South Africa	54	44	402	10.05		Leeds	Jul 29, 1907	Test 94
England	Australia	55	44	343	8.57		The Oval	Aug 28, 1882	Test 9
Australia	England	56	44	643	16.07		Sydney	Feb 20, 1885	Test 19
Australia	England	57	44	872	21.80		Melbourne	Jan 1, 1892	Test 35
England	Australia	57	36	494	15.93		Leeds	Jul 27, 1972	Test 701
India	England	59	44	641	16.86		Chennai	Jan 14, 1977	Test 793

We've also dug up a list of Tests in which the winning team's most successful bowler had extremely modest figures. England once won a Test even though their best bowler in the match was Alan Mullally, who managed only 2 for 42. It emerged later, though, that the result at Centurion in 2000 was dubiously contrived by Hansie Cronje. He engineered it by forfeiting South Africa's second innings and setting England an extremely chaseable target. England had to take only eight wickets to win the Test instead of 20.

In 1968, England won a Test in Trinidad even though they took only nine wickets in the match. West Indies declared on 526 for 7 in the first innings and then closed their second innings on 92 for 2. England's most successful bowler had been David Brown, who took 3 for 107 in the first innings. Garry Sobers, however, had set England a target of only 215, which was strange considering the series was level at 0-0 with one to play. England chased successfully, with seven wickets in hand, and Sobers became the first captain to lose a Test after declaring in both innings. It's happened only once since, when Graeme Smith declared twice at the SCG in 2006 and lost.

Most modest best-bowling figures in an innings by the winning side in a Test

Team	BBI	Wkts	Ave		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
England	2/42	7	33.57		v South Africa	Centurion	Jan 14, 2000	Test 1483
England	3/107	8	74.62		v West Indies	Port of Spain	Mar 14, 1968	Test 635
Australia	3/78	16	24.56		v England	Perth	Nov 29, 2002	Test 1629
India	3/69	18	27.77		v West Indies	Port of Spain	Apr 19, 2002	Test 1599
Sri Lanka	3/65	18	30.05		v Zimbabwe	Colombo (SSC)	Jan 14, 1998	Test 1395
South Africa	3/61	18	27.61		v Australia	Johannesburg	Mar 4, 1994	Test 1252
Australia	3/57	20	34.50		v England	Adelaide	Jan 16, 1925	Test 160
West Indies	3/56	18	33.11		v New Zealand	Auckland	Feb 27, 1969	Test 648
Australia	3/52	18	24.33		v England	Sydney	Feb 17, 1883	Test 13
England	3/50	19	25.26		v South Africa	Lord's	Jun 28, 1924	Test 154
Australia	3/50	19	21.89		v West Indies	St John's	Apr 3, 1999	Test 1454
Pakistan	3/50	17	25.58		v Sri Lanka	Karachi	Mar 12, 2000	Test 1489
Australia	3/45	18	29.38		v England	Manchester	Jul 16, 1896	Test 51
Australia	3/45	19	23.94		v England	Sydney	Dec 17, 1920	Test 135
Australia	3/44	17	24.05		v Zimbabwe	Harare	Oct 14, 1999	Test 1463
Australia	3/44	17	28.29		v South Africa	Melbourne	Dec 26, 2001	Test 1580
England	3/42	20	24.80		v South Africa	The Oval	Aug 7, 2008	Test 1885
West Indies	3/41	20	26.25		v England	Leeds	Jul 22, 1976	Test 780
New Zealand	3/41	18	37.77		v Bangladesh	Hamilton	Feb 15, 2010	Test 1953
England	3/40	19	24.84		v West Indies	The Oval	Aug 18, 1966	Test 609
South Africa	3/40	17	29.00		v India	Cape Town	Jan 2, 1997	Test 1349
India	3/40	19	31.42		v England	Chennai	Dec 11, 2008	Test 1898

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