Highest partnership for the 1st wicket in Test
The highest partnership record for the first wicket in Test cricket is held by Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie, who scored 415 runs against the Bangladesh cricket team at Chattogram on 29th February 2008. This remarkable partnership contributed to South Africa’s dominant performance, as they amassed a total of 583 runs after losing 7 wickets […]
The highest partnership record for the first wicket in Test cricket is held by Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie, who scored 415 runs against the Bangladesh cricket team at Chattogram on 29th February 2008. This remarkable partnership contributed to South Africa’s dominant performance, as they amassed a total of 583 runs after losing 7 wickets in the first innings. They eventually won by a huge margin of an inning and 205 runs.
The second-highest partnership for the first wicket in Test is a whopping 413 runs, held by the Indian cricket team players Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy during a match against the New Zealand cricket team at Chennai on 6th January 1956, some six decades earlier.
Top 10 highest partnerships for the first wicket in Test cricket
| Partners | Runs | Team | Against | Match Date | Ground |
| ND McKenzie, GC Smith | 415 | South Africa | Bangladesh | 29 Feb 2008 | Chattogram |
| MH Mankad, P Roy | 413 | India | New Zealand | 6 Jan 1956 | Chennai |
| V Sehwag, R Dravid | 410 | India | Pakistan | 13 Jan 2006 | Lahore |
| GM Turner, TW Jarvis | 387 | New Zealand | West Indies | 6 Apr 1972 | Georgetown |
| WM Lawry, RB Simpson | 382 | Australia | West Indies | 5 May 1965 | Bridgetown |
| GC Smith, HH Gibbs | 368 | South Africa | Pakistan | 2 Jan 2003 | Capetown |
| L Hutton, C Washbrook | 359 | England | South Africa | 27 Dec 1948 | Johannesburg |
| GC Smith, HH Gibbs | 338 | South Africa | England | 24 Jul 2003 | Birmingham |
| KC Brathwaite, T Chanderpaul | 336 | West Indies | Zimbabwe | 4 Feb 2023 | Bulawayo |
| MS Atapattu, ST Jayasuriya | 335 | Sri Lanka | Pakistan | 28 Jun 2000 | Kandy |
Frequently Asked Questions about the Highest Partnership for the First Wicket in Test
Q1. How many times in Cricket history has the opening pair of any team scored 300+ in Test?
Ans: Throughout the history of Test cricket, there have been 17 instances where the opening pair of a team has scored 300 or more runs for the first wicket partnership.
Q2. Which opening partners have more than one record for the highest partnership in Test?
Ans: GC Smith and HH Gibbs have more than one record for the highest partnership in Test Cricket, one against Pakistan (368 runs) and the other against England (338 runs).
Q3. Which team has the highest number of partnerships for the first wicket in Test in the Top 10?
Ans: South Africa has the highest number of partnerships (3 times) for the first wicket in Test Cricket in the Top 10, followed by India (2 times).
