Every cricketer who starts playing the sport has to retire one day. There comes a day when a cricketer plays his last Test innings. Typically cricketers call it a day on their careers close to the age. In some exceptional cases, retirement is announced in the early 30s as well, while some cricketers like Chris Gayle have continued to play beyond the age of 40.
When they come close to retirement, the players aim to end their respective careers on a high. However, not even some great players could accomplish that feat. But in this stats-based listicle today, we will look at five such players who registered their highest score in their last Test innings.
1. Mahmudullah – 150*
Bangladeshi batsman Mahmudullah surprised many fans by announcing his retirement from Test cricket recently. The right-handed batsman was one of the best batters to have played for Bangladesh.
Mahmudullah signed off from the longest format of the game in style by playing his best Test knock. The Bangladeshi star amassed 150 runs off 278 balls. His century helped Bangladesh win by 220 runs.
2. Asian record for a player’s highest score in his last Test innings: Vijay Merchant – 154
Vijay Merchant will go down as one of the best players in Indian cricket history. He aggregated more than 13,000 runs in his first-class career.
Merchant played ten Test matches for the Indian cricket team. He played his last Test innings against England in Delhi in the year 1951. Opening the innings for the home side, he scored 154 runs.
3. Maurice Leyland – 187
Maurice Leyland is a spin-bowling all-rounder who played for the England cricket team. He batted left-handed and bowled left-arm spin. Leyland scored more than 33,000 runs in his first-class career.
Speaking of his Test career, Leyland played 41 Tests for his country. He played his last Test against Australia at The Oval in 1938. He built a brilliant partnership with Leonard Hutton and ended his career with his best Test score of 187 runs.
4. Jason Gillespie – 201*
Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie played 71 Test matches in his career. He amassed total 1,218 runs in his career, and 201 of them came in his last Test innings.
Playing against Bangladesh, Gillespie came out to bat at number three as a night watchman. He played an unbelievable knock of 201 runs from 425 runs. Gillespie’s efforts guided Australia to 581/4 in their first innings. The Aussies won the Test match in Chattogram by an innings and 80 runs. Gillespie won the Player of the Match award.
5. Global record for a player’s highest score in his last Test innings: Seymour Nurse
Seymour Nurse played 29 Test matches for the West Indies cricket team. He was born in Barbados, and he scored six centuries and ten half-centuries in his Test career.
Nurse registered his best score of 258 runs in his last Test innings for the West Indies side. He played that knock against the New Zealand cricket team in Christchurch. To date, it remains the highest score recorded by a player among the ones who registered their highest individual scores in the respective last Test innings of their careers.