Wiaan Mulder & Brian Lara’s World Record & Why His Innings Was The Greatest Individual Knock By A South African In The History Of Test Cricket
Image Credit : @ProteasMenCSA/X
2025 could not end without South Africa’s cricket-loving community not paying tribute to Wiaan Mulder, who on the 7th of July, struck the greatest ever test innings by a South African in cricket history.
His knock of 367 not out, is not just any other cricket milestone that all of us can just “impulsively celebrate” on social media and be “excitedly besides ourselves” for just a few days.
This innings goes far beyond that. It will forever remain etched in the historical chronicles not only of cricket, but also of world sport.
If you thought, that South Africa’s World Cup Rugby triumphs of 1995, 2007, 2019 & 2023 were the most significant feats accomplished in South African sport, in addition to the individual triumphs of our local olympic gold medalists over the years, then this moment should make any one of us to take a step back and reflect on what Mulder had just done on that winter afternoon in Bulawayo.
Mulder hit 49 fours and four sixes in that record-breaking innings, second only to England’s John Edrich who scored 52 fours during England’s match against New Zealand at Headingly, some 80 years ago in July 1965.
Mulder’s strike rate of 109.88 is the best ever made by a triple centurion in the history of Test Cricket.
Mulder’s 264 runs on the first day of that Test match against Zimbabwe, is the second highest individual contribution of runs by a batsman in Test History, behind Sir Donald Bradman’s 309 runs for Australia in their match against England in Leeds in 1930.
The 131 runs Mulder scored in the third session of that first day is the most by a South African in a session of a Test beating AB de Villiers’ knock of 119 against India at Centurion in 2010.
Mulder followed this with another 103 runs in the first session of the second day to join Bradman (in that innings at Leeds in 1930) and Wally Hammond (England v New Zealand at Auckland in 1933) as the only three batsmen ever to make 100 runs in consecutive sessions in a Test.
Mulder became the highest individual run scorer for the national team in a single innings in the history of South African Test Cricket, surpassing Hashim Amla’s score of 311 that was made against England at the Oval in 2012. Mulder also became the second man ever in the history of South African Test Cricket to reach a triple century. Mulder also recorded the highest score ever made by a South African captain and his score is now the fifth highest innings in the history of Test Cricket. His knock was the highest by a player in his first innings as captain in the 148 year history of Test Cricket. His 297 ball innings, is also the second fastest triple century in Test History after the 278 ball triple century made by Virender Sehwag against The Proteas in 2008. Mulder’s score of 367 not out, is also the highest ever made by an individual batsman playing for a visiting team in the history of Test Cricket.
What makes his performance more remarkable was the fact that Mulder decided to declare South Africa ‘s First Innings when he was just 33 runs short of equalling the world record score that was set by Brian Lara in Antigua, some 21 years ago. The world record was firmly within his reach as there were still more than three and a half days to play in the second test between South Africa and Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Mulder was on the brink of doing the unthinkable. He was on the verge of creating history. He was on the cusp of doing something no other cricketer has ever done, in the history of the game, but he decided to forego this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by deciding to end South Africa’s first innings unexpectedly. He would have certainly appeared on the front pages of the world’s most powerful newspapers, and also on the globe’s biggest television news channels, had he continued his time on the crease and pursued the remaining 34 runs that he needed to reach that milestone.
That just shows his humility and reluctance to intentionally put himself in the limelight ahead of the team. He sacrificed personal glory for the benefit of the Proteas, in order to give them a higher chance of winning the game. At great personal cost to himself, he showed what it means to be a true leader, a captain who guides the team from the front, putting the needs of his teammates ahead of his own.
In the years to come, Mulder like any one of us, will sit down and reflect on that Test match and ponder what could have been, yet his sportsmanship will forever remain etched in the hearts and minds of every cricket-loving South African forever.
Jonathan Kaseke