In cricket, the batting partnership between the last pair of batters after the 9th wicket has fallen is known as the ’10th wicket partnership.’ The last pair of batters rarely add any impact, so it is undoubtedly the least feared partnership by the opposition in the entire innings. Every run scored by the final pair is considered a bonus by the betting team.
Although the last wicket partnership usually lasts only a few overs, there have been a number of instances where the 10th wicket partnership has caused opposition problems. Because batters have more freedom to bat for as long as possible in Test cricket, such special 10th wicket partnerships occur more frequently than in LOIs.
The 10 highest partnerships made for the 10th wicket in Test cricket are tabulated below:
| RANK | BATTERS (TEAM) | RUNS | VS | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Root & James Anderson (ENG) | 198 | INDIA | 2014 Jul 9 |
| 2 | Philip Hughes & Ashton Agar (AUS) | 163 | ENGLAND | 2013 Jul 10 |
| 3 | Brian Hastings and Richard Collinge (NZ) | 151 | PAKISTAN | 1973 Feb 16 |
| 3 | Azhar Mahmood & Mushtaq Ahmed (PAK) | 151 | SOUTH AFRICA | 1997 Oct 6 |
| 5 | Dinesh Ramdin & Tino Best (WI) | 143 | ENGLAND | 2012 Jun 7 |
| 6 | Wasim Raja & Wasim Bari (PAK) | 133 | WEST INDIES | 1977 Feb 18 |
| 6 | Sachin Tendulkar & Zaheer Khan (IND) | 133 | BANGLADESH | 2004 Dec 10 |
| 8 | RE ‘Tip’ Foster & Wilfred Rhodes (ENG) | 130 | AUSTRALIA | 1903 Dec 11 |
| 9 | Ken Higgs & John Snow (ENG) | 128 | WEST INDIES | 1996 Aug 18 |
| 10 | Johnny Taylor & Arthur Mailey (AUS) | 127 | ENGLAND | 1924 Dec 19 |
| 10 | BJ Watling & Trent Boult (NZ) | 127 | BANGLADESH | 2013 Oct 9 |
Stats Insights
Both the first and second partnerships on the above list took place in the same venue, i.e., Nottingham.
The highest 10th wicket partnership in First Class Cricket is 307 runs by Alan Kippax and Hal Hooker for New South Wales and Victoria in 1928.
In the ODI format, the highest 10th wicket partnership is 106* by Viv Richards and Michael Holding for West Indies against England in 1984. Find the same for every wicket stands here.
Similarly, 62* by Nikunj Ahir and Khengar Bhal Ahir for Panama against Argentina is the highest 10th wicket partnership in T20Is.
During the 198 runs partnership with Joe Root, James Anderson scored 81 runs, his highest individual score in Test cricket.
Trent Boult holds the record for scoring the highest career runs in test cricket while batting at no.11, i.e., 644 runs in 81 innings.
The partnership of 120 runs by Australia’s Reggie Doff and Warwick Armstrong against England in 1902 was the first occasion of a hundred-run partnership for the 10th wicket in Test Cricket.
The latest instance of a 100-run partnership in Test cricket for the 10th wicket was by India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami when they added 111 runs against England at Nottingham on 9th July 2014. Find out India’s best partnerships for each wicket in this article.
In the 163 runs partnership with Phil Hughes, Ashton Agar contributed 98 runs which is a record for the highest individual score while batting at no.11 in Test cricket. Check the top five No.11 batter scores here.
