Amla, Kallis lead run deluge
Stats highlights from day four of the first Test at The Oval
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan
22-Jul-2012
Hashim Amla's 311 is the highest individual score for South Africa in Tests • Getty Images
Big hundreds by Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis helped South Africa reach a strong position at the end of day four. Here are the numbers from a day completely dominated by the visitors.
- Amla's 311 is the highest individual score by a South African batsman. He went past AB de Villiers' 278 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2010. When Amla reached 278, he surpassed Graeme Smith to hold the record for the highest individual score by a South African batsman against England. It is also Amla's second 200-plus score after the 253 against India in Nagpur in 2010. The triple-century is also the first in England since Graham Gooch's 333 against India at Lord's in 1990.
- Amla's 311 is joint-fourth on the list of highest individual scores in Tests in England and the second-highest at The Oval. The highest at the venue remains Len Hutton's 364 in 1938. It is only the eighth 300-plus score by a batsman in Tests against England.
- The number of minutes Amla batted (790) is the fifth-highest for a batsman in a single innings. He became only the fourth batsman after Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene and Younis Khan to have two innings lasting 11 hours or more.
- Kallis' century is his 43rd in Tests and eighth against England. It is, however, only his second century in Tests in England. Kallis has improved his average in England from 29.30 at the start of the tour to 38.40. Kallis' 182 is his personal best score against England and the fifth-highest of his career.
- The South African innings featured three centuries. This is the fourth time that three South African players have scored a century in the same innings against England and the 16th time they have managed the feat in Tests. This is also the seventh such instance (three centuries in an innings) in a Test at The Oval.
- The 377-run stand between Amla and Kallis is the highest partnership in South Africa-England Tests. The pair went past the previous record of 338 between Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith in 2003. The partnership is also the third-highest ever for South Africa.
- Amla and Kallis became only the second pair after Gibbs and Smith to feature in three triple-century stands. The two have also been involved in six 200-plus stands, a record they share with Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. Kallis has now featured in 20 partnerships of 200 runs or more.
- The South African innings featured two 200-plus stands. This is only the third time that they have had two 200-plus stands in the same innings. It is also the second time in Tests that a team has had two consecutive 200-plus partnerships for the second and third wickets. This is also the second time (after the Australia-India Test in Sydney in 2012) that there have been two 250-plus stands in a single team innings.
- South Africa's total of 637 is their second-highest in Tests against England. However, the number of wickets lost (2) is their lowest ever for a 600-plus total. The visitors' total is also the eighth-highest by a visiting team at The Oval. The highest remains Pakistan's 708 in 1987. The run aggregate for the second and third wickets (636) is the highest ever in Tests surpassing the 632 runs for Sri Lanka against South Africa in 2006.
- The number of overs bowled by England (189) is the fifth-highest in a home Test since 1990. This is the fewest number of wickets picked up by England in an innings in which they have bowled 600 or more deliveries.
- Graeme Swann conceded 151 runs off his 52 overs. This is the highest number of overs he has bowled in an innings and the second-highest number of runs he has conceded in a single innings.
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan is a sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo