The Oval – the venue for the 2023 World Test Championship Final – is one of the oldest Test cricket grounds not only in England but the entire world.
Home to the reigning ODI World Champions England, it hosted the first-ever Test game in the country in September 1880. It has a capacity to host 27,500 fans.
Here, we tell you everything you need to know about the Test records at the iconic venue.
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How many Test matches has The Oval hosted?
Ever since it started hosting Test matches, The Oval has mostly always held the final Test game of England’s season. Since then multiple opponents such as Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and more have come to play on it, which has helped it become the stadium with most Test format matches hosted in it.
The Oval has hosted 104 Test matches so far.
Teams batting first have won 37 games while teams batting second have won 29 games, with 37 matches being drawn and one match being tied.
The Oval pitch report
While it has generally been a high-scoring venue, due to England’s unpredictable and erratic weather, often it’s not easy to predict whether the pitch will favour batsmen or bowlers. As the pitch often becomes dry during the last two days of a Test game, which is ideal for spinners, teams opt to bat first to give themselves an advantage.
How many Test matches have England won at The Oval?
England have won 43 out of 104 Test games they have played at The Oval over the years. They have a win percentage of 41.3% at the venue.
What is the highest score by a team at The Oval in Test matches?
The highest score during an inning at The Oval is currently 903, posted by England against Australia all the way back in 1938.
Leonard Hutton was the star of the show that day scoring 364 runs in 847 balls.
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What is the lowest score by a team at The Oval in Test matches?
The lowest score by a team during an inning at The Oval is 44 by Australia against England in 1896.
Hugh Trumble was the star of the day taking six scalps at the cost of 59 runs over 40 overs.
What is the average score at The Oval in Test matches?
The average first-innings score at the Oval is 343, while the average second-innings score is 304, the average third-innings score is 238, and the average fourth-innings score is 156.
What is the highest individual score at The Oval in Test matches?
Hutton‘s above-mentioned knock of 364 runs against Australia in 1938 is the highest individual score at The Oval during a Test match at this venue.
What is the best bowling figure at The Oval in Test matches?
The best bowling figure at The Oval in an inning is by English bowler DE Malcolm against South Africa with a spell of 9/57, while the best bowling figure during an entire Test match at the venue is by Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan who took 16 wickets at the cost 227 runs in 59.3 overs.
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Which batsman has the most runs at The Oval in Test matches?
Hutton continues to be the batsman with the most runs at this venue (1521), followed by fellow Englishmen Alastair Cook (1217 runs) and Graham Gooch (1097 runs).
Which bowler has the most wickets at at The Oval in Test matches?
Ian Botham has taken the most wickets at The Oval (52).
He is followed by Derek Underwood (45) and James Anderson (44).
