In the grand theatre of Test cricket, where legends rise and history is written across five days, there also exist moments of complete collapse. When even the best batting line-ups crumble like a house of cards. These are the days when the ball dominates the bat, when pressure grips the dressing room, and when the scoreboard barely moves. Every team, no matter how good they are, has faced their lowest scores in test cricket. In this article, we will see the lowest score in test by team (every test-playing nation). So let’s start.

Lowest Score in Test by Team

• New Zealand – 26 (Against England, 1955)

As of now (July 17, 2025), New Zealand (NZ) holds this unwanted record of the lowest score in test by a team. They were bowled out for just 26 runs against England in March 1955. It was the second test of the series, in Auckland, where the home team batted first and scored 200. England, in their first inning, scored 246 and took a lead of 46 runs. In the third inning, England’s whole bowling unit ran through the NZ’s batting lineup, and England won that game by an inning and 20 runs. Bob Appleyard took 4 wickets while Brian Statham took 3 wickets. Frank Tyson and Johnny Wardle also managed to take 2 and 1 wicket, respectively.

You can check the FULL SCOREBOARD of this match HERE

• West Indies – 27 (Against Australia, 2025)

West Indies (WI) has just registered their lowest score in test, in 2025. Australia were already ahead in the series by 2-0, with the third test still to be played. In the 3^rd test, AUS batted first and scored 225. WI were also bundled out for just 143, but made a strong comeback by bowling AUS out for just 121 in the third inning. They need to chase 204 to win the test, but Mitchell Starc rattled the West Indies top order inside the first 10 overs. Scott Boland also took a hat-trick in the game. Josh Hazlewood also has one wicket to his name, but the talk of the town in the last inning was Mitchell Starc, who took 6 wickets for just 9 runs. The West Indies were bowled out for just 27 runs. It is the second-lowest total in test cricket. 

• South Africa – 30 (Against England, 1924)

South Africa, before making a comeback in 1992, used to play cricket and registered one of the lowest totals in tests. They only managed to score 30 runs in an inning against England in June 1924. It was a game that happened in Birmingham where England batted first and scored 438. SA, in reply, only managed to score just 30 runs. They followed on the batting and in the second inning, they scored 390 runs. But, it was not enough for them to save from an innings defeat. ENG won that game by an inning and 18 runs. Arthur Gilligan and Maurice Tate took 6 and 4 wickets each, respectively.

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• Australia – 36 (Against England, 1902)

Australia was once bowled out for just 36 runs against the arch-rivals England in 1902 in Birmingham. During the 1^st test of the series, ENG batted first and declared on 376/9. Australia was bowled out for just 36 in their first inning. After forcing the follow-on, England were hoping to get a positive result. But the continuous rain of the last day (Day 3) ended the game in a draw. AUS’s 2^nd inning score was 46/2 in 28 overs.

• India – 36 (Against Australia, 2020)

It was that famous Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) where India, against all odds, went on to win the series 2-1. But at the beginning of the series, they were bowled out for just 36 runs in the Adelaide Pink Ball test in December 2020. After batting first, India made 244 and took a 53-run lead after bowling Australia out for just 191 in their first inning. But what came after that was a disaster for Team India. Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins went all gun-blazing against India’s batting lineup and reduced them to 36/9. In the end, Pat Cummins hit Mohammad Shami on the body with a fiery delivery, forcing him to retire hurt.

• Ireland – 38 (Against England, 2019)

Ireland is new to test cricket and got a taste of the hardest format of the game. In July 2019, at Lord’s, Ireland came to England to play the only test. They bowled out England for just 85 in the first inning. Then, they scored 207 and took a lead of 122. England fought back and scored 303 in their 2^nd inning. While going for a target of 182, Ireland registered their lowest total in test. They were bowled out for just 38 runs, courtesy of Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes. Broad and Woakes took 4 and 6 wickets each, respectively.

• Sri Lanka – 42 (Against South Africa, 2024)

Sri Lanka’s lowest score in test came recently against South Africa at Durban. The Lankans were blown away in the storm of  Marco Jansen. SA batted first and only managed to score 191 in the first inning. But it was SA’s bowling, and especially Marco Jansen, who helped the team to get the opposition down to just 42 in their first inning. The Proteas then declared their second inning on 366/5, leaving SL to score 516. SL only managed to score 282 in the 4^th inning and lost the game by 233 runs.

• Bangladesh – 43 (Against West Indies, 2018)

It was Kemar Roach and Co. who rolled Bangladesh over in a test in 2018. At North Sound, in the first test, BAN batted first and with the pitch having life for the pacers, Kemar Roach and Co. tore apart the BAN batting lineup. They bowled out BAN for just 43 runs. Then the WI batters scored 406 and again bowled BAN out for 144 in the second inning. WI won that game by an inning and 219 runs. Kemar Roach took 5 wickets in the first inning. Shannon Gabriel took a fifer in the second inning of BAN.

• England – 46 (Against West Indies, 1994)

England have also faced the fire of that West Indies team, where Sir Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh used to shoot out the opposition batting lineup. In the Port of Spain, during the 3^rd test in 1994, England registered their lowest score in test. England were chasing only 194 in the last inning. But an inspired spell from Ambrose and Walsh helped WI to win the game quite convincingly in the end, by 147 runs. ENG were bowled out for just 46 runs. The two WI pacers continued to bowl till the 19.1 overs without a change in bowling. Ambrose took 6, while Walsh took 3 wickets, with one run-out.

• Pakistan – 49 (Against South Africa, 2013)

It was a time when South Africa used to have a fierce pace attack, which included Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, and Jacques Kallis. Pakistan toured South Africa for a 3-match test series in 2013. In the first test at Johannesburg, South Africa batted first and scored 253. In reply, PAK did not even come close to the target and bundled out for just 49 runs. Dale Steyn took 6 wickets while Kallis and Philander also managed to take 2 wickets each. Eventually, PAK lost that game by 211 runs while chasing a target of 480.

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• Zimbabwe – 51 (Against New Zealand, 2012)

Zimbabwe went to New Zealand to play the only test in Napier in 2012. NZ batted first and scored 495/7d. Zimbabwe, in their first inning, only managed to score 51. After following on, ZIM again bowled out for 143. NZ won that game by an inning and 301 runs. During ZIM’s first inning, Chris Martin, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, and Tim Southee shared 2 wickets each. Martin took 6 wickets in the second inning of Zimbabwe.

• Afghanistan – 103 (Against India, 2018)

It was Afghanistan’s first-ever international test against a test-playing nation. They played the only test against India at Bengaluru in 2018. India batted first and scored 474. In reply, AFG only managed to score 109 in their first inning. Following on, they were again bowled out for just 103. It is still their lowest score in test. During AFG’s 2^nd inning, Ravindra Jadeja took 4 wickets while Umesh Yadav took 3 wickets. Ishant Sharma also took 2 wickets, while R Ashwin has managed to take one wicket.

So these are all the lowest totals in tests by every team. Thank you for reading. Keep following @sportschilly for the latest updates, records, stats, opinions, predictions, insights, stories, analysis, and more.