Fastest to 4,000 Test runs: Brian Lara 7th, three England players make cut

CS Chiwanza 10 Jul 2025

Brian Lara was among the fastest to reach 4,000 Test runs.

Which batters have been the fastest to 4,000 Test runs?

Find out more about the Test cricketers to reach 4,000 Test runs in the fewest number of innings.

The 4,000-run mark – especially in record time – is a coveted milestone in Test cricket.

1. Don Bradman (Australia)

January 1937 vs England
48 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

An interesting thing, which doesn’t occur often in Test cricket, happened when Australia and England crossed swords in Melbourne in January 1937. Both teams declared their first innings.

Australia went in to bat first and declared when they had 200/9d on the board. England struggled to get going and closed their reply on 76/9d.

The reason was that the pitch had uneven bounce with some deliveries rearing up, while others squatted low. However, the conditions had improved when Australia went in for their second innings.

Bradman unfurled one of his best batting performances ever with a masterful 270 runs from 375 balls.

His knock buoyed Australia to 564 and a defendable total. Not only that, his double century saw him past 4000 Test runs.

2. Herbert Sutcliffe (England)

February 1933 vs Australia
68 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

Sutcliffe’s milestone in a contest widely regarded as Eddie Paynter’s match. Paynter left his hospital bed after being hospitalised with acute tonsillitis.

The doctors declared that there was no chance of him batting in the Test; however, Sutcliffe defied them. England was in the throes of a collapse when Paynter arrived at the ground. England had gone from 100/0 to 198/5 in a short period.

Paynter rescued the innings with a patient 83 from 218 balls. His half-century was one of two scored by England. The other was from Sutcliffe, who made 86 from 244 deliveries.

The two 50s helped set England up for victory. Sutcliffe’s effort also took him beyond 4000 Test runs.

3. Everton Weekes (West Indies)

July 1957 vs England
71 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

Weekes was one of the West Indies’ famed Three Ws. The trio of Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes, and Clyde Walcott built a legacy so great that the Cricket West Indies bestowed legendary status upon the trio from Barbados.

They often batted the West Indies out of sticky situations.

However, this was not one of those moments. Weekes fell for a duck in the West Indies’ first innings, while Worrell scored 29 and Walcott added 38.

Weekes made 14 in the West Indies’ second innings, while Worrell managed seven and Walcott 35. That said, Weekes’ paltry contribution was enough to see him go past the 4000 Test runs mark.

4. Viv Richards (West Indies)

January 1982 vs Australia
71 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

Richards was one of the most dominant batters of his era. He stepped up to the crease and batted opposition teams out of the contest. He took control of matches like no one else.

However, that is not what he did when he arrived at the crease when the West Indies went up against Australia in Sydney in 1982.

The West Indies were on 37/1 when he walked out to bat. Richards did what he is wont to do: he pushed the game forward with a brisk 44 from 59 balls.

It was one of those moments when an entertaining knock from him ended before he reached a milestone. However, he registered another milestone instead. He passed the 4000-run mark with his 44 runs.

5. Jack Hobbs (England)

June 1926 vs Australia
75 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

England nearly batted on a sticky wicket. One of the groundsmen mistakenly left the hose connected to the water source on Sunday night, and the water flooded the outfield and a piece of the pitch.

Fortunately for the hosts, Lord’s had good drainage, and the weather was also good.

Hobbs walked out to open the batting for England, who were replying to Australia’s first innings score of 383. Hobbs combined with Hebert Sutcliffe for a brilliant 182-run first-wicket partnership, which he followed with a brief 37-run stand with Frank Woolley.

Hobbs was dismissed for a well-played 119.

His century helped England get themselves in a position where they couldn’t lose the Test, which they eventually drew. The ton also saw him go beyond the 4000-run mark.

6. Wally Hammond (England)

January 1935 vs West Indies
76 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

This was one of the toughest pitches rolled out for a contest featuring England and the West Indies. England, the visitors, won the toss and asked the West Indies to bat first on a rain-affected Bridgetown surface. England’s bowling attack bundled out the hosts for 102.

The visitors’ batting was no better. England hobbled to 81/7d and the majority of those runs, 43, came off Hammond’s bat. Jack Iddon (14) was the only other batter who got to double digits.

The West Indies struggled in their second innings before they declared on 51/6. As he did in the first innings, Hammond top-scored for England. He scored an unbeaten 29 to lead his side to a four-wicket victory.

Besides securing victory for England, Hammond’s 72 runs across two innings also saw him go past 4000 Test runs.

7. Brian Lara (West Indies)

June 1997 vs Sri Lanka
76 innings to reach 4,000 Test runs

West Indies’ batters disappointed expectant local fans when they only managed 147 runs on a pitch that wasn’t doing much.

The showing betrayed a lack of application from the hosts, and only Carl Hooper went past 30 runs with a well-made 81. Sri Lanka responded by establishing a 75-run lead.

The West Indies’ batters applied themselves better in the third innings and posted 343 runs, powered by a brilliant century from Brian Lara. The left-hander made amends for his single run in the first innings with a wonderful 115 from 207 balls.

His knock put the West Indies in a position from which they could not lose the match, and it also saw him go past 4000 Test runs.