Most Test runs for Australia in Sri Lanka – a list with some surprises

Steven Smith bats in Sri Lanka
Steven Smith almost averages 50 in Test cricket in Sri Lanka.

Tours to Sri Lanka are notoriously tough. The wickets are tricky, and the crowds are intense, but it lacks the glamour and profile of a trip to India.

As Australian prepare to head to Sri Lanka for a couple of Tests, there are some interesting names on the list of leading Australian run scorers in Sri Lanka.

Compared to nations like India or Pakistan, Sri Lanka are a relatively young Test playing nation, which means the list of top Aussie run scorers in Sri Lanka doesn’t include players like Donald Bradman or Allan Border. But there are still a few surprises.

5. Darren Lehmann – 375 runs; highest score: 153; average: 62.50

An excellent batsman who played just 27 Tests due to the extraordinary talent Australia were blessed with at the time. Lehmann broke into the Australia team at the relatively old age of 28. He only established himself there at the age of 33.

He toured Sri Lanka at the height of his powers in 2004 where he went past 100 twice and added a 50 as well. Lehmann’s form was a key component of a helping Australia to a 3-0 series win although when you have teammates like Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist you are always going to go into games as the favourites.

Also read: Which captain has the best bowling figures in Test cricket?

4. Shaun Marsh – 393 runs; highest score: 141; average: 78.60

The mercurial number three had a Test career that scaled incredible heights and slumped through massive lows. Marsh was a model of inconsistency with six centuries and ten 50’s to his name he also endured periods of profound struggle.

Marsh was in great form on both occasions that he toured Sri Lanka. He was there in 2011 and again in 2016. On both tours he reached three figures. In his first knock in Sri Lanka, he shared in a 258-run stand for the fourth wicket with Michael Hussey in the drawn second Test.

He followed that up with knocks of 81 and 18 in the third Test – which also ended in a draw as Australia claimed the series 1-0. Marsh was back in 2016 where he opened the batting with David Warner in the third Test and made a wonderful 130 in a second wicket stand of 246 with Steve Smith.

3. Steven Smith – 398 runs; highest score: 145 not out; average: 49.75

The wildly talented Smith toured Sri Lanka in 2016 and 2022. He should be back again for the 2025 visit, and he will be hoping to move himself up on this list. With four innings available and the players ahead of him now retired, he could well ease himself to the top of the list.

In his last Test in Sri Lanka Smith posted scores from either end of the spectrum – an undefeated 145 in the first innings was followed by a fourth ball duck in the second as Prabath Jayasuriya ran through the Aussie lineup with figures of six for 59 to help the home side to a famous win that saw them draw the series 1-1.

2. Mike Hussey – 463 runs; highest score: 142; average: 92.60

Known as Mr Cricket, Hussey was much like Lehmann in that he arrived on the international scene quite late. Hussey played just five innings in Sri Lanka, but boy, did he make them count.

While he was out twice in the 90’s he also posted scores of 142 and 118. He failed once, making 15 in the second innings of the first Test as Australia went looking for some quick runs. In total Hussey went on to play 79 Tests for Australia where he averaged 51.52 with the bat – a remarkable average. But Sri Lanka was a happy place for him as his average on 92.60 suggests.

1. Ricky Ponting – 575 runs; highest score: 105 not out; average 44.23

One of the most prolific batsmen of all time, it’s no surprise to find Ponting at the top of this list. He wasn’t just prolific for Australia in Sri Lanka, he was prolific all over the world and is still the second highest Test run scorer of all time – with only Sachin Tendulkar ahead of him. Ponting toured Sri Lanka three time – in 1999, 2004 and 2011 and played a total of 14 innings.

The biggest surprise here is that he only managed one century in that time: an undefeated 105 in Colombo in 1999. He was out twice in the 90’s and passed 50 on one other occasion. Unlike Hussey, whose average in Sri Lanka was far superior to his overall average, Ponting had it the other way with a 51.85 career average but only 44.23 in Sri Lanka.

Read next: Test cricket’s most prolific bowler-fielder combinations