Ranking the 16 Double-Centurions at Lord's on Innings' Quality
In the long history of Lord’s, there have been 16 scores of 200 or more made at the famous old ground in London.
On 16 occasions, an individual batsman has dominated an innings so absolutely with sheer weight of runs and ensured he will go down in history.
It may seem a tough task to try and rank all 16 of those innings on their quality, with the best coming in at No. 1.
After all, making 200 runs in an innings is a great achievement, and it is not necessarily possible to rank those that do so in order.
However, we are going to try and do just that—rank all 16 double-centuries made at Lord’s on the quality of each individual innings.
Read on to see how the innings rank.
16. Mohsin Khan (Pakistan vs. England, 1982), 200
1 of 16
Kicking things off is Pakistan opener Mohsin Khan, who scored exactly 200 in the second Test of the 1982 series against England.
It was an even-paced innings with a strike rate of 51.81 and helped the away side win the game by 10 wickets.
15. Joe Hardstaff (England vs. India, 1946), 205*
2 of 16
In at No. 15 is England batsman Joe Hardstaff, who stroked 205 not out against a fairly weak India bowling attack in 1946.
It set up an England win by 10 wickets, and they went on to take the series 1-0.
14. Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan vs. England, 2006), 202
3 of 16On Pakistan’s difficult tour of England in 2006, Mohammad Yousuf secured himself a place in Lord’s history with 202 in the first Test.
The game ended in a draw on a superb batting pitch, with Yousuf’s knock one of five centuries made by both teams across both innings.
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13. Bill Brown (Australia vs. England, 1938), 206*
4 of 16
In at No. 13 comes Australian opener Bill Brown, who hit an unbeaten 206 against England in the 1938 Lord’s Test.
Made from 370 balls, it was a solid innings but did not quite do enough to help the Baggy Green take the win.
12. Joe Root (England vs. Sri Lanka, 2014), 200*
5 of 16
Earlier this year, Joe Root played an extraordinary innings as he scored 200 not out from just 298 balls and almost helped England beat Sri Lanka.
It gave the hosts some momentum in their first innings, although they could not quite get over the finish line and win.
11. Denis Compton (England vs. South Africa, 1947), 208
6 of 16
The great Denis Compton appears for the 208 he made in 1947 against South Africa at Lord’s.
At this stage, the Proteas were decent but still a generation away from being a dominant force, and Compton punished any errors in line or length.
10. Martin Donnelly (New Zealand vs. England, 1949), 206
7 of 16
New Zealand’s 1949 Test series in England finished in a 0-0 draw after four games, but it was notable for, among others, Martin Donnelly's performance at Lord’s.
His 206 was far and away the highest score of the visitors’ innings—the next-highest was 57—and it put his side in prime position to take the victory.
9. Kevin Pietersen (England vs. India, 2011), 202*
8 of 16At No. 9 comes Kevin Pietersen for a brilliant unbeaten 202 made from just 326 balls against India in 2011.
It was the start of a brilliant series for the home side, and this innings got it off to the perfect start as they romped home by 196 runs.
8. Jack Hobbs (England vs. South Africa, 1924), 211
9 of 16
The great Jack Hobbs follows at No. 8, thanks to his 211 against South Africa in 1924 on what was a perfect batting wicket.
It came as part of 531-2 declared in England’s first innings, with their top three all passing 100 and their No. 4 passing 50 before they came off the field.
7. Robert Key (England vs. West Indies, 2004), 221
10 of 16
With some injury problems hanging over them, England welcome the West Indies in 2004 and had No. 3 Robert Key to thank in part for a big win at Lord’s.
Key scored 221 in his side’s first innings to help them reach 568, and the hosts eventually triumphed by 210 runs in what was a superb all-round performance.
6. Jonathan Trott (England vs. Bangladesh, 2010), 226
11 of 16
Against Bangladesh in 2010, England No. 3 Jonathan Trott hit a superb 226 to hammer home his side’s advantage at the start of their Test series.
Made from 349 balls, it helped the hosts reach 505 in their first innings and set up an eventual victory by eight wickets.
5. Gordon Greenidge (West Indies vs. England, 1984), 214*
12 of 16
In at No. 5 comes a brilliant unbeaten 214 from West Indian Gordon Greenidge in 1984 against England.
The visitors were chasing 344 for victory in the second innings with time running out, so Greenidge came out firing and kept up a brilliant scoring rate.
His knock of 214 from 242 balls went down in history as one of the best innings ever played at Lord’s.
4. Walter Hammond (England vs. Australia, 1938), 240
13 of 16
Former England captain Walter Hammond makes his entry at No. 4 with a superb 240 against Australia in 1938.
His innings was more than double the next-highest score for England in their first innings, but it was not enough for them to force a victory.
3. Donald Bradman (Australia vs. England, 1930), 254
14 of 16
In at No. 3 comes Sir Donald Bradman, who bullied England for 254 in the midst of a superb Ashes series for him personally in 1930.
Bradman’s innings helped the visitors build a total of 729 in their first innings, and they triumphed by seven wickets after largely dominating the game.
2. Graeme Smith (South Africa vs. England, 2003), 259
15 of 16South African captain Graeme Smith started the 2003 Test series against England in brilliant form, having arrived as something of an unknown quantity.
In the second Test at Lord’s, he hit a superb 259 to punish a beleaguered England bowling attack and break Bradman’s 73-year-old record score by a foreign player at the ground.
To make things even better, the Proteas went on to win the game by an innings and 92 runs.
1. Graham Gooch (England vs. India, 1990), 333
16 of 16Coming in at No. 1 is Graham Gooch’s mammoth 333 against India in 1990, still the only triple-century made at the famous old ground.
Gooch made a glut of runs toward the end of his career, and this was one of his high points as he flayed the tourists around.
To top it all off, he added 123 in the second innings as England went on to win by 247 runs.
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