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Modern-day cricket has made List A cricket a run fest. Gone are those days when a team could score less than 200 runs in an ODI and defend the total. India famously defended 183 runs against the mighty West Indies in the 1983 World Cup finals. But it will be next to impossible to do what the Kapil Dev-led side did 50 years ago. Today ODI or List A cricket is played in a manner where the expected bare minimum total in the first innings is upwards of 300 runs. With the ODI World Cup approaching there are high chances that some of these scores could be breached by the end of the year.
Has anyone ever scored 500 runs in a List A match? Which international team has scored the highest runs in an ODI match? Let’s find out! Here is a look at the top 10 highest scores in List A cricket.
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Highest List A scores
10. England vs Pakistan (444/3)
At number 10, it is the modern-day’s most aggressive team, England. After suffering an embarrassing defeat to Bangladesh in the 2015 ODI World Cup, England decided to change their approach towards white ball cricket. The change in approach meant that they reached the finals of the T20 World Cup in 2016, semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in 2017 and finally won the ODI World Cup in 2019.
England scored 444 runs against Pakistan in August of 2016. The 2019 World Cup champions rank 10 on the list for highest List A scores. England’s opener, Alex Hales scored 171 runs in just 122 balls. Hales was supported by Joe Root who scored 85 runs in 86 balls. The finishing touch was provided by the current skipper, Jos Buttler and the skipper at that time, Eoin Morgan. Buttler scored 90 runs in 51 balls while Morgan scored 57 in just 27 balls. They were also helped by the inaccurate Pakistani bowlers who gave away 26 extra runs. In reply, Pakistan only scored 275 runs and lost the match by 169 runs.
9. Nottinghamshire vs Northamptonshire (445/8)
It’s another game in Nottingham that ends up 9th on this list. The openers from Nottinghamshire did the bulk of the work in order to reach a total of 445 runs. Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels opening for Nottinghamshire shared a 342-run stand. Lumb scored 184 runs in 150 balls but it was Wessels who played a knock of much higher impact. Wessels scored 146 runs in just 97 balls. Down the order Dan Christian, Samit Patel and Brendan Taylor quickfire cameos to reach the historic total. The Northamptonshire bowlers too helped the opposition’s cause by giving away 28 extras. In reply, Northamptonshire only 425 runs and lost the game by just 20 runs.
8. Titans vs North West (453/3)
At number 8 it is a List A game from South Africa. Titans scored 453 runs in the Provincial One-Day Challenge Division One against North West. Theunis de Bruyn scored 179 runs in 115 balls while opening the innings. He received support from his opening partner, Gihahn Cloete scoring a half-century. Neil Brand batting at number three scored 115 runs in 75 balls. Heinrich Klassen scored 37 while skipper, Sibonelo Makhanya scored 53 runs in just 20 balls. The opposition in this instance only gave away 11 extras. North West were bowled out for 253 runs as they lost the match by a monumental margin of 200 runs.
7. Gloucestershire vs Somerset (454/3)
Gloucestershire after 454 runs against Somerset got into the list of top 10 highest List A scores last month. Skipper, James Bracey was the star performer of the match scoring 224 runs while opening the innings and carrying the bat throughout the innings. Bracey’s opening partner, Chris Dent scored 65 runs in 38 balls, Oliver Price at number three scored 77 in 83 while Harry Tector scored 37 in 17 and Graeme van Buuren remained not out scoring 35 runs in 12 balls. The Somerset bowlers gave away 16 extras. Somerset was bowled out for 256 and lost the match by 198 runs.
6. Mumbai vs Jaipur (457/4)
Mumbai in 2021 was a force to be reckoned with in terms of batting. Their batting lineup consisted of players of the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan.
Mumbai scored 457 runs with Shaw scoring his maiden double-century in List A cricket. The skipper, scored 227 runs in 152 balls while Suryakumar Yadav scored 133 runs in just 58 balls. Shaw remained not out and received support from Aditya Tare, who scored a half-century. Jaipur’s bowlers gave away just nine extras. Their batters on the other hand only managed to score 224 runs in the second innings and lost the match by 233 runs.
5. India A vs Leicestershire (458/4)
India A toured England in 2018 where they played a Tour Match against Leicestershire. The India A team at that time consisted of players like Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and more.
Shaw opened the batting with Mayank as the duo scored centuries. Shaw scored 132 runs in 90 balls while Mayank scored 151 runs in 106 balls. Gill batting at number three scored 86 runs in 54 balls. There were 19 extras in the innings including 14 runs off just wides. Leicestershire was just dismissed for 177 runs as India A won the match by 281 runs.
4. England vs Australia (481/6)
Australia playing without their bowling mainstays like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa was put under the pump by the English batters at Nottingham. Opening the batting Jason Roy scored 82 runs in 61 balls while his partner at the other end scored 139 runs in 92 balls. Alex Hales batting at number three did not stop the acceleration as he scored 147 runs in 92 balls. Skipper, Eoin Morgan scored 67 runs in just 30 balls to provide a great finishing touch to the innings. The Australian bowlers gave away 19 extras as England reached a total of 481 runs. In the second innings, Australia only scored 239 runs and lost the match by 242 runs.
3. Surrey vs Gloucestershire (496/4)
James Benning and Ali Brown scored daddy hundreds while opening the batting but it was Rikki Clarke who absolutely stole the show. Surrey with a score of 496 runs ranks third on this list. Benning scored 152 runs in 134 balls while Ali Brown scored 176 runs in 97 balls. Rikki Clarke batting at number 5 pulled the score to 496 by a blistering knock of 82 runs in just 28 balls. Gloucestershire’s bowlers gave away 16 extras. The batters from Gloucestershire were a disappointment as they lost half of the side with just 65 runs on the board. They managed to crawl their way to 239 runs and lost the match by 257 runs.
2. England vs Netherlands (498/4)
The record for the highest score in ODIs is held by England. The England team plays an aggressive brand of cricket and in June of 2022, the Netherlands were on the receiving end of a great display of batting from England. Jason Roy was dismissed for just one run, but his opening partner, Phil Salt scored 122 runs in 93 balls. Dawid Malan scored 125 runs in 109 balls but the historic total was only possible because of their current skipper, Jos Buttler and a quickfire cameo from Liam Livingstone. Buttler scored 162 runs in just 70 balls hitting 7 fours and 14 sixes. Livingstone scored 66 runs in 22 balls hitting 6 fours and sixes each. The Dutch bowlers gave away 22 extras as the Eoin Morgan-led side fell short of the historic 500-run mark by just two runs. The Netherlands were dismissed for 266 runs as they lost the match by 232 runs.
1. Tamil Nadu vs Arunachal Pradesh (506/2)
Narayan Jagadeesan smashed the highest individual score in List A cricket of 277 runs to help Tamil Nadu reach a total of 506 runs. Tamil Nadu is the only team to score 500 runs in List A cricket. By scoring 506 runs they rank 1st in the list of top 10 highest List A scores. Jagadeesan scored 277 runs in 141 balls while hitting 25 fours and 15 sixes at a strike rate of 196.45.
Jagadeesan’s magnificent knock overshadowed Sai Sudharsan’s century while opening the innings. Sudharsan scored 154 runs in 102 balls hitting 19 fours and 2 sixes. The bowlers from Arunachal Pradesh gave away 13 extras. Arunachal Pradesh team was bowled out for a meagre total of just 71 runs as they lost the match by a huge margin of 435 runs.
Conclusion
High-scoring games have been the norm in the modern age of ODI or List A cricket, with sides regularly topping 300 runs in their innings. The top 10 highest List A scores serve as an example of this pattern and the development of the sport. The aggressive shift in England’s strategy, represented by their 444/3 against Pakistan in 2016, shows a move toward more run-centric cricket. The record-breaking 506/2 score by Tamil Nadu versus Arunachal Pradesh, which included Narayan Jagadeesan’s stunning 277-run innings, tops the list. The game continues to enthral spectators with its ever-expanding limits and spectacular batting performances because of the game’s explosive scoring.