Team Wise All Format Leading Run Scorer In International Cricket

There are a lot of players who have played international cricket for their respective countries. However, not all of them have gone on to become successful and made a name for themselves. To become a legend of the game, it requires an immense amount of hard work and consistent performances year after year.

Every top cricketing nation has produced some top-notch batsmen who have ruled the game for several years. These players have often made the opposition dance to their tunes. Every time they have come onto to bat, they have left the fans in awe.

Irrespective of what the format is, they have always managed to dominate the opposition with their batting prowess. In this article, we are going to look at 10 of those cricketers, who are the leading run-scorer for their respective teams in all formats in international cricket:

Team Wise All Format Leading Run Scorer In International Cricket

Andy Flower (Zimbabwe)- 11, 580 runs

Andy Flower is hailed as arguably the greatest batsman ever to play for Zimbabwe. He made his debut in the 1992 World Cup and scored a century in his very first game against Sri Lanka. He went on to score 4 centuries and 55 half-centuries in his illustrious cricket career.

He finished his international cricket career as the highest run-scorer for Zimbabwe across formats. Flower made 6786 runs in 213 Tests and 4794 runs in 63 one-day internationals.

After representing in the 2003 World Cup, Andy Flower left Zimabwbe and represented Essex in the UK domestic scene where he was joined by his brother Grant. They became the first set of brothers to score a century in the same match. Andy also played for South Australia for a season in 2003-04.

Tamim Iqbal: 14155 runs 

Having made his debut back in 2007, Tamim Iqbal has reached great heights in international cricket. In the 2007 World Cup, he scored 51 runs off 53 balls against India to help his team win the game. There was no looking back after that. Tamim Iqbal went onto score a plethora of runs across formats and became an all-format regular for the side.

Tamim Iqbal is currently the highest run-scorer for the team in international cricket. He has 14, 155 runs to his name in international cricket. He has played 64 Tests, 219 ODIs, and 78 T20 internationals for Bangladesh thus far in his international career, scoring 4788, 7666 and 1758 runs respectively.

Joe Root (England): 15780 runs

A young boy with hunger in his eyes, Joe Root was handed his ODI debut on the India tour in 2012. He made his debut in the fourth Test. He came onto the crease with England reeling at 139 for 5. Root played the spinners with utmost perfection and scored 73 runs. A pitch where most of the batsmen struggled to bat, Root spent 289 minutes at the crease against some quality spin. There was no looking back since.

He also made his debut in the white-ball series which followed and soon he became a regular in the England Cricket Team.

Joe Root’s hunger for runs kept him in good stead. Consistent scoring helped him become a part of the fab-four in international cricket. Root took over the Test captaincy from A Cook in the year 2017. He has been a consistent run-scorer for England in international cricket. He is currently the leading run-scorer for England across formats. Joe Root has 8887 runs in 107 Tests, 6109 runs in 152 ODIs and 893 runs in 32 T20 internationals.

Ross Taylor: 18054 runs

He isn’t someone who you would see people talk about a lot. However, given the amount of contribution he has done to New Zealand cricket, you would ask why? Ross Taylor is the most capped player for New Zealand in international cricket. He came into the team as a destructive free-flowing batsman who captivated one and all.

He made rapid strides in international and soon became a part of New Zealand in the team in all three formats. For the unversed, Ross Taylor is the first player to play 100 matches in all three formats of the game.

In his illustrious career, Ross Taylor has scored 8581 runs in 233 ODIs at an average of 48.20.  In 108 Tests, he has 7564 runs at an average of 45.84. Besides, he has featured in 102 T20 internationals, scoring 1909 runs at an average of 26.05. He has 40 centuries to his name across formats in international cricket.

Inzamam Ul-Haq: 20, 541 runs 

Inzamam Ul Haq is a former Pakistan cricketer, who led Pakistan from 2003 to 2007. Once known as the backbone of Pakistan’s batting unit, Inzamam UI-Haq has scored a plethora of runs for Pakistan. He is the only batsman to have scored 20,000 runs for Pakistan in Test Cricket.

Inzamam Ul-Haq has scored 8830 runs in 120 Tests, 11,739 runs in 378 ODIs, and at an average of 49.60 and 39.53. He has 22 centuries and 10 centuries in Tests and ODIs respectively.

Brian Lara: 22, 260 runs

One of the elegant left-handed batsmen in world cricket, Brian Lara doesn’t need any introduction. Brian Lara has the distinction of highest individual score in both first-class cricket (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994) and Test Cricket (400 not out for the West Indies against England in 2004).

Brian Lara is counted amongst one of the most stylish cricketers who went on to become a legend of the game. He is one of the few special cricketers who dominated the opposition not only at home but all across the globe. Lara made his debut in an ODI on 9^th November 1990 against Pakistan.

In 131 Tests, he has scored 11, 953 runs at an average of 52.88. He has represented in 299 ODIs, scoring 10,405 at an average of 40.48. With more than 20,000 runs, he is currently the highest run-scorer for West Indies in international cricket.

Jacques Kallis: 25422 runs 

A man who was once one of the biggest assets for the South African cricket team, Jacques Kallis is South Africa’s highest run-scorer in international cricket. Hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in world cricket, Kallis has more than 25,000 international runs.

He is the only South African player to have scored 10,000 runs and take over 250 wickets. He made his Test debut against England on 14^th December 1995. He went become one of the greatest Test players of all time. As far as numbers are concerned, Kallis amassed 13,289 runs in 166 Tests at an outstanding average of 55.37.

He made his one-day international debut on 9^th January 1996 against England. He went on to score 11, 579 runs at an average of 44.36. He has 45 centuries in Tests and 17 in ODIs.

Ricky Ponting: 27368 runs 

He is not the most successful batsman for Australia but also the most successful captain. Ricky Ponting led a team that was once known as invincibles. He led the team to the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. With a winning ratio of 67.91 percent, Ponting led Australia to 220 victories in 324 matches.

Ricky Ponting always had the hunger to score runs and win matches. The one who would lead by example, Ricky Ponting scored a plethora of runs during his international cricket career.

He made his Test debut on 8^th December 1995 against Sri Lanka and went onto pile 13, 378 runs in 168 Tests at an average of 51.85. He played 375 one-day internationals for Australia and scored 13,704 runs at an average of 42.03.

With 27, 368 international runs to his name, Ricky Ponting is the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket.

Kumar Sangakkara: 27757 runs 

Kumar Sangakkara called time on his international cricket career on 20^th August 2015 against India and left a huge legacy behind him. He was one of the most successful players not only for Sri Lanka but also in world cricket.

Sangakarra played for Sri Lanka for 15  years and score more than 28,000 international runs. He was part of the team which went to the finals of the 2007 and 2011 ICC World Cup. He was adjudged as the Man of the Match in the final of ICC World T20, helping Sri Lanka win their first ICC T20 World Cup.

Kumar Sangakkara scored 12, 400 runs in 134 one-day internationals at an average of 57.40 In 404 ODIs, he has 14, 234 runs at an average of 41.98. Besides, he has played 56 T20 internationals, scoring 1382 runs at an average of 31.40.

Sachin Tendulkar: 34357 runs

Arguably, the greatest player to have ever graced the game of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for scoring the most runs in international cricket. He has scored 34, 357 runs in international cricket. Besides scoring the most runs, Sachin Tendulkar holds a plethora of records to his name. He has the most number of centuries to his name in international cricket.

He has represented India in 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, scoring 15, 921, and 18,426 runs respectively. He has as many as 100 centuries in international cricket. Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket on 14^th November 2013 in a Test match against West Indies.