![Most half-centuries in Test cricket [Source: @PoriyalanP, @GovindIstOdraza, @7Cricket/x]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1764841073567_sachin_tendulkar.jpg?type=hq)
Most half-centuries in Test cricket [Source: @PoriyalanP, @GovindIstOdraza, @7Cricket/x]
Test cricket, more than any other format, rewards patience, endurance and the art of surviving long spells with unwavering discipline. Among batters who have mastered this grind, a select few have distinguished themselves through an extraordinary volume of impactful innings, be it through centuries or fifties, that reflect consistency as much as class.
Celebrating the craftsmanship involved in Test cricket, here is a look at five players with the highest number of half-centuries to their names.
4. Ricky Ponting – 62
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting crossed the 50-run mark 103 times in Test cricket. He converted 41 of them into hundreds to stand third among the leading century-makers in the format, leaving him with 62 half-centuries. It took Ponting 287 innings spanning 168 Tests to aggregate his 62 fifties between the years 1995 and 2012. The Australian run-machine is also one of the leading run-makers in Test cricket with well over 13,000 runs, at a staggering batting average of 51.85.
Among all players with over 10,000 Test runs, Ricky Ponting also holds the second-best strike rate, that of 58.72 to fall only behind Brian Lara.
3. Allan Border – 63
Only the second player in Test history to complete 10,000 runs after Sunil Gavaskar, former Australian captain Allan Border graced the format with remarkable poise and precision. In 156 Tests, Border minted 11,174 runs at a prolific average of 50.56, plundering 27 tons and 63 half-centuries in the process. His 63 fifties make him the fourth highest half-century maker in Test history, and the highest among all Australian batters.
With an overall haul of 90 fifty-plus scores, Allan Border is also ranked eighth among all batters in the world with such scores.
2. Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 66
West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul listed 66 half-centuries in his prolific career in Tests from 1994 up until his retirement year in 2015. With 30 additional centuries, the legendary left-handed middle-order batter carted 96 scores of fifty or more in Test cricket, doing so in 280 innings.
One of only two West Indies cricketers in history to have tallied over 10,000 Test runs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul holds the third highest number of Test half-centuries, and the highest among all West Indies batters. However, the latter of those two records only stems from his slightly inferior conversion rate in comparison to Brian Lara.
2. Joe Root – 66
England’s batting resolute Joe Root has plundered 66 half-centuries to date, and has crossed the 50-run mark 106 times in Test cricket, the second highest among all cricketers after the great Sachin Tendulkar. Root also holds an exceptional conversion rate, having converted 40 of his 106 fifty-plus scores into centuries, an all-time England record.
Among all batters with over 11,000 Test runs at the moment, Joe Root is the only active playing member so far, and is already on his way to topple Tendulkar for some elite batting records. Overall, Root has motored past the 13,500-run mark with a prolific batting average of over 51 in 160 Tests.
1. Sachin Tendulkar – 68
Test cricket’s highest run-maker, leading centurion, highest half-centuries and the most fifty-plus scores overall; Sachin Tendulkar stands unrivalled across every major batting metric in the format, at least for the time being. It took the former Indian cricketer 200 Tests and close to 24 years in building his illustrious career.
Turning up for Team India in 329 innings, Sachin Tendulkar also maintained an exceptional batting average of 53.78. The undisputed king of Test cricket, Tendulkar’s record of most fifties, however, is on the verge of getting toppled by Joe Root.
