The game of cricket has witnessed several iconic moments. Be it Sachin’s 100th century or Yuvraj’s six-sixes in an over, the fans have witnessed some crazy moments that lit up the game. It is of no doubt that these records will be broken someday. Well, as they say, “Records are meant to be broken”!

However, some records can’t be broken! Yes, you read that right! Cricket fans have come across rare moments when there were instances when all the eleven players bowled in a Test inning. This feat is unbreakable within the laws of the game. A feat of the maximum number of bowlers bowling in a test inning adds up to Test cricket’s reputation of being the best format in the game. 

Now, one might wonder, “What is the need of using all the eleven players to bowl out a test team?”. Well, Test cricket has the reputation of being unpredictable. As we move ahead with Test cricket surviving in this era which is dominated by T20 cricket, it surprises us with more facts.

Here are the only four instances when all the eleven players bowled in a Test inning – 

1. Third Test of Australia’s tour of England in 1884

Well, one might come across this Test match only through facts books. This test was played from the 11th of August to the 13th of August, 1884. A touring Australian team was taking on England. This was the very first instance when the captain used all his players to bowl out a Test team. Batting first, the Australians made 551 in 311 overs. 

The English captain Lord Harris used all his players to take the Australian wickets. The leading wicket-taker for England during that match was Alfred Lyttelton, who took four wickets for 19 runs in his 12 overs. In reply to Australia’s batting, the Englishmen scored 346 runs in 198 overs with a century from Walter Read, who scored 117 runs. After the Australians enforced the follow on, the Englishmen scored 85 runs off 26 overs.

The top run-scorer for the team in the second innings was Arthur Shrewsbury, who discord 37 off 33 balls. In the second inning, the Australian bowling attack comprised of five bowlers, and only Harry Boyle and George Giffen took wickets. This game is special in the history of cricket as it is one of the four instances when a team used all its eleven players to take all the wickets. Therefore, this makes it to this special list.

 2. Second Test between Australia and Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1980

It took ninety-six years to witness another instance in which all the eleven players bowled in a Test inning. This time, it was during a Test match between Australia and Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1980. The venue for this Test match was Faisalabad and the match was held from 6th of March, 1980 to 11th of March, 1980. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first.

The Australian opening pair was sent back to the pavilion quickly as Julien Wiener and Bruce Laird scored 5 and 0 respectively. However, the Australian captain Greg Chappell scored a big double hundred and Graham Yallop scored 172 runs. As Rod Marsh scored 71 runs later in the inning, Australia managed 617 runs in the first innings.

The Pakistani bowling lineup had a bad outing as Sarfraz Nawaz, Ehteshamuddin, Tauseef Ahmed, and Wasin Raja were the only bowlers who were able to claim wickets. The Pakistani batsmen gave a strong reply to the Australians as Taslim Arif scored a double hundred and Javed Miandad scored a classic century.

In a Test match where the batsmen dominated for most of the time, the centre of attraction was the Australian bowling lineup. The Australian bowling card comprised of the whole squad and Geoff Dymock was the only wicket-taker. This match makes it to this list of 4 instances when all the eleven players bowled in a Test inning.

3. West Indies vs India, 4th Test, 2002

The next instance when every player in the playing eleven had a go at the stumps was in 2002. This time, India was touring the West Indies. The series was tied at 1-1 and both the teams were looking for a win. But, the Antigua pitch was a belter and the batsmen enjoyed their time in the middle. 

Indian opener Wasim Jaffer scored 86 runs, and he was well supported by Rahul Dravid as he scored 91 runs. Down the order, Sourav Ganguly contributed with 45 runs and VVS Laxman scored a brilliant century. Ajay Ratra chipped in with a classic hundred as he scored 115 runs. India finished with 513 runs on the board. West Indies had a difficult time as the team tried eight bowlers.

West Indies gave a fitting reply to the Indians as they scored 629 runs. Carl Hopper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Ridley Jacobs scored hundreds as Mervyn Dillon scored 43 runs. The Indian team too had a difficult time, but the talk of the town was India’s bowling card.

Every member of the playing eleven had a shy at the batsmen as it was a long bowling line-up comprising of eleven players. The top wicket-takers were Zaheer Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, and Wasim Jaffer. This was only the third instance when a team used all its eleven players.

4. 4th Test match between South Africa and West Indies in 2005

This is the most recent instance when all the bowlers were used in a Test inning. This time too, the match involved the West Indies cricket team. During the 4th Test against South Africa, the Proteas batted first and scored a mammoth 588 runs. The opening pair of AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith scored centuries as they scored 114 and 126 runs.

Jacques Kallis scored a magnificent 147 runs as the West Indies bowlers struggled against a strong batting lineup. Apart from that, Ashwell Prince’s 131 runs down the order boosted South Africa’s score as they declared their innings with 588/6 runs. Daren Powell was the pick of the bowlers as he took two wickets.

In reply, the West Indies batsmen started strongly as Chris Gayle made it to the record books by scoring a triple century. The iconic West Indies batsman score 317 runs off 483 balls. Apart from Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored 127 runs each and Dwayne Bravo scored a century down the order.

To take the West Indies wickets, the South Africans tried every bowler as Monde Zondeki took three wickets. Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers took two wickets each as Gayle decimated the South African bowling attack. This is the latest instance when all the players tried their hand in bowling and hence makes it to this list.