Kumar Sangakkara topped the Test cricket batting chart of 2014 with Brendon McCullum and Angelo Matthews following him. Michael Clarke was the topper in the previous two years (2012 and 2013). Bharath Seervi lists the highest Test run-getters in each calendar year since 1877 and some other facts.
Kumar Sangakkara, with 1,438 runs from 21 innings at 71.90, was the leading Test run-getter in 2014. This was only the third time that a Sri Lankan has achieved the same. Sanath Jayasuriya (1,271 at 66.89) was the top run-getter in 1997 and Thilan Samaraweera (1,234 runs at 72.58) in 2009.
Most runs in tests in each calendar year since 1877
Year
Batsman
Team
Mat
Inns
Runs
HS
Ave
100s/50s
1877
Charles Bannerman
Australia
2
4
209
165*
69.66
1/0
1879
Alec Bannerman
Australia
1
1
73
73
73
0/1
1880
WG Grace
England
1
2
161
152
161
1/0
1881
Tom Horan
Australia
1
2
150
124
75
1/0
1882
George Ulyett
England
4
8
365
149
45.62
01-Feb
1883
Allan Steel
England
3
5
218
135*
54.5
1/0
1884
Percy McDonnell
Australia
4
6
366
124
61
02-Jan
1885
Arthur Shrewsbury sr
England
4
7
275
105*
55
01-Jan
1886
Arthur Shrewsbury sr
England
3
4
243
164
60.75
1/0
1887
Harry Moses
Australia
2
4
116
33
29
0/0
1888
Billy Barnes
England
3
4
90
62
22.5
0/1
1889
Bobby Abel
England
2
3
189
120
94.5
1/0
1890
JJ Lyons
Australia
2
4
122
55
30.5
0/1
1892
JJ Lyons
Australia
3
6
287
134
47.83
01-Jan
1893
Arthur Shrewsbury sr
England
3
5
284
106
71
01-Feb
1894
George Giffen
Australia
2
4
277
161
69.25
1/0
1895
John Brown
England
3
6
231
140
57.75
1/0
1896
Arthur Hill
England
3
4
251
124
62.75
01-Jan
1897
KS Ranjitsinhji
England
1
2
183
175
183
1/0
1898
Joe Darling
Australia
4
6
429
178
71.5
2/0
1899
Tom Hayward
England
5
7
413
137
68.83
02-Jan
1901
Archie MacLaren
England
1
1
116
116
116
1/0
1902
Clem Hill
Australia
12
21
1060
142
55.78
02-Jul
1903
Tim Foster
England
1
2
306
287
153
1/0
1904
Victor Trumper
Australia
4
8
388
113
48.5
01-Mar
1905
Stanley Jackson
England
5
9
492
144*
70.28
02-Feb
1906
Gordon White
South Africa
5
9
437
147
54.62
01-Feb
1907
CB Fry
England
3
5
221
129
44.2
01-Jan
1908
Warwick Armstrong
Australia
4
8
359
133*
51.28
01-Jan
1909
Warren Bardsley
Australia
5
10
396
136
39.6
2/0
1910
Aubrey Faulkner
South Africa
7
14
862
204
66.3
02-Apr
1911
Victor Trumper
Australia
5
10
583
214*
72.87
02-Feb
1912
Jack Hobbs
England
9
14
832
187
64
03-Mar
1913
Herbie Taylor
South Africa
2
4
186
109
46.5
1/0
1914
Jack Hobbs
England
3
6
338
97
67.6
0/3
1920
Jack Hobbs
England
2
4
250
122
62.5
01-Jan
1921
Herbie Collins
Australia
9
14
730
203
56.15
02-Feb
1922
Herbie Taylor
South Africa
1
2
197
176
98.5
1/0
1923
Jack Russell
England
4
7
436
140
62.28
02-Jan
1924
Jack Hobbs
England
5
7
527
211
75.28
02-Feb
1925
Herbert Sutcliffe
England
4
7
560
176
80
03-Jan
1926
Jack Hobbs
England
5
7
486
119
81
02-Feb
1927
Herbert Sutcliffe
England
2
4
271
102
90.33
01-Jan
1928
Wally Hammond
England
9
14
879
251
67.61
02-Mar
1929
Wally Hammond
England
6
12
702
177
78
04-Jan
1930
Don Bradman
Australia
6
8
978
334
122.25
4/0
1931
Don Bradman
Australia
7
9
950
226
105.55
5/0
1932
Don Bradman
Australia
3
3
402
299*
402
2/0
1933
Wally Hammond
England
8
11
934
336*
103.77
03-Feb
1934
Don Bradman
Australia
5
8
758
304
94.75
02-Jan
1935
Bruce Mitchell
South Africa
7
14
579
164*
52.63
02-Jan
1936
Wally Hammond
England
4
6
645
231*
161.25
3/0
1937
Don Bradman
Australia
3
5
690
270
138
3/0
1938
Wally Hammond
England
6
9
666
240
74
02-Mar
1939
Len Hutton
England
6
11
728
196
72.8
02-Mar
1946
Don Bradman
Australia
2
2
421
234
210.5
2/0
1947
Denis Compton
England
9
15
1159
208
82.78
06-Mar
1948
Don Bradman
Australia
8
13
1025
201
113.88
05-Feb
1949
Len Hutton
England
7
12
800
206
66.66
03-Mar
1950
Neil Harvey
Australia
5
9
584
151*
83.42
03-Feb
1951
Len Hutton
England
10
18
903
156*
64.5
02-Jun
1952
Vijay Hazare
India
9
13
576
146*
52.36
01-Apr
1953
Neil Harvey
Australia
8
15
948
205
63.2
04-Mar
1954
Denis Compton
England
11
16
830
278
55.33
02-Apr
1955
Clyde Walcott
West Indies
5
10
827
155
82.7
05-Feb
1956
Peter Richardson
England
6
10
491
117
49.1
02-Feb
1957
Colin Cowdrey
England
9
14
701
154
50.07
03-Apr
1958
Garry Sobers
West Indies
8
13
1299
365*
144.33
06-Mar
1959
Colin McDonald
Australia
8
13
671
170
61
02-Feb
1960
Garry Sobers
West Indies
7
12
864
226
78.54
04-Jan
1961
Ken Barrington
England
10
18
1035
172
73.92
04-May
1962
Ted Dexter
England
10
14
982
205
75.53
02-Jul
1963
Ken Barrington
England
11
20
1015
132*
53.42
03-May
1964
Bobby Simpson
Australia
14
26
1381
311
60.04
03-Jul
1965
Ken Barrington
England
10
16
895
163
59.66
02-Jun
1966
Garry Sobers
West Indies
7
11
895
174
99.44
03-May
1967
Ken Barrington
England
6
10
750
148
93.75
03-Mar
1968
John Edrich
England
10
17
894
164
52.58
02-May
1969
Doug Walters
Australia
8
13
909
242
75.75
05-Mar
1970
Ian Redpath
Australia
6
12
530
171
58.88
01-Mar
1971
Sunil Gavaskar
India
7
14
918
220
83.45
04-May
1972
Glenn Turner
New Zealand
5
8
672
259
96
02-Feb
1973
Keith Fletcher
England
12
21
1085
178
63.82
02-Sep
1974
Dennis Amiss
England
13
22
1379
262*
68.95
05-Mar
1975
Ian Chappell
Australia
10
18
982
192
61.37
02-Jul
1976
Viv Richards
West Indies
11
19
1710
291
90
07-May
1977
Greg Chappell
Australia
10
18
736
121
40.88
02-Mar
1978
Sunil Gavaskar
India
8
14
1099
205
91.58
05-Mar
1979
Sunil Gavaskar
India
17
26
1407
221
54.11
04-Aug
1980
Greg Chappell
Australia
10
18
953
235
59.56
02-May
1981
Geoff Boycott
England
13
26
975
137
40.62
03-Apr
1982
Ian Botham
England
14
22
1095
208
49.77
03-Jun
1983
Sunil Gavaskar
India
18
32
1310
236*
46.78
05-May
1984
Gordon Greenidge
West Indies
15
24
1179
223
58.95
04-Feb
1985
Allan Border
Australia
11
20
1099
196
64.64
04-Feb
1986
David Gower
England
14
25
1059
136
44.12
02-Jun
1987
Dilip Vengsarkar
India
9
14
875
166
87.5
04-Mar
1988
Viv Richards
West Indies
11
17
867
146
51
02-Jun
1989
Mark Taylor
Australia
11
20
1219
219
64.15
04-May
1990
Graham Gooch
England
9
17
1264
333
79
04-May
1991
Graham Gooch
England
9
17
1040
174
65
03-May
1992
David Boon
Australia
8
16
812
135
54.13
04-Jan
1993
David Boon
Australia
16
25
1241
164*
62.05
04-Jul
1994
Michael Atherton
England
13
23
1136
144
49.39
04-May
1995
Brian Lara
West Indies
12
20
1222
179
67.88
04-Jun
1996
Alec Stewart
England
8
14
793
170
61
02-May
1997
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka
11
19
1271
340
66.89
03-Jul
1998
Alec Stewart
England
16
31
1222
164
43.64
02-Jul
1999
Sachin Tendulkar
India
10
19
1088
217
68
05-Apr
2000
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Pakistan
12
19
1090
142
60.55
04-Jun
2001
Matthew Hayden
Australia
14
25
1391
203
63.22
05-May
2002
Michael Vaughan
England
14
26
1481
197
61.7
06-Feb
2003
Ricky Ponting
Australia
11
18
1503
257
100.2
06-Apr
2004
Justin Langer
Australia
14
27
1481
215
54.85
05-Apr
2005
Ricky Ponting
Australia
15
28
1544
207
67.13
06-Jun
2006
Mohammad Yousuf
Pakistan
11
19
1788
202
99.33
09-Mar
2007
Jacques Kallis
South Africa
9
17
1210
186
86.42
05-Jun
2008
Graeme Smith
South Africa
15
25
1656
232
72
06-Jun
2009
Thilan Samaraweera
Sri Lanka
11
20
1234
231
72.58
04-Apr
2010
Sachin Tendulkar
India
14
23
1562
214
78.1
07-May
2011
Rahul Dravid
India
12
23
1145
146*
57.25
05-Apr
2012
Michael Clarke
Australia
11
18
1595
329*
106.33
05-Mar
2013
Michael Clarke
Australia
13
26
1093
187
47.52
04-Mar
2014
Kumar Sangakkara
Sri Lanka
11
21
1438
319
71.9
04-Aug
Team wise-distribution of top Tests run-getters in a calendar year
Count
Team
53
England
41
Australia
9
India
8
West Indies
7
South Africa
3
Sri Lanka
2
Pakistan
1
New Zealand
Batsmen from England (53) and Australia (41) lead the table. But in the last 15 years (since 2000) only once has an Englishman lead the table.
Being the top Test-run getter in a calendar year most frequently (twice or more)
Count
Batsman
7
Don Bradman
5
Jack Hobbs
Wally Hammond
4
Ken Barrington
Sunil Gavaskar
3
Arthur Shrewsbury sr
Garry Sobers
Len Hutton
2
Alec Stewart
David Boon
Denis Compton
Graham Gooch
Greg Chappell
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbie Taylor
Viv Richards
JJ Lyons
Michael Clarke
Neil Harvey
Ricky Ponting
Sachin Tendulkar
Victor Trumper
Being among top three Test run-getters in a calendar year most times (four times or more)
Count
Batsman
8
Jack Hobbs
Wally Hammond
7
Don Bradman
Herbert Sutcliffe
Colin Cowdrey
5
Greg Chappell
Herbie Taylor
Ken Barrington
Len Hutton
Peter May
Sunil Gavaskar
4
Archie MacLaren
Alec Stewart
Allan Border
Brian Lara
David Boon
Ted Dexter
Michael Atherton
Monty Noble
Percy McDonnell
RT Ponting
SR Tendulkar
VT Trumper
Don Bradman was the highest run getter for seven calendar years, but never ended as the second-highest or the third-highest run getter in any year. Similarly for Garry Sobers, who was the highest run-getter thrice.
Highest run getter for two or more consecutive years
No. of years
Batsman
Years
3
Don Bradman
1930, 1931 & 1932
2
Arthur Shrewsbury sr
1885 & 1886
JJ Lyons
1890 & 1892
Jack Hobbs
1914 & 1920
Wally Hammond
1928 & 1929
Sunil Gavaskar
1978 & 1979
Graham Gooch
1990 & 1991
David Boon
1992 & 1993
Michael Clarke
2012 & 2013
Very few matches were played when Arthur Shrewsbury and JJ Lyons topped the charts. There was no cricket in the year 1890, while 1915 to 1919 were ruined by World War I.
Most runs in a year to end up as the second highest run getter in that year (1300 or more runs)
Year
Batsman
Team
Mat
Runs
HS
Ave
100
2008
Virender Sehwag
India
14
1462
319
56.23
3
2010
Virender Sehwag
India
14
1422
173
61.82
5
2002
Sachin Tendulkar
India
16
1392
193
55.68
4
1979
Gundappa Viswanath
India
17
1388
179
57.83
5
2005
Matthew Hayden
Australia
15
1380
138
53.07
5
2004
Damien Martyn
Australia
14
1353
161
56.37
6
2003
Brian Lara
West Indies
10
1344
209
74.66
5
2006
Kevin Pietersen
England
14
1343
158
53.72
4
Given the volume of cricket in recent past the number of players scoring over 1,000 runs in a year has increased substantially. As a result Virender Sehwag scored over 1,400 runs in a calendar year twice to end up on the second spot in that year. He has never ended up as the highest-run getter in a calendar year.
Batting average of 100 or more in a calendar year by the highest run getter (Min. 5 test matches)
Year
Batsman
Team
Mat
Runs
HS
Ave
100
1958
Garry Sobers
West Indies
8
1299
365*
144.33
6
1930
Don Bradman
Australia
6
978
334
122.25
4
1948
Don Bradman
Australia
8
1025
201
113.88
5
2012
Michael Clarke
Australia
11
1595
329*
106.33
5
1931
Don Bradman
Australia
7
950
226
105.55
5
1933
Wally Hammond
England
8
934
336*
103.77
3
2003
Ricky Ponting
Australia
11
1503
257
100.2
6
It is to be noted that Sobers had scored only 472 runs from 14 Tests in his first four years of Test cricket (1954 to 1957). In the next year, in 1958, he scored 1,299 runs from eight tests at 144.33 with six centuries.
Lowest batting average to end up as the highest run getter in a year (Min. of 5 Tests)
Year
Player
Team
Mat
Runs
HS
Ave
100s
1909
Warren Bardsley
Australia
5
396
136
39.6
2
1981
Geoff Boycott
England
13
975
137
40.62
3
1977
Greg Chappell
Australia
10
736
121
40.88
2
1998
Alec Stewart
England
16
1222
164
43.64
2
1986
David Gower
England
14
1059
136
44.12
2
1983
Sunil Gavaskar
India
18
1310
236*
46.78
5
2013
Michael Clarke
Australia
13
1093
187
47.52
4
1956
Peter Richardson
England
6
491
117
49.1
2
1994
Michael Atherton
England
13
1136
144
49.39
4
1982
Ian Botham
England
14
1095
208
49.77
3
Clarke, the top run-getter of 2012, averaged 105.55 (one of the highest) and in 2013 averaged 47.52 (one of the lowest).
Highest difference between top two run-getters in a calendar year
Difference
Year
Player
Team
Mat
Runs
HS
Ave
100s
686
1976
Viv Richards
West Indies
11
1710
291
90
7
Sunil Gavaskar
India
11
1024
156
53.89
4
615
1958
Garry Sobers
West Indies
8
1299
365*
144.33
6
Conrad Hunte
West Indies
8
684
260
52.61
3
Rohan Kanhai
West Indies
8
684
256
52.61
1
510
1933
Wally Hammond
England
8
934
336*
103.77
3
Douglas Jardine
England
7
424
127
42.4
1
445
1974
Dennis Amiss
England
13
1379
262*
68.95
5
Tony Greig
England
14
934
148
44.47
4
445
2006
Mohammad Yousuf
Pakistan
11
1788
202
99.33
9
Kevin Pietersen
England
14
1343
158
53.72
4
424
1963
Ken Barrington
England
11
1015
132*
53.42
3
Ted Dexter
England
11
591
73
31.1
0
(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)