The most Test matches played by a cricketer is 200, a record held by former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. He has also played the most matches in international cricket, featuring in 464 matches for India.
Widely regarded as the greatest batter of all time, Sachin made his debut in 1989 and retired in his 200th match against the West Indies. In his final match, he registered a score of 74 with the bat, and India won the match by an innings and 126 runs.
England fast bowler James Anderson is second on this list with 177 Test matches. Anderson, who made his Test debut in 2002, is now the most-capped English player and the most-capped bowler of all time. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Anderson is the first fast bowler to play 150 matches or more in this format. He is also among the top-five wicket-takers in 2022 with 36 scalps in 9 Test matches.
Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting, hailed as one of the greatest players of all time in the format, is next on the list for the most number of Tests, alongside Steve Waugh. Both these former captains played in 168 matches each for Australia.
Ponting made his debut against Sri Lanka in 1995 and became the most successful captain in Test cricket.
Graeme Smith holds the unique record of playing the most matches in a career as a captain. From the 109 Test matches that Smith captained South Africa between 2002 and 2014, he has broken multiple records in captaincy along the way.
Jacques Kallis also features in the list of cricketers who played in most Test matches. He played 166 matches for South Africa, the most by a cricketer from his country.
Among cricketers still active in 2022, Joe Root holds the record for most matches in Tests. He has featured in 126 Tests and is the only player in the current crop to have scored more than 10,000 runs in the format.
Steve Smith and Virat Kohli are the other active players who have played more than 100 Tests for their country and are closing in on 10,000 runs in the format.
Most Test matches played: By Player
Sachin Tendulkar has played the most Test matches as a player. He is also the only player worldwide to play 200 Test matches. James Anderson is the only other player to turn out in more than 175 Test matches. The England fast bowler has played 177 matches, while Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh are third on the list, with 168 Test appearances.
Most Test matches played: By Team
England has set the record for the highest Test matches played as a team. They have played 1,057 Tests and are the only team to play more than 1,000 matches in the longest format.
| Team | Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw |
| England | 1877-2022 | 1057 | 386 | 317 | 0 | 354 |
| Australia | 1877-2022 | 846 | 402 | 227 | 2 | 215 |
| West Indies | 1928-2022 | 567 | 181 | 206 | 1 | 179 |
| India | 1932-2022 | 564 | 168 | 174 | 1 | 220 |
| New Zealand | 1930-2022 | 458 | 109 | 181 | 0 | 168 |
| South Africa | 1889-2022 | 455 | 175 | 156 | 0 | 124 |
| Pakistan | 1952-2022 | 448 | 146 | 138 | 0 | 164 |
| Sri Lanka | 1982-2022 | 307 | 98 | 117 | 0 | 92 |
| Bangladesh | 2000-2022 | 135 | 16 | 100 | 0 | 18 |
| Zimbabwe | 1992-2021 | 115 | 13 | 74 | 0 | 28 |
Which players have been involved in most Test cricket wins?
Ricky Ponting has been involved in the highest Test cricket wins, being a part of 108 victories. He is the only player to have been a part of more than 100 Test wins in their career. The top four players on the list are from Australia – Ponting is followed by Shane Warne (92), Steve Waugh (86) and Glenn McGrath (84) to register the most wins in Tests.
Most Test matches played: As Captain
Graeme Smith has captained the highest matches by a player in Test cricket – playing 109 games. No other player has led their country in more than 100 Test matches.
FAQs
Who has played the most ODI matches in cricket?
Sachin Tendulkar has played the most ODI matches. He played 463 ODIs in his playing career.
Who is the Indian with the most Test matches?
Sachin Tendulkar is the Indian with the highest Test matches, representing the country 200 times in this format.
Who has scored the most Test runs?
Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs in Test cricket.
Most Test matches played by a bowler
James Anderson has played the most Test matches as a bowler.
Who has the most Tests as a captain
Graeme Smith has the most Tests as a captain.
Who has the most Test matches played for Pakistan?
Javed Miandad has played the most Test matches for Pakistan, having represented them 124 times.
