Captain Wiaan Mulder etched his name into the history books with a monumental unbeaten 367 not out on day two of the second Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday, 07 July.
Mulder surpasses Hashim Amla’s record
Mulder’s marathon knock off 334 balls (49 fours and four sixes) is now the highest individual score by a South African in Test cricket, surpassing the previous mark of 311* set by Hashim Amla against England at The Oval in 2012.
Batting at number three, his record-breaking performance spanned one and a half days, with his triple century coming off just 297 balls, the second-fastest 300 in Test history. Virender Sehwag of India is the fastest to 300 with his knock coming off 278 balls.
The 27-year-old, who is the stand-in captain for the match, also passed the record for the highest score in his first Test as captain and now holds the record for the highest score by a South African skipper in Test cricket. His 367* also ranks among the top five highest individual scores in Test history.
Those ahead of him are Mahela Jayawardene with 374, Brian Lara 375, Matthew Hayden 380 and Lara again with 400 not out.
Mulder- Special to go past Amla’s record
Speaking at the press conference at the end of play on day two, Mulder said it was special to go past Amla’s record of 311 not out.
I worked a little bit with Hash over the last couple years. He’s obviously a hall of famer so truly special firstly to go past his record but I always feel like a lot of the legends deserve certain accolades so I’m no means close to a legend so someone like Hash deserves to hold that record but I mean I guess it was my destiny and ja, take it as it comes.
Respecting the game is really important
Mulder was 33 runs short of equalling Lara’s record of 400 not out, a record that has stood since 2004. However, with so much time still left in the test, South Africa declared their 1 st innings on 626 for five at lunch on day two, leaving Mulder on 367 not out.
For Mulder, respecting the game and playing for his team was more important.
Well I think the first point was to keep the main thing and that is winning the test match. I felt like we were in a good position to do that and I didn’t have to bat any longer and also I think respect in the game is really important, letting someone like Brian Lara keep his record. He’s one of the greatest to ever play the game so he deserves that. I think we still in a great position to win the game and that’s all that matters.
Proteas lead series
The Proteas currently hold a 1-0 lead in the two-match series with their victory in the first Test bringing them level with South Africa’s all-time record of nine consecutive Test wins, a milestone first set between March 2002 and May 2003.
A win in the second Test would see them surpass that record and reinforce a dominant run of form in the longest format.
More good news for Proteas
Meanwhile Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada, who starred for the Proteas in their World Test Championship Final win against Australia last month have been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month awards, joining Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka on the men's shortlist.
Markram was named Player of the Match in the final after his 136 off 207 balls in the 2 nd innings while Rabada grabbed nine wickets at an average of 12.22.
