The Ashes series, aka Australia vs England Test series, over the past few decades, has witnessed some excelling batting performances. Legends like Sir Donald Bradman, Wally Hammond, Mark Taylor, Allan Border, etc have made the series what it is today with their passion, determination, and skill.
The list below discusses the top batsmen with the highest run score in an Ashes series. Keep scrolling to read more such stories, news, and ashes cricket reviews.
- Alastair Cook (766 Runs in 7 Innings)
Alastair Cook is England’s undisputed king of Test cricket with the highest number of Test runs and Test centuries to his name. Cook gave an outstanding performance in the 2010-11 series just after two years of his debut. He scored 766 runs in five Tests at an impressive average of 127.66 and a strike rate of 53.26, including three centuries and two half-centuries. Taylor made a double century (235) in the second innings of the first Test and scored another two centuries in the first innings of the second (148) and fifth (189) Test, leading England to the victory with a 3-1 series score.
- Steve Smith (774 Runs in 7 Innings)
Starting his career as a spinner, Smith developed himself to be one of the best batting talents in Australia. He made his Ashes debut in 2010, and despite his controversial career, he has given some memorable performances in the series.
His best performance of the Ashes series came during the 2019 tour. Smith dominated the series by hitting a century in both innings of the first Test and scored a double century in the first innings of the third Test. In addition to the four hot one-hundreds, Smith scored three half-centuries in the entire series.
Even after facing severe backlash from the public after his year-long break, Smith went on to score 774 runs in just four matches at an outstanding average of 110.57 and a strike rate of 64.71 and silenced the haters. In his 32 matches in the Ashes series, Smith has scored over 3000 runs at an average of 59.68, including eleven centuries and eleven half-centuries.
- Sir Donald Bradman (810 Runs in 9 Innings)
Next on the list is the infamous former Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman. His destructive batting strokes during the 1936/37 Ashes series destroyed some of the best bowling line-ups of England and helped Australia register a comfortable 3-2 series win against the Englishmen.
He scored over 810 runs at an impressive average of 90 and a strike rate of 65.48.
Bradman was off to a slow start but was unstoppable after the third Test in the series. He made over a double century in the second innings of the third Test(270), scored another double century in the second innings of the fourth Test (212), and then added another century (169) in the final Test match of the series.
- Mark Taylor (839 Runs in 11 Innings)
An energetic fielder and an even better batsman, Mark Anthony Taylor is the former cricket legend of Australia who made his debut in the Ashes series in 1989. Having made his debut in international cricket earlier that year, expectations were not very high for the young Taylor. But he proved everyone wrong by solidifying his foot in the game pretty early. Taylor scored his first century (136) in the opening match of the series at an average of 43.17 and scored a double century (219) in the first innings of the fifth Test. In addition to the three centuries, Taylor made five half-centuries in the entire course of the series. He scored 839 runs in six Tests against England at an average of 83.90 and a strike rate of 44.96. His consistent performance throughout the series helped Australia register a comfortable 4-0 series win.
Taylor played for the Ashes series till 1999, and he scored 2496 runs in 33 matches at an average of 42.30, including six centuries and 15 half-centuries.
- Wally Hammond (905 Runs in 9 Innings)
The second on the list is the supremely stylish and fearless power hitter from England, Walter Reginald Hammond. A front-foot master who was marvelous with his cover-drive shots played in the series from 1928 to 1947. In his two-decade-long Ashes career, he made 2852 runs in 33 matches at an average of 51.85, including nine centuries and seven half-centuries.
His best performance in the Ashes was during the 1928-29 series, where he amassed 905 runs in five Test matches against Australia. He made this score at an impressive average of 113.12 and a strike rate of 35.89 and helped England lift the Ashes trophy in 1928. Hammond was unstoppable with his batting attacks. He scored two double centuries in the first innings of the second (251) and third (200) Test. Hammond went on to score two more centuries in the first (119) and second (177) innings of the fourth Test against Australia.
- Sir Donald Bradman (947 Runs in 7 Innings)
The the highest run scorer in the history of an Ashes series is the former Australian cricketing legend, Sir Donald George Bradman. His passion for the sport, utter determination, and outstanding skills made him a class apart in international cricket. The right-handed batsman was a nightmare for the bowlers of the opposing teams and was popular as ‘Don’ in Test cricket during the 1930s and 40s.
He was just 21 years old when he scored a total of 947 runs in 5 Test matches at an unbelievable average of 139.15 and a strike rate of 61.64, including four centuries. His incredible form helped Australia lift the Ashes trophy in 1930.
He also holds several other records in the Ashes series, including the player with the highest number of runs in the series, with 5028 runs to his name. He made this score at an average of just below 90. He also holds the title for the player with the maximum number of centuries (19), the highest individual score (334), and the highest average (89.78) in the history of the series.
