Sri Lanka Spinner Sets Unwanted Record with Worst Test Figures

ISLAMABAD: In the midst of a dismal performance, Nishan Peiris made history at Galle, not for his bowling prowess, but for the unenviable record of being the worst Test innings bowler in Sri Lanka’s cricket history.

His lacklustre display also earned him the distinction of having the sixth-worst bowling figures in Test cricket history, while it was the second-worst against Australia and the third-worst within Sri Lanka’s own Test cricket legacy.

The Australian batters plundered runs from the onset after Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat in the first Test of the two-match series, at the Galle International Stadium.

Smith himself reached 10,000 Test runs en route to 141, while Usman Khawaja became the oldest Australian to hit a Test double hundred away from home. Josh Inglis also joined the fun, hitting the second-fastest hundred by a Test debutant. Australia eventually declared on 654-6, the highest score in all first-class cricket for which only four bowlers were used.

The bowlers naturally had abysmal returns to show. Prabath Jayasuriya toiled for 60 overs to take 3-193, while Jeffrey Vandersay got 3-182 in 38 overs. Asitha Fernando, the lone seamer, was used for only 15 overs, but they went for 77.

Where does Peiris’ spell rank among the worst in Test cricket?

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Nishan Peiris suffered the worst. He went wicketless for his 41 overs, conceding 189 runs in the process. This is now the most runs conceded by a Sri Lankan in a Test innings without taking a wicket.

Peiris broke Lahiru Kumara’s “record” (0-164 in 25 overs against New Zealand at Wellington in 2022-23).

Peiris’s figures are also the sixth-worst in history, the second-worst against Australia, and the third-worst in Sri Lanka.

Here’s the data formatted into a clear table:

– Khan Mohammad’s 0-260 (largely because two Pakistan bowlers broke down during that innings) is also the most expensive wicketless spell in first-class cricket.