Wiaan Mulder opens up on his conversation with Brian Lara after his declaration on 367*
South Africa’s stand-in captain, Wiaan Mulder, stood on the cusp of history at the lunch break on Day 2 of the second Test against Zimbabwe. He could have become just the second batter in the history of the game to score 400 in a single Test innings. He had the chance of surpassing Brian Lara to register the highest individual score in Test cricket. However, it was not to be as he chose to declare the innings when he was batting on 367 not out.
The choice to declare at 626/5 polarised several fans and cricket pundits alike. Chris Gayle and Ben Stokes have already said that Mulder will not get another opportunity to break the record and score 400. Days after the conclusion of the second Test against Zimbabwe, Wiaan Mulder has revealed that he spoke to Brian Lara, and the former West Indies captain told him that he should have tried to break the record in Bulawayo.
“Now that things have settled a little bit, I’ve chatted a little bit to Brian Lara. He said to me I’m creating my own legacy, and I should have gone for it. He said records are there to be broken and he wishes that if I’m ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had,” Mulder told SuperSport.
“That was an interesting point of view from his side, but I still believe I did the right thing and respecting the game is the most important part for me,” he added.
Earlier, after declaring the innings, Mulder said that Brian Lara, a legend of the game, deserves to keep the record. He also stated that he spoke to the South African head coach and told him how he should declare the innings and let Lara keep the record. During his knock of 367 not out, Wiaan Mulder registered the highest individual score for South Africa. He is now in the fifth spot on the list of the highest individual scores in Test cricket.
Lara famously set the record for the highest individual Test score twice—first scoring 375 against England in 1994, which was later surpassed by Australia’s Matthew Hayden (380 against Zimbabwe in 2003), before reclaiming it with his unbeaten 400 a year later. The fourth-highest Test score belongs to Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene, who made 374 against South Africa in 2006.
Wiaan Mulder’s triple century was only the second in South African history, after Hashim Amla’s unbeaten 311 against England at The Oval in 2012. Remarkably, Mulder reached 300 off just 297 balls, making it the second-fastest triple century in Test cricket—behind only Virender Sehwag’s 278-ball effort against South Africa in 2008.
While Mulder did not break Lara’s record, he achieved the milestone for the highest score by a batter in an away Test match. The previous record belonged to Pakistan’s Hanif Mohammad, who has hit 337 during the Barbados Test against the West Indies in 1958.
Highest individual scores in away Tests:
- 367* – Wiaan Mulder (SA) vs ZIM, Bulawayo, 2025
- 337 – Hanif Mohammad (PAK) vs WI, Barbados, 1958
- 336* – Wally Hammond (ENG) vs NZ, Auckland, 1933
- 334* – Mark Taylor (AUS) vs PAK, Peshawar, 1998
- 334 – Sir Don Bradman (AUS) vs ENG, Headingley, 1930
South Africa eventually went on to win the Test against Zimbabwe inside three days, by an innings and 236 runs
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