New Zealand’s 26 all out remains the lowest Test innings total
New Zealand’s 26 is the lowest Test innings total. See the lowest scores, West Indies’ 27 in 2025, India’s 36/9 and the women’s record.
The lowest team innings score in Test cricket is New Zealand’s 26 all out against England at Eden Park, Auckland, on 28 March 1955. NZ History confirms the date of the collapse. It remains the men’s record as of 9 October 2026. West Indies came within one run of it when they were dismissed for 27 against Australia in July 2025. ESPNcricinfo’s lowest-totals table lists both innings at the top.
Here, “lowest score” means a team’s total in one innings, including extras, when the side was dismissed or had no further batter available—not a batter’s score or a team’s combined runs across a match. An individual can score zero; small successful chases, declarations and unfinished innings are excluded from this comparison.
The lowest men’s Test innings totals
These are the nine men’s Test innings below 40 runs in the lowest-totals record table checked on 9 October 2026. Tied totals are separate innings, not separate score levels.
| Team | Total | Opposition | Ground | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 26 all out | England | Eden Park, Auckland | 1955 |
| West Indies | 27 all out | Australia | Sabina Park, Kingston | 2025 |
| South Africa | 30 all out | England | St George’s Park, now Gqeberha | 1896 |
| South Africa | 30 all out | England | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 1924 |
| South Africa | 35 all out | England | Newlands, Cape Town | 1899 |
| South Africa | 36 all out | Australia | MCG, Melbourne | 1932 |
| Australia | 36 all out | England | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 1902 |
| India | 36/9, innings closed | Australia | Adelaide Oval | 2020 |
| Ireland | 38 all out | England | Lord’s, London | 2019 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo, lowest men’s Test innings totals. India’s innings needs the qualification below.
How New Zealand were dismissed for 26
The match was not one-sided from the start. New Zealand made 200 in their first innings and dismissed England for 246, conceding a lead of only 46. Their second innings then lasted 27 overs and produced 26 runs, leaving England winners by an innings and 20 runs. The Test began on 25 March; the record collapse occurred on 28 March. The archived scorecard gives the full sequence.
Bert Sutcliffe top-scored with 11, followed by captain Geoff Rabone with seven and Harry Cave with five. New Zealand received no extras. England shared the wickets among four bowlers: Bob Appleyard took 4/7, Brian Statham 3/9, Frank Tyson 2/10 and Johnny Wardle 1/0. Wardle’s five overs were all maidens. Scorecard
Opposition and preparation matter to the interpretation. England had just won the Ashes 3–1. In The Cricket Monthly’s retrospective, Tyson recalled that the Eden Park pitch helped seam bowling, while John Reid described New Zealand’s limited recent first-class preparation. That is useful context, not proof that conditions alone explain 26. “26 all out”
West Indies’ 27—and why India’s 36 was 36/9
On 14 July 2025, West Indies were bowled out for 27 chasing 204 in the day-night Kingston Test. Mitchell Starc took 6/9, and Scott Boland claimed a hat-trick as West Indies slipped from 26/6 to 26/9. One further run kept New Zealand’s record intact; Australia won by 176 runs. Kingston scorecard
The one-run gap hides a substantial difference in innings length: West Indies lasted 14.3 overs—87 legal balls—against New Zealand’s 27 six-ball overs, or 162 balls. These are conversions of the overs recorded in the scorecards, not decimal calculations: 14.3 means 14 overs plus three balls. Lowest total and shortest innings are different records.
India’s famous 36 at Adelaide on 19 December 2020 also belongs in the low-totals list, but it was 36/9, not ten wickets lost. Mohammed Shami retired hurt and the innings closed. Josh Hazlewood took 5/8 and Pat Cummins 4/21—the nine wickets that actually fell. Adelaide scorecard
An innings can be completed without ten dismissals: MCC’s Law 13.3.2 covers retirement when no further batter is available.
The women’s Test benchmark
The lowest women’s Test innings total is England’s 35 against Australia at Junction Oval, Melbourne, in the match beginning 21 February 1958. Australia had made only 38 in their first innings, and the match was drawn. ESPNcricinfo’s women’s record table
Keep that record separate from the men’s ranking. The numbers establish which innings were smallest; they do not, by themselves, rank batting ability across different opposition, conditions and eras. For the distinctions between innings, match and career totals, see how Test cricket runs are counted.