South Africa’s captain Wiaan Mulder came remarkably close to breaking the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket.
Making his debut as captain for South Africa, Mulder scored an impressive 367 runs in the match against Zimbabwe.
This total left him just 33 runs short of the iconic 400 scored by legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara in 2004.
However, the 27-year-old chose to declare South Africa’s first innings at 626-5, foregoing the opportunity to chase one of the most prestigious records in the history of the game.
Despite not breaking the record, Mulder’s score still stands as one of the highest individual totals in cricket history. No South African player had ever reached such heights before. In fact, it had been nearly 20 years since anyone had achieved a score this high.
Mulder became only the second South African to record a triple-century in Test cricket. The only other was Hashim Amla, who scored 311 not out against England in 2012.
Mulder could have attempted to surpass the record with relative ease, but perhaps he chose not to out of respect for Brian Lara.