List of Shortest ever Test matches

Men's Test matches are scheduled to be played over five days, but cricket is a funny game. Sometimes, neither side wins after five days and other times, matches can be over in a flash. Here is a list of all men's Tests that have been completed inside two days. 

The England vs West Indies Test at Lord's in July 2024 is heading for a swift ending, with the hosts fimly on top. The match has narrowly avoided finishing in two days, but will likely be over by Day 3. Such contests have been rare in England, at least post-World War II.

Out of 25 men's Tests to finish in two days, nine have been in England with the last one happening in August 2000. That remains the only two-day Test to take place in the country since 1921. South Africa has hosted eight two-day Tests, and Australia and India two each. The 1888-89 season stands out for producing five two-day Tests in a row, and six in seven matches.

The latest instance of a men's Test match finishing in two days came in January 2024, as India defeated South Africa by seven wickets in Cape Town.

List of men's Test matches to finish in two days

  • August 28, 1882: Australia 63 (Barlow 5-19) & 122 (Massie 55) BEAT England 101 (Spofforth 7-46) & 77 (Spofforth 7-44) by seven runs
  • July 16, 1888: Australia 116 (Peel 4-36) & 60 (Peel 4-14) BEAT England 53 (Turner 5-27) & 62 (Ferris 5-26) by 61 runs
  • August 13, 1888: Australia 80 (Briggs 5-25) & 100 (Barnes 5-32) LOST to England 317 (Abel 70) by an innings and 137 runs
  • August 30, 1888: England 172 (Turner 5-86) BEAT Australia 81 (Peel 7-31) & 70 (Peel 4-37) by an innings and 21 runs
  • March 12, 1889: South Africa 84 (Smith 5-19) & 129 (Fothergill 4-19) LOST to England 148 (Rose-Innes 5-43) & 67-2 (Abel 23*) by eight wickets
  • March 25, 1889: England 292 (Abel 120) BEAT South Africa 47 (Briggs 7-17) & 43 (Briggs 8-11) by an innings and 202 runs
  • August 11, 1890: Australia 92 (Martin 6-50) & 102 (Martin 6-52) LOST to England 100 (Ferris 4-25) & 95-8 (Read 35) by two wickets
  • February 13, 1896: England 185 (Middleton 5-64) & 226 (Woods 53) BEAT South Africa 93 (Lohmann 7-38) & 30 (Lohmann 8-7) by 288 runs
  • March 21, 1896: South Africa 115 (Lohmann 7-42) & 117 (Hill 4-8) LOST to England 265 (Hill 124) by an innings and 33 runs
  • May 27, 1912: Australia 448 (Bardsley 121) BEAT South Africa 265 (Faulkner 122*) & 95 (Kelleway 5-33) by an innings and 88 runs
  • August 12, 1912: South Africa 95 (Barnes 5-28) & 93 (Barnes 8-29) LOST to England 176 (Hobbs 68) & 14-0 (Hobbs 9*) by 10 wickets
  • May 28, 1921: England 112 (Gregory 6-58) & 147 (McDonald 5-32) LOST to Australia 232 (Bardsley 66) & 30-0 (Macartney 22*) by 10 wickets
  • February 13, 1931: West Indies 99 (Ironmonger 7-23) & 107 (Fairfax 4-31) LOST to Australia 328-8d (Bradman 152) by an innings and 122 runs
  • February 15, 1936: South Africa 157 (O'Reilly 5-20) & 98 (Grimmett 7-40) LOST to Australia 439 (Fingleton 108) by an innings and 84 runs
  • March 29, 1946: New Zealand 42 (O'Reilly 5-14) & 54 (O'Reilly 3-19) LOST to Australia 199-8d (Barnes 54) by an innings and 103 runs
  • August 17, 2000: West Indies 172 (White 5-57) & 61 (Caddick 5-14) LOST to England 272 (Vaughan 76) by an innings and 39 runs
  • October 11, 2002: Pakistan 59 (Warne 4-11) & 53 (Warne 4-13) LOST to Australia 310 (Hayden 119) by an innings and 198 runs
  • March 4, 2005: Zimbabwe 54 (Kallis 4-13) & 265 (Ebrahim 72) LOST to South Africa 340-3d (Smith 121) by an innings and 21 runs
  • August 7, 2005: New Zealand 452-9d (Vettori 127) BEAT Zimbabwe 59 (Franklin 3-11) & 99 (Vettori 4-28) by an innings and 294 runs
  • December 26, 2017: South Africa 309-9d (Markram 125) BEAT Zimbabwe 68 (Morkel 5-21) & 121 (Maharaj 5-29) by an innings and 120 runs
  • June 14, 2018: India 474 (Dhawan 107) BEAT Afghanistan 109 (Ashwin 4-27) & 103 (Jadeja 4-17) by an innings and 262 runs
  • February 24, 2021: England 112 (Patel 6-38) & 81 (Patel 5-32) LOST to India 145 (Root 5-8) & 49-0 (Sharma 25*) by 10 wickets
  • March 2, 2021: Afghanistan 131 (Muzarabani 4-48) & 135 (Zadran 76) LOST to Zimbabwe 250 (Williams 105) & 17-0 (Kasuza 11*) by 10 wickets
  • December 17, 2022: South Africa 152 (Verreynne 64) & 99 (Cummins 5-42) LOST to Australia 218 (Head 92) & 35-4 (Rabada 4-13) by six wickets
  • January 3, 2024: South Africa 55 (Siraj 6-15) & 176 (Markram 106) LOST to India 153 (Kohli 46) & 80-3 (Jaiswal 28) by seven wickets

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