Graham Gooch scored 456 runs across two innings in 1990, the highest individual aggregate in a men’s cricket Test; rugby league Tests use points instead.

Graham Gooch holds the record for the most runs by one player across a men’s cricket Test match. He scored 456 for England against India at Lord’s in 1990: 333 in the first innings and 123 in the second.

That is the short answer to “most runs in a Test match.” It is a cricket record, however—not an international rugby league scoring record.

The cricket record

Gooch’s match aggregate came in the first Test between England and India, played from 26 to 31 July 1990. The full scorecard records his innings of 333 and 123:

333 + 123 = 456 runs

England scored 653 for four declared and 272 for four declared, then won by 247 runs. Gooch was named player of the match.

As of 29 September 2026, the leading individual aggregates in men’s Test matches are:

Rank	Player	Innings	Match total
1	Graham Gooch	333 and 123	456
2	Shubman Gill	269 and 161	430
3	Mark Taylor	334 not out and 92	426
4	Kumar Sangakkara	319 and 105	424
5	Brian Lara	400 not out; no second innings	400

The Test batting record table lists Gill second after his 430 against England in 2025, still 26 runs short of Gooch.

This record is an aggregate across the whole match, not the highest score in one innings. The single-innings men’s Test record is Lara’s 400 not out for the West Indies against England in 2004.

Why “runs” means something else in rugby league

“Test match” also describes senior international rugby league, but its scoring record uses points, not runs. Section 6 of the 2026 International Rugby League Laws of the Game awards four points for a try, two for a conversion or penalty goal, and one for a drop goal.

A rugby league statistics service may nevertheless report runs, carries or run metres. These describe ball-carrying work rather than points scored, and providers may define or label them differently:

• Runs or carries generally count credited ball carries.
• Run metres record the distance credited on those carries.
• Points come from tries and goals.
• Test points belong only in the ledger of matches treated as internationals by the record being used.

For example, NRL Stats credited Clint Gutherson with 369 run metres from 34 carries in a 2020 club match, according to an NRL report on the performance. Those were running statistics from an NRL game, not points or an international Test record.

There is therefore no sound all-era rugby league answer to “most runs in a Test” unless the question defines the metric—carries or metres—and names the database and coverage period. Modern player-tracking totals cannot simply be compared with Tests from periods for which equivalent data were not collected or preserved.

For a rugby league record, ask instead for the most points, tries, carries or run metres in a recognized Test. Keep other representative competitions separate too: State of Origin appearances are not Test caps. The rugby league terms glossary explains the wider vocabulary.