When New Zealand were bowled out for 26, the lowest Test total ever

It remains the lowest Test score by any team, even 65 years later.It was the second Test match of the series at Auckland and the match was turning out to be quite an interesting one.

There is no denying the fact that New Zealand has quietly grown as one of the finest cricketing teams of the current generation. Yes, the transformation that started under the captaincy of Brendon McCullum has come to fruition under the stewardship of Kane Williamson. They aren’t world beaters just yet, but are a major force to reckon with in international cricket.

Representative photo. (Getty Images)

The Black Caps have reached the final of two back to back World Cup finals, the most recent one ending in a heartbreaking loss to England, and are solid Test team in home conditions. But there was a time when the Kiwis were among the minnows of international cricket. In March 1955, New Zealand were bowled out for just 26 runs in a Test match against England.

It remains the lowest Test score by any team, even 65 years later.It was the second Test match of the series at Auckland and the match was turning out to be quite an interesting one. The hosts had made 200 in the first innings on a lively pitch and then managed to restrict England to 246. But little did they know that a second innings fightback was nowhere on the cards.

Bob Appleyard picked four wickets while Brian Statham picked three in the second innings as the Kiwis fell like a house of cards. Both bowlers finishing with 7 wickets in the match.

The humiliation was such that only opener Bert Sutcliffe (11) managed to reach double figures. Four batsmen were dismissed for a duck while one remained unbeaten on 0.

It is still considered by New Zealand cricket fans as the darkest day in the history of cricket in the island nation.

“Frankly, as a New Zealand fan we’d be grateful for anyone to take this record away from us,” Paul Ford, co-founder of Kiwi cricket supporters’ group The Beige Brigade, told AFP.

“It’s ignominious, it’s shameful. It would be great if someone came along and scored 25 or fewer.”

In 2018 New Zealand had a rare opportunity of paying their tormentors back in the same coin. England were teetering at 23/8 in a day and night Test at Auckland and the Kiwis had a chance to erase their name from the historybooks. But England’s tail wagged and they avoided the record of the lowest total, eventually being dismissed for 58.