5 Test records that are nearly impossible to break

Cricket is one of the most popular games in the few countries where it is being followed. Even though it falls short in the number of member countries actively playing the game, people go fanatically crazy about it wherever it is played.

Cricket has three formats (Tests, ODIs and T20s), with the newest baby being the T10 format. But the one which stands tall as the ultimate test of mettle is the purest form of cricket - Test matches.

Therefore, it would be worth looking at some existing international Test cricket records accumulated over the years which might be almost impossible to break for many more years to come.

Here are five such records:

5. Jacques Kallis – 10,000 runs and 250 wickets

Jacques Kallis

In any game, number of skill sets matters a great deal; the more skill sets you have, the more productive you will be.

Now an all-rounder is someone who is automatically equipped with multiple skill sets - he can do both batting and bowling with ease. The game has gifted a lot of all-rounders to its fans through the years, and Jacques Kallis, who played for South Africa, is arguably the best all-rounder of all time.

Batting with strong defense and bowling with control and variation, Kallis has 45 centuries and 5 five-wicket hauls to his name from 166 Test matches. He has amassed 13,289 runs at an average of 55 and 292 wickets at an average of 32 in Tests, and in ODIs his numbers are 11,579 runs and 273 wickets.

Kallis is the only all-rounder to register the double of more than 10,000 runs and 250 wickets in Tests, and for good measure he also achieved that feat in ODIs. Going by the current trends, it would be nearly impossible to surpass the bar set by him.

4. Muttiah Muralitharan – Highest wicket taker ever

Muttiah Muralitharan

In a career which spanned over 2 decades for Sri Lanka, there aren’t many stones left unturned for the legendary off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. He has taken 800 Test wickets from 133 matches at an average of 22 per wicket and with 67 five wicket hauls. His nearest competitor Shane Warne has around 100 wickets fewer than him but played 12 matches more.

Among the current active players only James Anderson (565 wickets) and Dale Steyn (421) have more than 400 wickets. However, they are 36 and 35 years old respectively.; the possibility of them breaching the record is nearly impossible.

3. Sachin Tendulkar – Most Test matches by any player

The cricket record books would be incomplete without the mention of Sachin Tendulkar. You just cannot afford to omit the name of this once-in-a-lifetime player from any list of impossible cricket feats.

Among Tendulkar's myriad achievements, one of the most astounding aspects was the longevity of his international career. It spanned from 1989 to 2013; that’s about two and a half decades.

During this marathon, he played the most number of Test matches ever - 200! That's 32 Tests more than his nearest competitor, Ricky Ponting.

Among the current players, it is James Anderson (145) and Stuart Broad (124) who are in the run. But considering the age of the players and frequency of Test matches being played, it would be nearly impossible for them to reach this record.

2. Mark Boucher – Highest number of catches

Mark Boucher

Fielding is a super-important aspect of the game. As they say, catches win matches. And the wicketkeeper is easily in the best position to take catches in cricket.

Mark Boucher is the player to take the highest number of catches in Test cricket - 532! He achieved that number from 147 Tests.

In an unfortunate incident, Boucher hurt his left eye and had to prematurely retire from all forms of the game. But he still managed to put daylight between him and everyone else.

Boucher's nearest competitor Adam Gilchrist has only 379 catches to his name.

1. Don Bradman – Best batting average

This was a no-brainer. Even though many of us have not seen the Don batting, we are aware of this unbeatable record which will stand tall for as long as the game lives.

The nearest competitor to Bradman is Steven Smith, who is 38 runs short per innings! Even in the age where the game is extremely batsman-friendly and there is a scarcity of quality bowlers, nobody has come near this feat which was achieved before the evolution of safety gear in cricket.

As the popular story goes, had Bradman managed to get just 4 runs in his final innings, he would have been the only person with a three figure average. But unfortunately for him, he got out on a duck.