Top 5 Highest Scores in England v India Test Matches played in England

Geoff Boycott's 246 not out v India at Headingley in 1967

Geoffrey Boycott

For most batters, a score of 246 not out would be lauded. For Geoff Boycott, it lead to being dropped from the England team. The mammoth innings spanned all of the first day of the First Test at Headingley in 1967. Boycott's home ground was subjected to a lesson in interminable dullness from the opener. The innings lasted 573 minutes, which equates to well into the second day, as Boycott frustrated the Indian bowlers and anyone else watching. Only the most stoic of Yorkshiremen would have appreciated such an innings.

Boycott's form coming into the First Test was dire and his resolve was to bat his way back into form. The three sessions yielded 25, 50 and 31 runs as India's bowling attack, including Bishen Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and EAS Prasanna, were thwarted by Boycott's attritional batting. Having been asked by the selectors to play with more flair, the antithesis was on show.

The innings was supported by partnerships with Ken Barrington (139), Tom Graveney (107) and Basil D'Oliviera (252) before England captain Brian Close declared at 550/4. England won the match by six wickets but Boycott was dropped from the team. He was recalled for the Third Test at Edgbaston.