- July 16, 2025
Cricket is a game of magnificent centuries and spectacular finishes–but now and again, there is absolute chaos involved. We are talking about those infamous days when an entire batting order is ripping at the seams, like a pack of cards, with bewildered spectators, and the scoreboards barely ticking along. Whether it is extreme pace bowling, downright terrible pitches, or just a tremendous bit of luck, these -37 totals will forever be embedded in cricket folklore.
Batting Freefall: How an Innings Unravels in a Blink
What makes low totals so thrilling (and sometimes agonizing) is just how quickly the batting side capitulates. Take the West Indies 27 all out in 2025—the second-lowest of all time. Chasing a daunting 204, the batsmen seemed to put up no real fight. Mitchell Starc from Australia made this episode especially painful with a crushing spell of bowling—he took six wickets at will.
Although the collapses were caused by poor batting, there was also excellent bowling, as well as helping conditions for the bowlers’ team. It was evident the West Indies innings batsmen were in a lot of pressure and could not handle the pace of the bowling even with the swing that occurred with the conditions, but the most astounding statistic was that each West Indies innings created only single figure batsmen and, just as astounding, was that seven of the batsmen did not score any runs.
History Repeats Itself: South Africa and England’s Notorious Low Scores
Curiously, there are historic match-ups for South Africa and England in the list of lowest totals, which reinforces that collapses have existed for more than a century. South Africa’s lowest was 35 all out in 1899 and 30 all out in 1924, both delivered by ruthless English bowling attacks, clearly, even any underdog could come to be dismantled at will by competent bowling exploiting conditions.
The context is what makes these historical games so engaging, with no gear, open fields, and a different style of play. The theatre of the fall, every batsman is out, and the team is in a downward spiral, exists in the present. And then the hallucinatory fact that an unreal amount of runs were extras in scores so low (for example, 11 of 30 in 1924) points out the pressure is getting to everyone in the game and brings a lot of weirdness to the proceedings.
That historical perspective has given us a sharper view of the West Indies’ collapse in 2025, as it puts it into the context of some of the greatest moments in the history of the game, which shows cricket’s randomness will always remain.
Lowest Ever: The Infamous New Zealand Collapse of 1955
On the – worst – end of this list is New Zealand’s infamous 26 all out against England at Auckland, 1955. The total of 26 is the imperishable rock bottom of Test innings totals and a narrative that comes with a certain degree of incredulity and compassion. Kiwis couldn’t play the English attack; five players had ducks, and only one player made double figures.
This innings emphasizes to us the savage brutality of Test cricket, where the best-laid plans can be devastated by merciless bowling and conditions. It is also a lesson on resilience – or in some cases, a lesson on non-resilience. For modern-day cricket fans, the New Zealand collapse is a standard of how low one can go; it is stark and a complete contrast to the big-scoring, fast-paced Tests we sometimes receive in the modern era.
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