Most consecutive Test matches to score a fifty

AB de Villiers (South Africa) and Joe Root (England) both scored half-centuries in 12 consecutive Test matches. De Villiers beat the previous record of 11 Tests – first achieved by West Indian great Viv Richards in 1976-77 – with scores of 169, 67, 51, 103 not out, 61, 121, 90, 164, 103, 74, 91 and 116 in matches against Australia (3), New Zealand (2), Pakistan (5) and India (2) between December 2012 and February 2014. Root equalled de Villiers’ feat with knocks of 56, 124, 53, 78, 77, 88, 190, 78, 50, 52, 136 and 59/72 in matches against Bangladesh (1), India (5), South Africa (4) and the West Indies (2) between October 2016 and August 2017.

Joe Root achieved fifties (59 and 72) in both innings of his record-equalling Test match, a defeat to the West Indies at Headingley, Leeds, UK, on 25-29 August 2017. AB de Villiers made one fifty in each of his 12 Test matches.

In addition to Viv Richards, three other players have scored fifties in 11 successive Test matches: Indian batsmen Gautam Gambhir in 2008-10 and Virender Sehwag in 2009-10, and, after de Villiers had set a new mark of 12 consecutive matches in February 2014, Mominul Haque (Bangladesh) in 2013-15.