Cricket Milestones Reached on 1 January

Donald Bradman is the only player to have reached two separate career run landmarks on 1 January, bringing up 4000 Test runs against England in 1937 and 6000 Test runs against India in 1948. The 6000-run threshold remains the rarest milestone achieved on this date. Tony Greig and Sir Leonard Hutton both crossed 3000 Test runs on 1 January, Greig doing so in India in 1977 and Hutton against South Africa in 1949. Four players reached 2000 Test runs: Majid Khan against Australia in 1977, John Waite against New Zealand in 1962, Godfrey Evans against South Africa in 1957, and Dudley Nourse against England in 1949.

Seven batsmen brought up 1000 Test runs on this date, spanning more than a century of cricket. The earliest was Victor Trumper against England in 1904, followed by Warwick Armstrong in 1908. Bill Ponsford reached the mark against West Indies in 1931, the same year Maurice Tate did so against South Africa. Jack Fingleton crossed 1000 runs against England in 1937, while Bill Lawry achieved it against South Africa in 1964. Rick McCosker brought up 1000 runs against Pakistan in 1977, and Mehidy Hasan became the most recent to do so, reaching the landmark against New Zealand in 2022.

Three players reached 500 Test runs on 1 January. Devon Conway and Shadman Islam both achieved the milestone against New Zealand and Bangladesh respectively in 2022, marking relatively early stages in their Test careers. Eddie Barlow had crossed 500 runs against Australia in 1964, while Chandu Borde reached the threshold against India in 1960. The concentration of milestones on this date reflects the traditional scheduling of Test cricket around the New Year period, particularly in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.