At Edgbaston in the 2025 County Championship, Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes did not concede a bye in a Warwickshire innings of 665-5 declared.
Warwickshire declared on 665-5 in the second afternoon after Surrey captain Rory Burns won the toss and opted to field. At 281-4, the visitors might have backed themselves to bowl out the hosts for a moderate total. But Tom Latham made 184 while Ed Barnard (177 not out) and Zen Malik (105 not out) put on an unbroken stand of 215 to allow Alex Davies to declare on 665-5. By stumps, Surrey were 98-1.
Read: Ben Foakes: Wisden Cricketer of the Year – The Almanack
Foakes, who has not played a Test match since the India tour of 2023/24, did not concede a single bye in the Warwickshire innings of 160 overs (though there were 27 extras). This is now the biggest total in first-class cricket on English soil since 2007 without a single bye. The record in England lies with Jack Russell, who kept wicket for Gloucestershire in Northamptonshire’s innings of 746-9 in 2002.
Read: Adam Gilchrist: Ben Foakes is the best wicketkeeper to spin bowling that I’ve ever seen
Match 43, Warwickshire vs Surrey
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- Ball by ball Over
Biggest team totals without a bye in the County Championship
| Total | Overs | Wicketkeeper | Team | Batting team | Venue | Year |
| 746-9d | 167 | Jack Russell | Gloucestershire | Northamptonshire | Bristol | 2002 |
| 717 | 168.5 | Carl Gazzard | Somerset | Surrey | Guildford | 2006 |
| 700-9d | 151.5 | Chris Read | Nottinghamshire | Essex | Chelmsford | 2007 |
| 675-5d | 122.4 | Paul Nixon | Leicestershire | Somerset | Taunton | 2007 |
| 672-5 | 179 | Archie Wickham | Somerset | Hampshire | Taunton | 1899 |
| 665-5d | 160 | Ben Foakes | Surrey | Warwickshire | Birmingham | 2025 |
- The world record clean sheet total belongs to Chris Hartley of Queensland. Against Victoria in a 2008/09 Sheffield Shield match, he did not concede a single bye as Victoria declared on 806-8 after batting for 236 overs. Russell is second on the all-time list.
- Mizoram’s Uday Kaul was the last keeper to not concede a bye in first-class cricket a total bigger than Warwickshire’s 665-5. He had a clean sheet against Bihar, who declared on 686-5 at Kolkata in 2021/22.
