South Africa stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder made the fifth-highest score in Test cricket – but his side opted to declare against Zimbabwe rather than chase Brian Lara’s record 400 not out.

Mulder was unbeaten on 367 at lunch in his side’s total of 626-5 in Bulawayo but invited the Zimbabwe openers out to bat after the break instead.

His surprising decision not to continue for the remaining 33 runs was immediately vindicated as Codi Yusuf had Takudzwanashe Kaitano caught behind off the first ball of the innings, and the hosts were soon reduced to 15-3.

It leaves Lara as the record holder and the only quadruple centurion in a Test innings, against England in Antigua in 2004.

Lara also made 375 against the same opposition and at the same venue a decade earlier. That record was beaten by Matthew Hayden’s 380 for Australia against Zimbabwe in 2003, only for Lara to reclaim top spot six months later.

South African cricket writer Neil Manthorp believes that the decision to declare was not actually that of stand-in captain Mulder but would have been made by “old school” head coach Shukri Conrad who had decided they would only bat for four sessions.

“I don’t know whether this will make it worse or better for those who think he was foolish, but it wasn’t his decision,” Manthorp told Sky Sports.

“The coach Shukri Conrad is very, very old school, it is his team, he calls the shots, he makes the plans, he does the tactics and the players do what he wants them to do.

“He decided that they would bat for four sessions.

“If you look at the way that Mulder was accelerating, he was scoring at an astonishing rate in the last half an hour so he was obviously aware that the declaration would be made on his behalf at lunch and he was unable to get there.

“To call it a missed opportunity or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is not really doing it justice because most of the greatest batters in the history of the game have never had such an opportunity.

“So, I know that there will be those who will say it wouldn’t have counted the same and Lara’s was scored against England but Zimbabwe are a full ICC Test nation, Matthew Hayden had no shame in belting them to beat Brian Lara’s first world record – he made 380 over a decade ago in Perth.

“I think that Mulder should have done it or tried at least, he could have been dismissed, but he should have been given the opportunity.

“I think Test cricket’s morality police are probably misplaced in situations like this.”

Mahela Jayawardene made 374 for Sri Lanka against the Proteas in 2006, with Mulder passing Sir Garry Sobers’ 365 not out for the West Indies against Pakistan in 1958 for fifth place on the all-time list.

His innings was a South African record, comfortably surpassing Hashim Amla’s unbeaten 311 against England in 2012 which was their only previous triple century.

Mulder reached 300 from 297 balls – the second-fastest triple century in Test cricket, then reached 350 from 324 deliveries as part of an innings containing 49 fours and four sixes.

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