Edrich was 28 and had been in and out of the England side for two years. The Headingley Test was his eighth. New Zealand, captained by John Reid, were a young side and had already lost the first two Tests of the summer. England won the toss and batted in good batting conditions. Bob Barber and Edrich opened; Barber fell for 13. Ken Barrington, recalled after his Edgbaston disciplinary, joined Edrich at 18 for 1.
Edrich and Barrington added 369 for the second wicket — at the time the highest second-wicket Test partnership for England. Edrich, a left-hander with an unfussy technique and a strong leg side, played the ball off his pads with such precision that the New Zealand bowlers gave up trying to attack the stumps after the second hour. His hundred came in 233 minutes; his 200 in 412; his 300 in 519. He was 310 not out when Mike Smith declared.
The innings's defining feature was its boundary count. Edrich hit 52 fours and five sixes — 238 of his 310 runs in boundaries. The proportion (77%) and the absolute total (238) remain Test records as of 2026, six decades on. Brian Lara's 400, Matthew Hayden's 380 and Virender Sehwag's twin 300s have all fallen short on both counts. The five sixes were unusual for an Edrich innings; he was, by training and temperament, a percentage batsman who rarely lifted the ball.
England declared at 546 for 4. New Zealand were bowled out for 193 and 166 to lose by an innings and 187 runs. Edrich was Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1966. The 310 remained the highest individual Test score by an English left-hander until Andrew Strauss's career, and is still the sixth-highest Test score by an Englishman.