His batting improved with the quality of the opposition; he averaged 39.87 in the County Championship, 45.63 in first-class cricket, 58.67 in Test cricket and 63.96 against Australia. Only Don Bradman (99.94) and Steve Smith (~65) have made more than Barrington's 6,806 Test runs at a higher average, which is the seventh highest of batsmen who have made 1,000 Test runs, and the highest by a post-war England batsman. His 256 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in 1964 is the third highest score for England against Australia and the highest since the Second World War. Barrington twice made centuries in four successive Tests, and was the first England batsmen to make hundreds on all six traditional Test grounds: Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Headingley, Lord's, Trent Bridge and The Oval.