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Anderson's ODI world record not the best by a Black Cap

New Zealand cricketers. AFP PHOTO / Michael Bradley
Roar Guru
2nd January, 2014
19

New Zealand’s Corey Anderson stunned the cricket world on New Year’s Day when he bludgeoned a world record century.

Against the West Indies in Queenstown, Anderson blasted 131 off 47 balls in the third one day international. His century was reached off 36 balls, and he walloped 14 sixes across his innings.

Anderson’s innings confirmed the rookie’s considerable promise and warned New Zealand’s rivals of the Black Caps’ Jekyll and Hyde nature.

In 2013, New Zealand only won seven of 17 games. They were whitewashed by Bangladesh, but shocked South Africa and England to win away series.

As stunning as Anderson’s assault was, his knock wasn’t even the best display by a Kiwi in the past 12 months, let alone the best of all time as some are suggesting.

The greatness of an innings must take into account some of the following factors: the calibre of the opposition, difficulty of the conditions, importance of the fixture and the quality of the stroke play.

A century in such rapid time is no doubt an extraordinary achievement, but against a pop gun attack on a minuscule ground in a revised contest (due to rain interruptions), the merits of Anderson’s efforts are somewhat diminished.

Kane Williamson’s 145 against South Africa in Kimberly last January won New Zealand a series for the first time in the Republic.

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Williamson’s score, which included 19 boundaries, tallied more than half of New Zealand’s total and was achieved against a far more potent attack.

Similarly, Martin Guptill smashed a New Zealand record 189 against England in June to clinch a win in that series.

Guptill sustained a strike rate of over 120 for 50 overs against a good attack that included James Anderson, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann.

The following innings in New Zealand’s history also have far greater merit than Anderson’s record-breaking crash, bang and wallop.

Stephen Fleming 134 v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2003
South Africa needed to win this World Cup group game to guarantee qualification for the next round. An imposing total of 6-306 from 50 overs appeared to have the hosts on track.

Rain reduced the match to 38 overs, but still left New Zealand with a sizeable 229 to win.

Despite a sold out Wanderers stadium and a formidable South African attack that included Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Makhaya Ntini, New Zealand’s captain played a career-best knock.

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Combing typical grace with extreme power, Fleming hit 21 of New Zealand’s 27 boundaries as the Black Caps eliminated the highly-fancied Proteas.

In 191 previous one-day internationals, Fleming had managed just three centuries. His innings lasted 132 balls and totalled 59 percent of New Zealand’s runs.

Martin Crowe 100 v Australia, Auckland, 1992
In the opening match of the 1992 World Cup, Captain Martin Crowe scored a great century on a low and slow pitch against the defending champions.

Arriving at the crease at 2-13, Crowe played with elegance and authority to bat New Zealand to a winning score.

Crowe’s performance was the catalyst for a memorable run by New Zealand in the tournament. New Zealand won seven games in a row on course to the semi-finals, which they narrowly lost to eventual champions, Pakistan.

Crowe faced 134 balls during his innings and stuck 11 boundaries. Crowe foiled a strong Australian bowling attack that included Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid.

Chris Cairns 102 v India, Nairobi, 2000
New Zealand, seeking its first piece of silverware in a major one day tournament, played India in the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final.

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Chasing 265 for victory, New Zealand staggered to 4-109 and then 5-132.

Chris Cairns, in the peak of his fine career, combined unusual restraint with typical bluster to rebuild New Zealand’s innings and then dominate an attack featuring Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble and Ajit Agarkar.

Cairns faced 113 balls and hit 10 boundaries on his way to the best century he scored for his country.

The sight of Cairns scrambling a single in the last over to win the game is one of the enduring images in New Zealand cricket history.

Craig McMillan 117 v Australia, Hamilton, 2007
Before the 2007 World Cup, New Zealand beat Australia 3-0 in a short one-day series.

In the final game of that series, Matthew Hayden whacked an extraordinary 181 as Australia posted a massive score of 5-346 from 50 overs.

After nine overs of the chase, New Zealand was 4-44. Enter Craig McMillan.

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A frequent underachiever, McMillan smashed a 67-ball century (13 fours and five sixes) as New Zealand chased down a record score to win.

Australia would go on to win the World Cup, extending their unbeaten run at the tournament to 29 matches.

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