Cricketing greats are saying Glenn Maxwell’s stunning 201 against Afghanistan is the greatest One Day International innings of all time.
“The greatest ODI knock of all time, without any doubt,” said former England skipper Michael Vaughan on the BBC.
It’s hard to disagree.
“I’ve never seen anything like that. Australia had no right at all to win that game,” Vaughan added.
Indian great Sachin Tendulkar crowned it “the best ODI knock I’ve seen in my life,” one of numerous greats that have hailed it as such.
Aside from leading Australia to victory, that Maxwell roused himself, Tyson Fury-like off the canvas to do it after suffering cramps mid-way through the innings, only adds to the mystique.
The double-ton club
The plain numbers of Maxwell’s knock are absolutely bonkers.
Scoring 201 runs from just 128 balls, with 21 fours and 10 sixes, Maxwell’s innings was the 11th ODI double-century by a man in history, and 13th overall.
Incredibly, it is the only one of those double centuries to be scored in the second innings of the match.
It is also the only double century ever scored in ODI cricket that was not scored by an opening batter.
For context, the match was the 4,696th men’s ODI ever played, which, in theory at least, accounts for over 100,000 possible individual knocks.
It’s the highest ever score by an Australian in ODI cricket, second only to Belinda Clark‘s unbeaten 229 against the Netherlands at the 1997 Women’s Cricket World Cup — which coincidentally also took place in Mumbai, although not at the Wankhede.
With Maxwell’s runs coming off just 128 balls, his strike rate of 157.03 is second only to Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan (160.30) for the highest strike rate of any of those double tonnes by a man.
New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr‘s unbeaten 232 against Ireland in Dublin in 2018 came at a rate of 160.00.
World Cup final matchwinners
So how does Maxwell’s innings compare to other innings at Cricket World Cups?
If we’re going back to top scores, Maxwell’s was only the third-highest individual score at a men’s Cricket World Cup.
Chris Gayle scored 215 (147 balls) for the West Indies against Zimbabwe at Canberra’s Manuka Oval in the 2015 tournament, going on to take 2-35 with the ball as the West Indies won by 73 runs under Duckworth/Lewis.
More impressive was Martin Guptill‘s unbeaten 237 off 163 balls for New Zealand in the quarterfinals against the West Indies in Wellington.
Guptill’s remains the highest individual score at a Cricket World Cup and ensured that the Black Caps stayed ahead of the rate to win by 143 runs.
Low scoring knocks in a final
The thing is, sheer numbers are not the be all and end all of a great innings.
Context is important.
Would England have won the 2019 Cricket World Cup final without Ben Stokes‘s unbeaten 98-ball 84? That anchoring knock, as wickets fell around him, was crucial as England held on to send the Lord’s decider to a super over.
What about Mahendra Singh Dhoni‘s pressure-laden 91 from just 79 balls to help lead India to the promised land at the Wankhede in the 2011 decider?
He also battled through injury in that match, needing treatment on a back injury.
Surely no player has had such intense pressure on him than the man, as skipper, who was tasked with leading his team to victory in front of a billion expectant supporters?
World Cup Final centuries
Adam Gilchrist could lay claim to one of the most impressive, important innings in a Cricket World Cup final.
The explosive wicketkeeper/opener scored 149 off 104 balls in the 2007 final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados — the highest individual score in a men’s Cricket World Cup final.
In a 38-over-per-side game the left-hander hit eight sixes and 13 fours to set Sri Lanka 282 runs to win, reduced to 269 off 36 overs after further rain.
The Sri Lankans fell short by 53 runs as Gilchrist’s player of the match performance handed Australia its third title in a row.
Just over a decade before his heroics, it was Sri Lanka who came out on top of Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup final thanks to a magnificent unbeaten 107 by Aravinda de Silva.
Chasing 242, Sri Lanka fell to 2-23 before de Silva came in to steady the ship with a 125-run partnership with Asanka Gurusinha (65) and a match-winning 97-run partnership with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga (47 not out).
The crowning Cricket World Cup final innings though surely belongs to Alyssa Healy in 2022.
Her incredible 170 from just 138 balls is the single highest score by a player in a Cricket World Cup final and helped the all-conquering Aussies to a 71-run victory over England at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval.
Kapil Dev and Viv Richards
Of course, there can be no discussion about the greatest short format innings in history without naming two of the sport’s all time greats.
West Indian great Viv Richards changed the way the game was played and completed what has been considered the greatest ODI innings of all time by belting an unbeaten 189 off just 170 balls to win a match at Old Trafford against England in 1984.
That stood as the highest individual score by a man in an ODI for 13 years, until Saeed Andwar hit 194 against India for Pakistan at Chennai.
Why was it so good? Richards was on 96 when the West Indies were reduced to 9-166, adding 106 runs with 11th man Michael Holding to give the Windies a total of 9-272.
England were then bowled out for 168 as the West Indies claimed a 104-run victory.
But that was just a random bilateral ODI series match — the sort that are ten-a-penny these days.
Remember, context is important.
Kapil Dev was the first man to lift the Cricket World Cup for India in 1983, but he underperformed in the final at Lord’s scoring just 15 in a low-scoring match where India won despite scoring just 183 runs in their 55 overs at a run rate of just 3.34.
One Day Cricket was different then, though.
In any case, it was Dev’s performance at Tunbridge Wells earlier in the tournament that helped secure his legacy.
India were 5-17 against Zimbabwe at the Neville Ground and close to being rolled out for a paltry total.
Enter, Dev.
The Indian skipper scored 175 from just 138 balls, with 16 fours and six sixes to haul India to 8-266 from their 60 overs.
India then bowled out Zimbabwe for 235, with Dev taking 1-32 to secure a 31-run win a put India into the semifinals.
Had India lost that game, they probably would have still finished second in the group, but the confidence they garnered from that win, plus a 118-run victory over Australia at Chelmsford two days later, undoubtedly helped the Indians.
The rest, is history.
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