Reading beyond 200*; Let’s give the woman cricketer her due Highest Individual Score in ODI Cricket is 229* and not 200*
After Sachin Tendulkar scored 200* in the ODI against South Africa on 24th Feb 2010, it was reported that a barrier that had not been breached in 2961 one-day internationals finally fell in Gwalior, and it was fitting that the batsman with the most ODI runs became the first to touch 200 in an innings. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, at the age of 36, drew on immense reserves of stamina, batted 50 overs, faced 147 balls, remained not out on 200, leaving the South African attack bruised and battered. He eclipsed Charles Coventry (Zimbabwe) and Saeed Anwar (Pakistan) 194, claiming the record of highest individual ODI score by a batsman. Various telecast on TV channels made us believe that he has achieved a feat which no human being ever has achieved. I too was mesmerized by the scintillating performance by a fellow Indian. Out of curiosity, I searched the internet, I was awe struck; search result at www.cricinfo.com revealed that Highest Individual Score in ODIs is 229* scored by Australian batswoman Belinda Clark and not 200* by Sachin Tendulkar. In Fact she was the first ever to cross the 200 run barrier in ODI’s. On 16th Dec 1997, Belinda Jane Clark of Australia during a Womens World Cup match against Denmark scored 229 not out from 155 balls with 22 fours in Mumbai India. Denmark finished at 49/10 in 25.5 overs. None of the players
of
Denmark could score above 9 runs.
Australia won the match by 363 runs.
To my utter surprise, no
reference was ever made of the contribution of Belinda Clark, a peer woman cricketer while reporting a fellow cricketer’s feat. Comparison of the players statistics reveal that Belinda Clarks’ innings was no way inferior. In fact she outclassed her male counterpart in all the parameters of comparison. Ironically her effort is being suppressed by reporting that 200* is the highest ODI score. A proposition that ought be corrected. My search further revealed that Sachin Tendulkar's 200* in Gwalior was actually the 10th double-century in senior limited-overs cricket (now usually called "List A" match). Two of them have been scored by Alistair Brown, the electric Surrey (now Nottinghamshire) batsman who had a surprisingly short England career of just 16 ODIs. Those included the highest List A score yet recorded - 268 from 160 balls, with 30 fours and 12 sixes in Surrey's C&G Trophy match against Glamorgan at The Oval in June 2002. After all this I concluded that Sachins’ feat can be called the 10th in List A Cricket, 2nd in ODIs, 1st ever by a male in an ODI and that we ought to recognize the contributions made by fellow women cricketers also.
debkumar_bhadra@yahoo.com
DEBKUMAR BHADRA Shore Point, Bamboo Flat, S Andaman