EPTThe 16 year old record for fastest century (batter scoring 100 runs) in an international match has just been broken by young New Zealand player Corey Anderson. He needed to hit a 6 off the 36th ball of his inning to break the record and did so. The extraordinary onslaught on the bowling side, West Indies (Caribbean island collective) can be summarised thus:
131 runs not out at the innings close
47 balls faced
4 boundaries (hit it to boundary rope on bounce or along ground, worth 4 runs)
14 sixes (like a home run, hit over the boundary rope on the full, worth 6 runs)
His partner for the majority of the innings, Jesse Ryder, scored the 6th fastest century as well, off 51 balls, with 5 sixes and 12 boundaries.
The team's score ended up on 283 after 21 overs i.e. 126 balls. Such a high scoring rate is unprecedented in any international cricket match, in any format. The match had been reduced to 21 overs per side due to rain, normally would have been 50 overs each. In less than half the normal allotment, New Zealand scored more than the average score for the full 50 overs.
I will update with more video as soon as it becomes available. It is unlikely anything like this will be seen for a long long time and is worth a watch if you have ever been interested in cricket. The scorecard is available on cricinfo.
FULL INNINGS
HIGHLIGHTS
What a way to bring in 2014!
