Harry gets fifty while Wellington players attack the record books

New Zealand's one-day season came to an end on a successful note at Dunedin. It was the 27th one-dayer which New Zealand had played since taking on Pakistan at Singapore on 20 August. Nine wins were recorded, 17 matches were lost and one game ended in a no result. Despite the low success ratio, however, New Zealand could still point to victory at the ICC Knockout in Kenya plus a meritorious 3-2 series win against Pakistan.

The series victory against Pakistan was a welcome relief after a string of series losses. Since defeating West Indies 5-0 early in 1999/00, New Zealand had lost five successive series to Australia (1-4), Zimbabwe twice (both 1-2), South Africa (0-5) and Sri Lanka (1-4).

In recent weeks we've been charting Chris Harris's progress on the all-time not outs list. In the fifth one-dayer at Carisbrook Harris was unbeaten when the winning runs were scored, registering his 50th not out in One-Day Internationals. He is only the third player to achieve this milestone as the following table illustates:

Not Outs   Matches
Steve Waugh              55        306
Mohammad Azharuddin      54        334
Chris Harris             50        178
Arjuna Ranatunga         47        269
Michael Bevan            46        154
Wasim Akram              43        316
Javed Miandad            41        233
Imran Khan               40        175
Kapil Dev                39        225
Allan Border             39        273
Heath Streak             38        122
Hashan Tillekeratne      38        181
Waqar Younis             38        204
Salim Malik              38        283

New Zealand's win in the fourth one-dayer at Christchurch was one of their biggest and their first by 100 runs or more against a Test-playing nation for 10 years. The biggest wins by runs are:

Runs
206    v Australia     Adelaide       1985/86
181    v East Africa   Birmingham     1975
161    v Bangladesh    Sharjah        1989/90
138    v Pakistan      Christchurch   2000/01
119    v Holland       Baroda         1995/96
116    v Sri Lanka     Auckland       1982/83
110    v Pakistan      Napier         1984/85
108    v India         Dunedin        1989/90
107    v Sri Lanka     Dunedin        1990/91
104    v Sri Lanka     Colombo        1983/84
103    v England       Wellington     1982/83

New Zealand's successful victory chase at Dunedin was also one of their all-time best and by far their highest successful chase in New Zealand. The highest innings by New Zealand batting second are:

301-9   v Australia      Christchurch   1999/00   (Lost)
298-6   v England        Leeds          1990      (Won)
298-9   v South Africa   Brisbane       1997/98   (Lost)
297-6   v England        Adelaide       1982/83   (Won)
290-6   v Pakistan       Dunedin        2000/01   (Won)
272-6   v Zimbabwe       Harare         1992/93   (Won)
266-7   v Pakistan       Sharjah        1993/94   (Lost)
265-6   v India          Nairobi        2000/01   (Won)
260-5   v Zimbabwe       Dhaka          1998/99   (Won)
260     v Australia      Dunedin        1999/00   (Lost)
255-6   v Pakistan       Nairobi        2000/01   (Won)

Nathan Astle reached his ninth One-Day International century at Dunedin from just 93 balls. The fastest one-day hundreds for New Zealand are now:

balls
75      Chris Cairns     v India          Christchurch   1998/99
75      Craig McMillan   v Pakistan       Christchurch   2000/01
85      Chris Cairns     v India          Pune           1995/96
87      Adam Parore      v South Africa   Centurion      1994/95
93      Nathan Astle     v Pakistan       Dunedin        2000/01
94      Ken Rutherford   v India          Baroda         1994/95
96      Ken Wadsworth    v Australia      Christchurch   1973/74
96      Ken Rutherford   v Sri Lanka      East London    1994/95

Astle, along with Stephen Fleming, broke several New Zealand partnerships records with their opening stand at Dunedin. They began with the highest first wicket stand against Pakistan (previously 155 by Astle and Bryan Young at Mohali in 1996/97) and then the highest first wicket partnership against all countries (previously 158 by Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones against Bangladesh at Sharjah in 1989/90).

Their final partnership was worth 193 - the highest for any wicket for New Zealand beating 180 for the third wicket between Adam Parore and Ken Rutherford against India at Baroda in 1994/95. The highest stands for each wicket for New Zealand are now:

wkt
1st    193   Stephen Fleming & Nathan Astle    Pakistan       Dunedin        2000/01
2nd    130   Bruce Edgar & Martin Crowe        India          Brisbane       1985/86
3rd    180   Adam Parore & Ken Rutherford      India          Baroda         1994/95
4th    168   Lee Germon & Chris Harris         Australia      Madras         1995/96
5th    148   Roger Twose & Chris Cairns        Australia      Cardiff        1999
6th    130   Ken Wadsworth & Bevan Congdon     Australia      Christchurch   1973/74
7th    115   Adam Parore & Lee Germon          Pakistan       Sharjah        1996/97
8th     69   Adam Parore & Dion Nash           South Africa   Brisbane       1997/98
9th     63   Richard Hadlee & Gary Troup       England        Brisbane       1982/83
10th    65   Martin Snedden & Ewen Chatfield   Sri Lanka      Derby          1983

The highest partnerships in one-dayers for New Zealand for any wicket are:

wkt
1st   193   Stephen Fleming & Nathan Astle   Pakistan       Dunedin        2000/01
3rd   180   Adam Parore & Ken Rutherford     India          Baroda         1994/95
3rd   171*  Martin Crowe & Stephen Fleming   India          Jamshedpur     1995/96
3rd   170   Nathan Astle & Roger Twose       West Indies    Christchurch   1999/00
4th   168   Lee Germon & Chris Harris        Australia      Madras         1995/96
3rd   160   Geoff Howarth & Martin Crowe     England        Auckland       1983/84
1st   158   Martin Crowe & Andrew Jones      Bangladesh     Sharjah        1989/90
1st   155   Bryan Young & Nathan Astle       Pakistan       Mohali         1996/97
1st   153   Mathew Sinclair & Nathan Astle   Zimbabwe       Wellington     2000/01
1st   152   Glenn Turner & Bruce Edgar       England        Wellington     1982/83
4th   152   Martin Crowe & Ken Rutherford    India          Dunedin        1989/90
3rd   152   Craig Spearman & Roger Twose     Zimbabwe       Harare         2000/01
4th   150   Roger Twose & Chris Cairns       South Africa   Cape Town      2000/01

In the Shell Trophy, David Kelly hit 212 against Canterbury at Blenheim. This was just the seventh double century for Central Districts since they became a first-class side in 1950/51 and the second highest. The highest innings for CD are now:

242   Martin Crowe      v Otago                New Plymouth       1989/90
212   David Kelly       v Canterbury           Blenheim           2000/01
207   Ron Hart          v Wellington           Wellington         1985/86
203*  Mathew Sinclair   v Northern Districts   Wanganui           1998/99
202*  Bevan Congdon     v Otago                Nelson             1968/69
202*  Mark Greatbatch   v Otago                Palmerston North   1988/89
202   Mark Greatbatch   v Northern Districts   Rotorua            1995/96

Wellington's Iain O'Brien, who ironically only got his chance in the team when Matthew Walker was suspended, has joined a very short list indeed. With Wellington still to play Pakistan later this month, O'Brien has the chance to become the highest wicket taker in his first season of first-class cricket.

The table of best returns in season of first-class debut currently stands as follows:

Season   Wkts   Runs    Ave
William Robertson (Canterbury & NZ)   1893/94    47     570   12.12
Stu Gillespie (Northern Districts)    1979/80    45     998   22.17
Peter Petherick (Otago)               1975/76    42     847   20.16
William Lankham (Auckland)            1882/83    41     259    6.31
Iain O'Brien (Wellington)             2000/01    41     733   17.87

"Wallie" Lankham's extraordinary figures and his subsequent tragic demise make a fascinating tale on their own - something we'll save for another day.

One thing which O'Brien did not achieve was a wicket with his first ball in first-class cricket. However, in the final Shell Trophy match of the season, team-mate and opening batsman Richard Jones (who made his debut back in 1993/94) accomplished the feat when he dismissed Grant Bradburn with a rank full toss. The match concluded at that stage leaving Jones with career figures of 0.1-0-0-1.

The only New Zealanders to take a wicket with their first ball in first-class cricket are:

Ronald Strange (dismissed Tommy Dent)     Canterbury v Hawkes Bay         Christchurch     1901/02
Stephen Hotter (dismissed Ken Rutherford) Wellington v Otago              Dunedin          1988/89
Aaron Barnes   (dismissed Mark Lane)      Auckland v Central Districts    Palmerston North 1993/94
Richard Jones  (dismissed Grant Bradburn) Wellington v Northern Districts Wellington       2000/01

One record which did not quite fall in the Wellington versus Northern Districts game (but probably should have) was that for most wicket-keeping dismissals in a season. During the match, Chris Nevin equalled the record of 41 but late in Northern's second innings relinquished the gloves, first to Andrew Penn and then to Mark Jefferson who proceeded to drop a catch, while, ironically, Nevin took a catch at square leg to give Richard Jones a wicket with his first ball.

Subsequently, Nevin did set a new season's mark when he caught Saleem Elahi playing for New Zealand A against Pakistan at Lincoln a few days later and at the end of that match had extended his tally to 44 victims for the season. With Wellington due to play Pakistan later in the month, Nevin has the opportunity to become the first player to make 50 dismissals in one season. His tally of 44 catches so far (45 in all) is already well in excess of anything ever achieved in New Zealand first-class cricket.

The current standings are:

Ct   St   Total    Season
Chris Nevin     44    -     44    2000/01
Erv McSweeney   31   10     41    1984/85
Erv McSweeney   35    6     41    1989/90
Ian Smith       32    4     36    1990/91
Ian Smith       30    5     35    1979/80
Warren Lees     29    5     34    1978/79
Ian Smith       32    2     34    1986/87
Lee Germon      31    3     34    1991/92
Chris Nevin     33    1     34    1995/96
Robbie Hart     34    -     34    1997/98

Finally, it's back to the One-Day Internationals and the complete averages for all 27 matches played by New Zealand this season. Only Craig McMillan and Stephen Fleming played in every game while Roger Twose, Chris Harris, Nathan Astle and Adam Parore missed just one. A total of 24 players were involved.

Name                Mat    I  NO  Runs   HS     Ave 100  50   Ct St   SR
RG Twose             26   24   2   907  103   41.22   1   6   12  -   80
CL Cairns            11   10   2   324  102*  40.50   1   1    4  -   89
CD McMillan          27   25   5   758  104*  37.90   1   6    3  -   85
CZ Harris            26   22   7   496   56   33.06   -   2   11  -   70
NJ Astle             26   25   1   728  119   30.33   1   3   14  -   69
L Vincent             8    8   2   162   34   27.00   -   -    3  -   64
CM Spearman           7    7   0   188   86   26.85   -   2    4  -   74
SP Fleming           27   25   1   582   85   24.25   -   4   12  -   66
MS Sinclair           6    6   0   143   85   23.83   -   1    1  -   56
JDP Oram              9    8   1   150   59   21.42   -   1    2  -   91
DJ Nash               1    1   0    19   19   19.00   -   -    1  -  105
SB Styris            16   11   2   159   48   17.66   -   -    4  -   95
AC Parore            26   22   5   266   49   15.64   -   -   18  3   68
CJ Nevin              7    6   0    93   68   15.50   -   1    1  1   79
AJ Penn               1    1   0    15   15   15.00   -   -    -  -   65
DL Vettori           12    8   2    60   17*  10.00   -   -    3  -   78
GP Sulzberger         3    2   1     9    6*   9.00   -   -    -  -   60
JEC Franklin         12    7   1    52   25*   8.66   -   -    2  -   55
DR Tuffey            10    5   2     5    3    1.66   -   -    4  -   27
GI Allott             9    4   2     3    1*   1.50   -   -    -  -   20
CS Martin             7    5   1     6    3    1.50   -   -    2  -   27
SB O'Connor          11    3   1     2    1*   1.00   -   -    4  -   20
PJ Wiseman            5    3   3    19   12*    -     -   -    1  -   44
BGK Walker            4    2   2     7    5*    -     -   -    2  -   50

Name O M R W Ave Best RPO DR Tuffey 78 4 397 18 22.05 4-24 5.08 CD McMillan 75 3 368 15 24.53 3-20 4.90 PJ Wiseman 25 0 139 5 27.80 4-45 5.56 SB O'Connor 74.4 4 398 13 30.61 5-46 5.33 GP Sulzberger 22 0 102 3 34.00 1-28 4.63 JEC Franklin 99 5 482 14 34.42 3-44 4.86 NJ Astle 137 7 629 18 34.94 3-7 4.59 JDP Oram 38 1 186 5 37.20 2-20 4.89 DL Vettori 104 6 430 10 43.00 3-21 4.13 GI Allott 70 2 397 9 44.11 3-33 5.67 CZ Harris 201.5 6 867 19 45.63 2-31 4.29 SB Styris 129 4 628 12 52.33 3-36 4.86 CS Martin 54 4 270 5 54.00 2-56 5.00 CL Cairns 73.5 5 411 7 58.71 2-62 5.56 BGK Walker 26 3 128 2 64.00 2-43 4.92 AJ Penn 4 1 29 0 - - 7.25