THE evolution of the one-day game of cricket from what I remember as a kid was there to see again on Thursday night in Rohit Sharma’s blistering world record against Sri Lanka.
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In case you haven’t heard, Indian opener Sharma blasted a remarkable 264 off 173 balls, smashing 33 boundaries and nine sixes, at Eden Park.
A year earlier, Sharma also scored an ODI double-ton (209) against Australia.
Sharma’s score of 264 shows just how far the ODI game has come from my first memories of it back in the early-1990s.
They were the days when there were no separate Test and one-day sides and the Aussie team comprised names like M.A. Taylor, D.C. Boon, G.R. Marsh, D.M. Jones, A.R. Border, S.R. Waugh, I.A. Healy, C.J. McDermott and B.A. Reid and wore canary yellow.
They were also the days when if the side batting first could knock up 220-230 off their 50 overs, they were in the box seat and well on track to gaining the two points in the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup.
It was also a time when it was considered - to quote the great Richie Benaud - “a super effort that” with the bat to get through the first 15 overs unscathed and score 50 runs while the field was up.
The strike rates of the three Australians who batted in the top three for much of my formative years clearly show there weren’t the early innings fireworks we’re accustomed to these days - David Boon (65.1); Mark Taylor (59.4); and Geoff Marsh (55.9).
Back in the day, my favourite Aussie batsman was Dean Jones, who was widely regarded as the king of ODI cricket and even wrote a book on the game - One Day Magic.
I can still vividly recall him dancing down the wicket; turning twos into threes with his slick running between the wickets and simply providing pure entertainment - be it at the crease or in the field.
Yet I was surprised to learn when I looked up his stats that even the great Deano “only” scored at an ODI strike-rate of 72.1.
How things have changed these days, with the advent of Twenty20 cricket, improved playing conditions and better bats to send the ball flying over the fence meaning the ODI benchmarks that I grew up on bear no resemblance at all to today’s game.
Deano’s former Australian record score that he held for eight years of a swashbuckling 145 against England on a Sunday arvo at the Gabba in 1990 doesn’t even rank in the top 10 anymore.
There’s now 16 scores above Deano’s 145, headed by Shane Watson’s 185 n.o. v Bangladesh in 2011.
And long gone are the days of teams being satisfied with compiling 50 off the first 15 overs and defending 220-230.
India’s score of 5-404 against Sri Lanka last week was the 11th ODI score above 400 in the past eight years, with the record Sri Lanka’s 9-443 against the Netherlands in July, 2006.
ODI superstar Sanath Jayasuriya (157) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (117 n.o.) both scored tons that record day for Sri Lanka.
Who’d have thought 20 years ago that Australia would make 4-434 off 50 overs against South Africa in 2006 and get beaten?
As for the once formidable Deano strike rate of 72.1, it pales into insignificance compared to the likes of fellow Aussies Adam Gilchrist (96.9); Andrew Symonds (92.4); David Hussey (90.7); and Shane Watson (90.0). And it’s well shy of Glenn Maxwell’s 121.1 in his 33 ODI matches.
How will the game look in another 20 years?
It’s continued evolution suggests Sharma’s 264 being surpassed certainly isn’t out of the question.
