HAYDEN SETS NEW MARK
FOR QUICKEST HUNDRED
FOR QUICKEST HUNDRED
Warner
Park, Basseterre • 24 March 2007
Conditions were perfect, with a flat
batting track and short boundaries. Matthew Hayden was not one to miss out, and
he launched a blitzkrieg right from the start. He bludgeoned the South African
bowlers, racing to the fastest century in the World Cup off a mere 66
deliveries, one less than Canada’s John Davison in 2003. Hayden lofted Graeme
Smith for a straight six in the 23rd over to claim the coveted record.
Australia went on to post their highest World Cup total of 377 for six.
Adam Gilchrist was in an equally
belligerent mood, and the duo motored along at 7 runs per over. They posted a
century stand before Gilchrist was dismissed for a run-a-ball 42. The
partnership was worth 106 in 14.5 overs. Ricky Ponting kept up the momentum as
Hayden went on the rampage, putting on 61 off 51 deliveries.
Hayden straight-drove the first ball he
received to the boundary off Shaun Pollock. He lost the strike for a while but
made up for it as Pollock came on to bowl the fifth over. He square-cut the
first ball fiercely to the boundary, then danced down the wicket to the third
and smote it over mid-wicket for a six. The next delivery was pitched up on the
off stump and Hayden slammed it high over long-on for another six.
It took Hayden just 37 balls to bring up
his fifty as he drove Andrew Hall to the long-off boundary. In Hall’s next over
he glanced one to the fine-leg boundary and blasted the next over long-off for
a six. Hayden then rocketed 3 fours in a Charl Langeveldt over. He was on 94
off 65 balls as Smith floated in his off-spinner. Hayden smashed it over the
bowler’s head and beyond the ropes to take the record away from Davison. In the
next over bowled by Jacques Kallis, Hayden cut one straight into the hands of
Herschelle Gibbs. He had sent the crowd into raptures with his 101 off 68
deliveries, having hit 14 fours and 4 sixes. It was one of the most fierce
displays power hitting that left the Proteas shell-shocked.
Ponting and Michael Clarke then posted a
mammoth 161-run partnership in 130 balls, both scoring quickfire nineties.
Ponting got a-run-a-ball 91 with 8 fours and 2 sixes, bringing up his 10,000
runs in One-day Internationals. Clarke was even more belligerent, hitting 92
off 75 deliveries, including 7 fours and 4 sixes, Smith and Abraham de Villiers
raised a 160-run opening stand for South Africa in a matter of 21 overs. De
Villiers hit up 92 in 70 deliveries with 14 fours and 2 sixes. Kallis too
joined the party. But as the wickets began to fall, with chinaman bowler Brad
Hogg inflicting the most damage, South Africa continued to hurtle downhill and
were beaten by 83 runs.
Despite the big hitting by the other batsmen,
everything paled in comparison to Hayden’s awesome knock. Clive Lloyd’s record
of the fastest World Cup hundred off 82 balls in the 1975 final stood for 28
years until it was shot down by a long way by the rampaging willow of Davison
in 2003. In the 2007 tournament as many as three batsmen, Hayden, Gilchrist and
Virender Sehwag scored quicker hundreds than the former West Indies skipper,
and one, Brad Hodge, equalled him. This was clearly a sign of the times and an
indication of how dramatically the game has changed in the last few years.
(Author Indra
Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
The
Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011
ISBN
978-81-901668-4-3
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in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11
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