Cricketers of the Week – January 29th to February 4th

#4 Marcus Stoinis

Stoinis showed he is one to really reckon with

Stoinis slammed what would definitely be one of the ODI centuries of the year as he took Australia to the fringes of an improbable victory. The 27-year old had a great day with the ball as well, returning with figures of 3-49 in his 10 overs, the pick of all bowlers in an attack that included Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner and Pat Cummins. But he was far from being done.

Walking in at a difficult situation at 54 for 5 chasing 287, Stoinis unleashed a flurry of big shots. He remained unbeaten on 146 off just 117 balls in an innings that included 9 fours and 11 sixes. Stoinis took Australia from 67 for 6 to 148 for 7 adding 81 with Faulkner of which the latter scored 25. He then added 48 with Cummins and 30 with Starc. The big partnership though came for the tenth wicket.

Stoinis added a whopping 54 runs for the 10^th wicket with Hazlewood, who scored nothing. These 54 came off just 4 overs. New Zealand kept their nerve and Kane Williamson’s brilliant fielding ended the resistance. New Zealand won by a very narrow margin of just 6 runs.