Top 4 all-round performances in ODI cricket history

In the 47 year history of ODI cricket (including both Men's and Women's ODIs), there have only been 4 instances of players scoring a 100 and taking 5 wickets in a match. Until yesterday - 12 June, 2018, this elite list included only 3 men and no women. But 17-year-old Amelia Kerr from the New Zealand Women's cricket team went a step ahead and broke all records when she scored an unbeaten swashbuckling 232* off just 145 balls and picked up 5 wickets for just 17 runs! Not only did she break into this exclusive male bastion, with this remarkable performance, Kerr has ensured that her name features right at the top as the greatest individual all-round performance in an ODI game.

During the course of her record-breaking knock, not only did Amelia Kerr become the youngest international double centurion in ODIs, she also entered an elite list of 7 players who have scored a double hundred in ODIs, featuring 6 men: Sachin Tendulkar (200*) from India; Virender Sehwag (219) from India; Rohit Sharma (264, 209 & 208*) from India; Chris Gayle (215) from West Indies; Martin Guptill (237*) from New Zealand; and only 1 woman: Belinda Clark (229*) from Australia.

Women have been known to break barriers all the time and it's a shame and an absolute pity that this amazing feat by Amelia Kerr hasn't found the widespread media coverage and recognition from cricketing fans across the globe that it truly deserves.

With the stock of Women's cricket rising by the day, there is hope that things will change soon; but for now, let's have a quick look at the top 4 brilliant individual all-round performances in the history of ODI cricket ever.

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#4 Sir Vivian Richards, West Indies (119; 5/41 vs New Zealand in 1987)

One of the most destructive and feared batsman of all-time and arguably the greatest ODI batsman that the game has seen, Sir Vivian Richards became the first player ever to score a hundred and pick up 5 wickets in an ODI match.

Having lost the toss and being put in to bat first, captain Viv Richards came in to bat at No.5 and went on to score 119 off just 113 balls thereby helping West Indies post a competitive total of 237 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 50 overs against New Zealand on 18 March 1987. In reply, the Kiwis were bowled out for a paltry 142 runs in 42.1 overs with Sir Viv Richards picking up 5 wickets for 41 runs in his full quota of 10 overs with his mixed bag of slow-medium and off-breaks.

At the time, Sir Viv Richards was the only player to score a century and take 5 wickets in an ODI and his record stood for 18 years until Paul Collingwood joined him in this elite list.

#3 Paul Collingwood, England (112*; 6/31 vs Bangladesh in 2005)

Paul Collingwood

The 2nd player in the world to score a century and take 5 wickets in an ODI was Paul Collingwood. The former England Men's Cricket team skipper led England to their only international title in world cricket when he became the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 winning captain. He finished his career as England's most capped ODI player having played in 197 ODIs and was also their leading run scorer with 5,092 runs until he was surpassed by Ian Bell (5,416 runs in 161 ODIs) in 2015 and current English ODI skipper Eoin Morgan (5,376 runs in 179 ODIs), thereby moving him to 3rd position in the list of leading ODI run scorers for England.

A batting all-rounder who bowled reliable medium pace, known more for his athleticism and widely regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era, Paul Collingwood joined Sir Viv Richard's elite company with a fantastic all-round individual performance against Bangladesh on 21 June 2005.

Having won the toss, England elected to bat first and they piled up an imposing total of 391/4 in their allotted 50 overs with the help of centuries from Andrew Strauss (152) and Paul Collingwood (112 not out off just 86 balls). In reply Bangladesh were never in the contest and were bowled out for 223 runs in 45.2 overs with Paul Collingwood leading the destruction, picking up 6 wickets for 31 runs in his full quota of 10 overs.

#2 Rohan Mustafa, United Arab Emirates (109; 5/25 vs Papua New Guinea in 2017)

Rohan Mustafa

The little-known Rohan Mustafa, an international cricketer who is the current captain of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) national team, became the 1st player from an Associate Member nation and just the 3rd player in the world to score a century and take 5 wickets in an ODI with his all-round individual performance against Papua New Guinea on 4 April, 2017.

A Pakistani by birth, Rohan Mustafa moved to Sharjah with his family at the age of 10. He soon enrolled in the Sharjah Cricket Academy and his father, one of his cricketing mentors passed away when he was only 15. Despite his family's economic struggles, Rohan continued playing cricket and today he has his name etched in the history of cricketing annals, in an enviable elite list alongside the legendary Sir Viv Richards.

Having elected to bat first after winning the toss in the history-making game against Papua New Guinea, Rohan Mustafa, a left-handed batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler, led from the front scoring 109 runs off 125 balls helping his side post a fighting total of 251/9 in their allotted 50 overs. In reply, Papua New Guinea folded up for just 148 runs in 35.2 overs with Rohan Mustafa again leading from the front to pick up 5 wickets for just 25 runs in 8.2 overs.

A truly memorable feat for a little-known player from an Associate Member nation.

#1 Amelia Kerr, New Zealand Women (232*; 5/17 vs Ireland Women in 2018)

Amelia Kerr

On June 13 2018, 17-year-old Amelia Kerr from New Zealand, came up with an absolutely remarkable all-round performance which will undoubtedly go down as the greatest ever all-round individual performance by a player in an ODI (across both Men's and Women's ODIs).

Having won the toss, New Zealand Women elected to bat first and Amelia Kerr (a right-hand bat and leg-break bowler) batted through the innings, smashing an unbeaten 232 runs off only 145 balls in just her 20th game. During the course of her maiden century knock, Amelia Kerr went on to become the highest individual scorer in Women's ODIs, going past Belinda Clark's 229 that was made in 1997 against Denmark in Mumbai. Her record-breaking innings helped New Zealand Women post an imposing total of 440 for 3 in their allotted 50 overs - their third successive 400-plus score against the Ireland Women. In reply, the hapless Irish Women were bundled out for just 135 runs in 44 overs, with Amelia Kerr also starring with the ball, picking up 5 wickets for just 17 runs including a maiden over in her spell of 7 overs.

To cap off a memorable game, Kerr was also named as the Player of the Series as she ended the three-match series against the Irish Women as the highest scorer with 342 runs at a strike rate of 156.88, and the highest wicket-taker with eight wickets to her name.

Time to tip our hats to this amazing woman cricketer from New Zealand.