One Day International Cricket

By Melissa Twidale.

Well here I am, writing about a topic I thought never I would dare write about. The fourth Victoria Bitter ODI – Australia vs India… yes, that’s cricket.

Stories always require research, which is great exercise for my mind outside of my usual routine. Today is cricket, in preparation for the vastly popular event that will be held at Manuka Oval January 20. To paint a picture of my reaction when I realised it was a company favourite my jaw dropped, my eyes squinted, I pursed my lips, drank half a litre of water, attempted to crack my fingers and thought to myself ‘OK Mel, you always enjoyed having a good hard crack at things in high school, it’s time to learn what the acronym ODI actually means’.

One Day International… wasn’t as hard as I thought. To share my new found cricket intelligence I have learned that ODI is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two international teams. Each team faces a fixed number of overs, usually 50, which is the same format that the Cricket World Cup is played (yeah starting to sound like a pro… ahem… now check this out). The international one-day game was developed in the late twentieth century with the first ODI being played on January 5, 1971 between Australia and England at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground – another acronym, SNAP!).

To cut back on the history chitta-chatta (because, now being a guru I could ramble for days)… I thought I would throw you a few fun facts. Feel free to quiz one of your cricket adoring mates after reading this.

• Highest innings in any List A limited overs match is 443 for nine by Sri Lanka against Netherlands in their ODI in 2006
• Lowest team total is 35 all out by Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in 2004
• Most runs scored by both sides in any List A limited overs match is 872: Australia, batting first, scored 434 for four in 50 overs, were beaten by South Africa who scored 438 for nine with a ball to spare during their ODI in 2006
• Best bowling figures are 8-19 by Chaminda Vass for Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe in 2001-2. He is the only player to take eight wickets in a ODI
• Best batting performance is a knock of 264 runs by Indian Rohi Sharma against Sri Lanks in 2014. Sharma is the only batsman to score 2 double hundreds in ODIs

I feel like the vast knowledge I have demonstrated in writing this particular QT Life story constitutes me having a day off next week and watching the match in order to full immerse myself in my learnings. I will be sure to put this forward to my superiors in a short while. Happy batting!

Victoria Bitter ODI Series v India, Fourth ODI, January 20

Image: cricket.com.au Facebook