. 4 . 1 6 . 4 4 6 1 2 . 4 . 4 . 1 . . . . . . 1 . 1 . . . . 4 1 . 6 4 . . 4 4 4 . . 2 . 4 4 2 4 . . 6 4 4 4
100 runs in 54 balls saw New Zealander Brendon McCullum set a new record for the fastest 100 in a Test match on Saturday night. There have been 3,887 centuries scored in all of the test matches of cricket ever played, but none as been as quick in terms of balls faced as this innings. Previous record holders IVA Richards [West Indies] and Misbah-ul-Haq [Pakistan] had taken 56 balls and in Vivian Richards’ case the record had stood for 30 years. McCullum did receive his fair share of luck, when having been beautifully caught in the gully, the replay showed a front foot no-ball and he was granted a reprieve. He made the most of his chance and resumed battering the Australian bowling.
There is still a lot of room between McCullum’s new mark and the minimum amount of balls needed to be faced to reach a century (17 balls). McCullum scored 88 of his 100 runs in boundaries with 16 fours and 4 sixes. His runs actually came from 28 balls and the 26 dot balls he faced is 48% of the total balls faced. A record which can be and in all likelihood will be broken as batsmen see what is possible and the influence of T20 cricket grows.
However, this was no declaration bowling, no easy ride. Australia had won the toss and taken three quick wickets to leave New Zealand reeling. McCullum strode to the middle like a man who does not look at the scoreboard, does not take account of the match situation, but plays the game his way.
In addition to the fastest century, McCullum also set a new mark for the most sixes in a test career. Only Adam Gilchrist had reached triple figures before and had retired with exactly 100 sixes to his name. McCullum had equalled Gilchrist’s total before this test match, but after such a destructive innings has now set a new mark of 107.
It made for compulsive viewing and kept me up, unwilling to miss history being made. I just hope I don’t come up against anything as devastating in Division 14 this summer. The only pity is that McCullum is retiring from Test cricket and it may be a while before we see his like again gracing the Test arena. He has been an inspirational leader for the BlackCaps and has even affected the outlook and approach of the England T20 and ODI sides. At one stage on Saturday New Zealand were scoring at 9 runs per over; and this was a Test match! He has been, in more ways than one, a game-changer.
The LCU Spring AGM will be held this week and any regulation or other changes for the coming season will be up for discussion and/or a vote. It is a good chance to hear what is happening at the provincial level and how your club is likely to be affected for the coming season.
The introduction of a photograph being a requirement at time of registration is one of the new initiatives being undertaken by the LCU and will tighten up an area of Leinster cricket that has been open to abuse through the years, including one case of impersonation last summer. I just hope that the photographs will be available on the CL website to enable any captain to verify their opposition prior to a game. It must only be a matter of time before all players are issued with ID cards that must be produced before games.
Nets on Sunday were another step in the right direction. Having ascertained that the ball is still visible with my woeful eyesight in my first nets, this was the time to see if the arm will still go over the top. It was also time for some smugness, as players at their first outing steamed in from the back wall and bowled, bowled and bowled again and will be anticipating some follow-up pain this week, probably on Tuesday. In fact I got a text on Tuesday from one of these eager beavers.... So my legs are working but moving the top half of my body is difficult. I may have strained a lung and although I am cold the involuntary shivers are causing me pain. Welcome to the new season?
Nets are showing up a large discrepancy between those who have been playing sport over the winter and those that hibernate during the cold months doing very little exercise. One player, who shall remain anonymous but has been netting all winter indoors with light-up bails, demonstrated that his eye is very definitely in. Perhaps February is a little early to be in such touch and one can only hope it remains until we actually play outdoors. And it does nothing for a bowlers confidence whilst searching for a line, a length and a pace that won’t be embarrassing, to see each delivery disappearing to virtual boundaries, or over them. Still, I’ll keep looking for my form, and gradually ease the body back to a state of movement, if not speed.