Despite having a bad outing for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018, D’Arcy Short has been proving his worth in the domestic tournament of Australia. He was due for big innings. But no one expected him to go this big. In a 50-over Australian Domestic One-Day Cup game between Western Australia and Queensland, Short smashed his first double century and it was one of it’s kind.
The southpaw opener smacked as many as 23 sixes in his innings, most by a batsman in an innings of a List A game. He scored 257 runs from 148 deliveries at the strike rate of 173.65. Among all the double centuries scored in List A cricket, D’Arcy has the highest strike rate. The previous record was that of Australian batsman Travis Head who scored at a strike rate of 168.33.
Cricket is a team game but sometimes a player is enough to win a game, especially when such knock is witnessed. Wickets were falling at regular intervals front the other end, but Short just kept on going. The second highest run-scorer from Western Australia was Marcus Stoinis with a score as low as 27. This is the lowest score by any other batsman in the same innings when a batsman has scored a double century. So, typically Short carried the team on his back.
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This is also the first time a team has got all out when a batsman has scored double century. Even though Short had nothing to do with that, it’s still a record. Despite ordinary display from other Western Australia batsmen, they still managed to put a total of 387 on the scoreboard. Hadn’t the team bundled out with 3 more overs to go, the 400 plus score wouldn’t have been hard to get.
What a way to bring up your second one-day hundred! #JLTCup pic.twitter.com/xgraRLiG6S
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 28, 2018
That's 150 up for D'Arcy Short and he's nowhere near finished yet!
Watch LIVE and FREE here: https://t.co/kmb8Yj6zo5 #JLTCup pic.twitter.com/auSN8B351z
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 28, 2018
That's 250! Unbelievable batting from D'Arcy Short!
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/kmb8Yj6zo5 #JLTCup pic.twitter.com/lMVgUZNsBF
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 28, 2018
Short’s rampant knock is also the third-fastest double century in List A cricket. He took 128 balls to reach a double century. The fastest is Travis Head who got to his double century in 117 balls followed by Ben Duckett (123 balls).
Sixes were as regular as if he was playing a video game. He got to his 100, 150, 200, 250 by hitting sixes. To reach his 50, he scored a boundary.
Short’s destructive innings guided Western Australia to a big win by 116 runs. The 28-year-old will be hard to ignore for selectors when they select the squad for T20I series against Pakistan in October.
When D’Arcy Short comes to town the windows have no hope! #SmashingShorty #JLTCup pic.twitter.com/82fYAXntBF
— WACA (@WACA_Cricket) September 28, 2018
