In spite of failing to make the most of a start provided by their top-order, England have still managed to enter record books in the first match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. After wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow (33) became the first-ever cricketer to kick-start a World Cup campaign with a six, England also registered a team record in the form of all their 11 batters scoring in double digits.
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A format which had started in 1971, it has taken ODIs 4,658 matches spread across 52 years to witness the first-ever instance of all the members of a Playing XI scoring at least 10 runs individually.
Previously, there had been five instances in this format where teams missed this record due to one of their batters not making it to double digits. Speaking about the latest match, it had happened during the third ODI between India and Australia in Chennai in March this year when visiting captain Steven Smith (0) was the only player to have been dismissed before scoring 10 runs.
With All 11 Batters Scoring In Double Digits, England Script History In 2023 World Cup Opener
Put in to bat first by New Zealand captain Tom Latham at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday, England were well within reach to surpass the 300-run mark. While they ended up with a competitive 282/9 in 50 overs instead, a 26-ball 30-run 10th-wicket partnership between spinner Adil Rashid (15*) and fast bowler Mark Wood (13*) ensured a team record for them.
All-rounders Moeen Ali (11) and Chris Woakes (11), both of whom play for Warwickshire in domestic cricket, scored the least for the defending champions in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad.
England, who lost wickets at regular intervals to hamper their own progress, thrived primarily because of a 72-ball 70-run fifth-wicket partnership between batter Joe Root (77) and captain Jos Buttler (43).
Pick of their bowlers, had New Zealand pacer Matt Henry (0/48) not sent Buttler back to the pavilion in the 34th over, England would’ve surely put more than 300 runs on the board today.
Have All 11 Batters Scored In Double Digits In Tests Or T20Is?
While all 11 batters of a team scoring in double digits has never happened in T20Is, Test cricket has been witness to this milestone as many as 15 times.
Also by England, the first of these 15 occasions had been recorded at the Melbourne Cricket Ground all the way back in 1894. As far as the latest incident in the ancestral format is concerned, all 11 South African batters had managed to achieve the milestone in the first innings of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands in 2019.
