3 New Zealand batters who can score a double-hundred in ODIs
New Zealand's Martin Guptill has the second-highest score in an innings in ODI cricket, with his unbeaten 237 against the West Indies in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup beaten only by Rohit Sharma's 264. In a list that contains five players from India and one each from Pakistan and the West Indies, the Black Caps will be proud of the fact that Guptill represents them.
While Guptill is still in contention for selection, one could argue he is reaching the twilight of his career, with the Kiwis preferring Finn Allen to partner Devon Conway at the top.
Scoring a double-hundred isn't an easy feat, however, and no New Zealand batter has been able to manage to do that since Guptill's knock nearly eight years ago. However, their current squad definitely has players capable of repeating the feat. On that note, let's look at three New Zealand batters capable of scoring an ODI double hundred.
#3 Finn Allen
Dashing Kiwi opener Finn Allen is definitely a candidate to score the next ODI double-hundred. The fact that he has a T20I century before having one in ODI cricket says a lot about his firecracker brand of cricket. Allen has received a long rope from the management in white-ball cricket to succeed Martin Guptill and open the batting alongside Devon Conway.
While his average of 32.13 in ODIs isn't anything special, he's someone who can dominate any bowler on his day. His career strike rate in T20s is 172.75 and any batter who can consistently score at that rate is destructive. He opens the batting and if he gets going, he'll have more than enough time to get a double-hundred or even a triple!
#2 Glenn Phillips
One of the most exciting and flexible cricketers in the world right now, Glenn Phillips has performed whatever role the Black Caps have asked him to perform. Be it shuffling up and down the batting order, or chipping in with the ball to produce the odd breakthrough, or taking absolute stunners on the field, he has done it all.
With his wide array of strokes and attacking batting repertoire, he's someone who could breach the 200-run mark. While New Zealand prefer him to bat down the order in ODI cricket to use him as a bonafide finisher, Phillips could wreak havoc if unleashed earlier.
A clean striker of both pace and spin bowling, Phillips is another Kiwi batter who's definitely capable of making an ODI double-century.
#1 Devon Conway
A record-breaker since his debut for New Zealand, Devon Conway has arguably been New Zealand's best batter across formats since making his debut more than 18 months ago.
Conway scored a 200 on his debut at Lord's, albeit in a Test match against England, but it was nevertheless a superb knock that foreshadowed his brilliance. He's also one of the best T20I batters in the world, averaging 48.25 and ranked 3rd in the ICC Rankings.
His strike rate of 79.65 in ODI cricket is definitely less than what you'd expect from a free-flowing batter like him, however, he's definitely someone capable of notching up a big score, especially if he opens the batting. The southpaw is the most likely to follow Martin Guptill and become the second New Zealand batter to score an ODI double hundred.