Five established batsmen whose ODI high score is more than their Test best
The survival of Test cricket is a debate that'll rage on for long, but T20s have undeniably changed the dynamics of the game's intermediate format: ODIs. Before batsmen started churning out double-hundreds in fifty over games, ODI batting used to be about starting carefully, building on it, and accelerating in the dying stages.
Despite the nature of the Test format, several batsmen found a liking to stack big scores in limited-overs cricket, even though they were unable to repeat the same in white clothing.
Here are five established batsmen whose ODI high score is more than their Test best:
Note: The list only contains batsmen, hence Shane Watson and Kapil Dev haven't been included.
#5 Mark Waugh (Tests: 153*, ODIs: 173)
The silken drives and delectable cuts of 'Junior' were a sight to behold, irrespective of the format.
Against West Indies in the 2000/01 Carlton Series, the current national selector compiled a sublime 173, the then highest score by an Australian in ODIs.
With more than 14 overs in hand, Waugh completed his century, changing gears after reaching the three figure mark. He consistently went inside out over covers and targetted the cow corner against off spinners. As if the main bowlers weren't enough, he clobbered captain Jimmy Adams’ harmless left-arm spin consistently to the leg side, motoring past 150 in the process.
Even towards the fag end of his innings, he looked sharp enough to cleanly smack the ball down the ground. The end eventually came when he sliced a Marlon Samuels delivery right down the throat of Brian Lara at long-on.
Two years later, against India in a Test at Chennai, the younger Waugh decided to bring his attacking game to the fore. In response to India’s 424 in the first innings, he employed a positive mindset against the spinners: rookie offie Harbhajan Singh was targetted with swift feet, while Kumble was adroitly dealt with using the depth of the crease.
Even as wickets tumbled, he motored along, sending Venkatapathy Raju to the cleaners on his way to his 14th Test hundred. He eventually remained unbeaten on 153.