Who is Darius Visser? 5 interesting facts about Samoa batter who scored 39 runs in an over in a T20I
Darius Visser announced his arrival in world cricket with a splendid century against Vanuatu in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 Sub Regional Qualifiers. Playing for Samoa, Visser blasted a 62-ball 132, which included five fours and 14 maximums.
The highlight of his knock were the six sixes blasted by him in the 15th over of the Samoan innings bowled by Vanautu's medium pacer Nalin Nipiko. Visser started the over with three maximums in a row.
On the next ball, Nipiko bowled a no ball under pressure, and Visser smashed a six on the subsequent free hit. Nipiko bounced back with a dot ball before delivering another no-ball. Visser punished him with a six on the next delivery, which was also a no-ball. The Samoan ended the over with a six on the final delivery, which was a free hit as well.
In all, Darius Visser aggregated 36 runs, and the three no-balls meant that Samoa scored 39 runs off one over. Now, Visser owns the record for scoring the most runs in an over.
Here are five interesting facts about the new star of Samoa.
#1 How old is Darius Visser?
Darius Visser was born on December 28, 1995. As of this writing, the Samoan batter is 28 years and 238 days old.
Apart from his destructive batting, Visser can also bowl right-arm leg-spin for his team. Notably, the 28-year-old has accounted for nine wickets in four matches. If he continues in the same vein, some T20 franchises may show interest in him soon.
#2 Darius Visser made his T20I debut 5 days ago
It may surprise a few days ago, but it hasn't even been a week since Visser started playing T20I cricket for Samoa. He received his maiden T20I cap five days ago when Samoa took on Fiji at the Apia No 2 ground.
On his T20I debut, Visser played an unbeaten knock of 30 runs, hitting one four and four maximums. Earlier in the game, he took four wickets to help Samoa bowl Fiji out for just 62 runs.
#3 Darius Visser already owns 1 world record
With his 132-run knock against Vanautu, Visser now owns the world record for the highest percentage of runs by a batter in a single completed T20I team innings. He scored 75.86% of Samoa's 174 runs in the Qualifier match against Vanautu.
Previously, Australian legend Aaron Finch held this record for scoring 75.1% of his team's runs. Finch scored 172 in a T20I against Zimbabwe in 2018, where the team's total was 229/2.
#4 Darius Visser started his career as a fast bowler
As per St George & Sutherland Leader, Darius Visser began his cricketing career as a fast bowler. However, Visser suffered multiple injuries and stress fractures.
As a result, the 28-year-old shifted his focus towards batting and leg-spin. Now, he is one of the best all-rounders in the Samoan team.
#5 Visser's connection with Australia
Visser grew up playing cricket in Sydney, which is close to seven hours away from Samoa. The experience of playing in Australian conditions seems to helping Visser a lot in international cricket.
Apart from Aaron Finch's aforementioned record, Visser also broke David Warner's record for the highest individual score in an innings where all other batters batted. Warner scored 89 in a bilateral T20I against South Africa in 2009, while Visser scored 132 against Vanautu.