On this day in 2009: Charles Coventry equalled the then highest score in ODIs
Charles Coventry was one of the finest players to have played for Zimbabwe at the highest level. Even though Zimbabwe Cricket was on the decline when he made his international debut, he ensured that he made the bowlers of all sides toil hard for earning his wicket.
Meanwhile, it was on this very day in 2009 that the promising batter equalled the iconic Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar’s long-standing individual record of 194 runs in One Day Internationals.
When Charles Coventry registered the then joint-highest score in ODIs
Zimbabwe hosted Bangladesh in the fourth One Day International at Bulawayo. The home skipper Prosper Utseya won the toss on a flat track and elected to bat first. After the early dismissals of Mark Vermeulen and Hamilton Masakadza, Coventry waged a war against the Bangladesh bowlers with hardly any support.
While the bowlers got wickets from one end, Coventry counter-attacked from the other and kept the scoreboard ticking. Only middle-order batter Stuart Matsikenyeri gave some support scoring 37.
The best part of Coventry’s innings was that he was the only one who made the most of a perfect batting surface where other prominent names of Zimbabwe failed. The batting sensation registered a well-deserved century and continued to soldier on from there on.
He remained unbeaten on 194 runs from 156 deliveries with 16 fours and seven sixes at an outstanding strike rate of 124.35 as the hosts posted a mammoth 312/8.
While this was one of the finest ODI innings, it was not good enough to benefit the team as the Zimbabwean bowlers failed to defend this total. Star opener Tamim Iqbal’s 138-ball 154 completely blew away the opposition and the visitors successfully got the job done by four wickets with 13 balls to spare.
Even though his epic knock ended in a losing cause, Coventry was adjudged the Player of the Match for his batting excellence in the first innings. Unfortunately for Coventry, he could only manage to hold this unique record for six months before Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar overhauled his and Anwar’s records by becoming the first batter in ODI history to score a double century. He scored an unbeaten 200 in a One Day International against South Africa at Gwalior on February 24, 2010.
