Chad Bowes Smashes Record for Fastest Double Century in Men's List A Cricket
Chad Bowes set a new record in men's List A cricket on Wednesday by scoring the fastest double century, reaching 200 off just 103 balls.
Playing for Canterbury against Otago in New Zealand's Ford Trophy, Bowes has beaten the previous record of 114 balls held by Australia's Travis Head and India's Narayan Jagadeesan.
Bowes, a 32-year-old opener, celebrated his 100th List A match in style, smashing 205 from 110 balls, including 27 fours and seven sixes, helping Canterbury post a total of 343-9 at Christchurch's Hagley Oval. Otago were all out for just 103 at the end of the game, losing the game by 240 runs. This margin of victory is now the largest in New Zealand's domestic white-ball cricket history.
Despite losing his opening partner Henry Nicholls early on, Bowes continued to attack the bowlers. He reached his half-century in just 26 balls and needed 53 deliveries to reach his century. He then took another 50 balls to bring up his double century before being trapped leg before wicket (LBW) by Matthew Bacon, who later picked up five wickets.
The South African-born batter, who moved to New Zealand in 2015, has represented the country in limited-overs internationals.
He acknowledged the significance of his performance, saying, "It started off pretty nicely, so I just kept going... didn’t try to rein it in too much."
While Bowes was the standout performer, Canterbury's lower-order contributions, particularly from Zakary Foulkes, who scored 49, helped them reach a competitive total. Bacon's five-for was a rare highlight for Otago, who struggled throughout the game.
This innings has further solidified Bowes' status in the New Zealand cricket scene, following his previous achievements, including representing the Black Caps in one-day internationals and T20s. With this record-breaking double century, Bowes has now etched his name into the history books.
