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One Day International Cricket is a fast paced version of the game but some batters don’t always stick to the script. Here are some of the slowest centuries in the history of ODIs.
Who Scored the Slowest Century in ODI History?
The man with the record for the slowest hundred in the history of ODI cricket is David Boon. Playing for Australia against India in 1991, he reached the milestone in 166 balls.
Boon would eventually make 102 from 168 deliveries in this marathon innings as his Australia side won the game by eight wickets.
Slowest Centuries in ODI Cricket
David Boon – 166 balls
That match between Australia and India in 1991 was played on a very difficult surface in Hobart. India batted first and had crawled to 175/8 at the end of their 50 overs.
In reply, India set defensive fields and were aided by a tricky pitch. Australia got to that target but it was a crawl. David Boon’s hundred came from 166 deliveries and it included just eight fours. Boon shared a partnership with Dean Jones of 129 and Jones’ 48 came from 99 balls. In short, it was a slow effort but it was just what Australia needed.
Rameez Raja – 157 balls in the World Cup 1992
Pakistan eventually won the 1992 World Cup but they had a slow start to the competition. This game against the West Indies resulted in defeat and fans might have looked to blame Rameez Raja for some slow scoring.
In truth, Rameez’s ton held the innings together. He passed three figures from 157 deliveries and made 102 from 158 deliveries as Pakistan posted 220/2. It wasn’t nearly enough as the West Indies passed their target with all ten wickets intact.
Geoff Marsh – 156 balls
Australia’s Geoff Marsh was a very obdurate batter who was known for patient accumulation of runs in test match cricket. He could be effective in limited overs matches but he would sometimes carry that slow scoring into the One Day arena.
In this game, for Australia against England in 1989, he plodded to his century from 156 balls. Australia won but Marsh’s slow effort meant they left it late. He made 111 from 162 balls as the tourists reached their 279 target with just three balls to spare.
Rameez Raja – 152 balls in 1990
Another patient knock from Rameez Raja took place in 1990 when his Pakistan team took on Sri Lanka in the Benson and Hedges World Series in Adelaide.
Rameez opened the batting and put on 202 for the first wicket with Saeed Anwar. They laid a platform and Raja could afford to be patient, reaching his ton from 152 balls. He remained undefeated, making 107 from 154 deliveries. Pakistan posted 315/3 and they won the game by 27 runs.
Scott Styris – 152 balls in 2007
New Zealand’s Scott Styris was known as a power hitter and he once made a T20 hundred from just 37 balls. This effort, in the 2007 World Cup, was much slower and it saw the Kiwi reach three figures from 152 deliveries.
It was a tricky encounter for the Kiwis who struggled against a Sri Lankan bowling attack led by Muttiah Muralitharan. Styris eventually reached 111 from 157 balls. New Zealand posted 219/7 but they lost by six wickets.
Tom Cooper – 151 balls in 2010
Tom Cooper is an Australian born batter who has enjoyed a long career for the Netherlands. While playing for the Dutch against Afghanistan at Voorburg in 2010, Cooper passed three figures from 151 deliveries.
He hit nine fours and held the innings together as the Netherlands made 202/8. It was never going to be enough and a strong Afghanistan team chased down that target on 42.3 overs with six wickets to spare.
Geoff Marsh – 150 balls
Those who saw Geoff Marsh play won’t be too surprised to see him appear on this list for a second time. This innings came when the man known as ‘Swampy’ was playing for Australia against West Indies in 1991.
Marsh reached his century from 150 balls as Australia successfully chased down a target of 252. He eventually made an undefeated 106 from 158 deliveries with eight fours.
David Hemp – 150 balls – Kenya, 2009
David Hemp enjoyed a long county career in England and he played 22 One Day Internationals for Bermuda, his country of birth. In one of those matches, against Kenya in 2009, Hemp crawled to a century from 150 balls.
This was an important game as it was a World Cup qualifier. Hemp went on to make 102 not out from 152 balls but it wasn’t enough. Bermuda posted 259/5 but the Kenyans chased down their target with a full five overs to spare.
Shai Hope – 149 balls
Unlike some of the players on this list, West Indies’ Shai Hope looks to play his shots and attack from the very first ball. He’s made a number of ODI centuries but this was his slowest.
Playing for the Windies against India at Chennai in 2019, Hope brought up three figures from 149 balls and he went on to score 102 not out from 151 deliveries. The West Indies were chasing 288 to win and Hope’s innings saw his side reach their target with eight wickets and 13 balls to spare.
David Boon – 146 balls
We started with David Boon and we’ll round this list off with the same competitive Australian. This was another Benson and Hedges World Series match as Australia took on the West Indies at Melbourne in 1992.
The Aussies posted 216/6 with Boon reaching three figures from 146 balls. The innings included eight fours and it helped the home side to a big win as the West Indies capitulated to 159 all out.
What is the Slowest ODI Innings of All Time?
The slowest One Day International Innings in terms of balls faced was played by Glenn Turner for New Zealand against East Africa in the 1975 World Cup. The Kiwi faced 201 balls in total, making an unbeaten 171.
Because Turner passed the century mark in fewer deliveries, he is not included here on this main list. Interestingly, a week after his marathon innings, the prolific New Zealand batsman made the second slowest knock in the history of ODIs.
In a World Cup match between New Zealand and India at Old Trafford, Glenn Turner made an undefeated 114 from 177 deliveries.
This was a time when strike rates weren’t as important and team totals were much lower than they are now. Back in 1975, a century was seen as a valuable contribution to the side, no matter how long it took.
What’s the Slowest ODI Innings Without a Century?
The longest ODI innings by any player who scored less than a hundred, was made by Mohsin Khan for Pakistan against the West Indies in 1983. The knock came at The Oval, and once again it was part of a World Cup.
Mohsin made 70, but it took him an incredible 176 deliveries to get there. He opened the batting in that game as Pakistan made 184/8 from a full 60 overs. Even in the context of ODI cricket at that time, the total was never enough, and the West Indies chased it down for the loss of just two wickets with more than eleven overs to spare.
Mohsin’s stats are scarcely believable when we look back. He hit just one 4 and no sixes at a strike rate of just 39.77. Had he kept his wicket and there had been time left in the match to make a hundred, it would have surely been the slowest century in ODIs for the rest of time.
