New Zealand Women all-rounder, leg-break bowler, Amelia Kerr has reached a big milestone after taking her 100th ODI wicket in the October 1 World Cup match against Australia Women. At the age of 24, she is now the third youngest woman cricketer to score over 1000 runs and 100 wickets in One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
Kerr has now joined captain Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu as the only New Zealand bowlers with 100 wickets in the ODIs.
In the game against Australia, Kerr picked up two wickets at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The first wicket came out of Australia’s opener Phoebe Litchfield, which helped her reach the milestone. Her googly ball took the opener off-guard going into the stumps. She claimed her second wicket of Australia’s right-hand batter, Annabel Sutherland (5 off 8), in the nineteenth over, all thanks to Suzie Bates’s catch.
Despite the milestone, New Zealand Women lost the match against Australia Women by 89 runs. While chasing the target of 327, New Zealand went all-out at 237 in 43.2 overs. With the bat, Kerr was able to score 33 runs in 56 balls.
In 78 ODIs, Kerr has scored 2200 runs at an average of 42.30 and her bowling average is 29.69, with 101 wickets.
Other women players to reach the milestone
Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)
A right-handed batter from Jamaica, Taylor reached her milestone at the age of 23. She made her ODI debut at the age of 17 during the West Indies Women’s tour in Dublin against Ireland on June 24, 2008. Her 2000-run milestone was achieved on 12 January 2013, during the South Africa Women’s tour of the West Indies. In that match, she scored 71 runs off 98 balls. As for her bowling milestone, she made it to 100 wickets during the ICC Women’s World Cup match against Australia on 11 November 2014. She took a total of 2 wickets in that game.
Dane van Niekerk (South Africa)
For Niekerk it was at the age of 23, when she achieved this milestone. The right-hand batter and all-rounder made her ODI debut on March 8, 2009, during the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in Newcastle against West Indies Women. On 11 February 2019, during Sri Lanka Women’s tour of South Africa, she completed her 2000-run feat, scoring a brilliant innings of 102 runs off 117 balls. She reached her 100-wicket mark during the same tournament on February 15, 2017, in a match against India Women.
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