Issue #3 · October 3, 2026

GUWAHATI JUST REWROTE THE ODI RECORD BOOK. On Wednesday, India and West Indies played one of the most extraordinary one-day internationals ever staged. West Indies posted 405 for 7, their first total past 400 in ODI history. India chased it down with 39 balls to spare. Shubman Gill made 223 not out off 117 balls, the fastest double century in ODI history. It was also the highest score ever by a captain, and the highest individual score in a successful ODI chase. Five players scored centuries in the same match: Gill and Rohit Sharma for India, John Campbell, Shai Hope and Amir Jangoo for West Indies. That has never happened before, in over 4,700 men's ODIs. India's 406 for 2 is now the second-highest successful chase in ODI history, behind only South Africa's 438 against Australia in 2006. For one afternoon in Assam, the 50-over game looked more like a video game than a sport.

SOUTH AFRICA'S HAMSTRING PANDEMIC. South Africa won their ODI series against Australia 2-1, despite Australia taking the dead rubber in Potchefstroom. The bigger story is what's coming. Tony de Zorzi, Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka and Ottneil Baartman are all sidelined with hamstring injuries ahead of the Tests, and Kagiso Rabada is recovering from one of his own, with his fitness not decided until after a three-day intra-squad match next week. Four fast bowlers and a batter, all out with the same injury.

BANTON ARRIVES, ENGLAND LOOK AHEAD. Tom Banton made 126 off 105 balls, his maiden ODI century, as England beat Sri Lanka by 223 runs at The Oval to win the series 2-1. England have already named their squad for an ODI tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka: Harry Brook captains, Jofra Archer is rested and Jos Buttler is injured. With the World Cup just over a year away, England are using the time to test their depth while the stakes are still low.

ZIMBABWE'S FIRST POINTS. Hayley Matthews made 118 as West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 91 runs to win their series 2-1, her 14th ODI century. But Zimbabwe's win in the second match mattered more to them: their first-ever points in the ICC Women's Championship, and only their second ODI win over a Full Member side.

CRICKET'S OLYMPIC EXPERIMENT BEGINS. Twenty-six USA men's players spent the week at the US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, a sign that cricket's Olympic return is starting to get very real. Cricket comes back to the Games at Los Angeles 2028 after a 128-year absence, and USA Cricket has started integrating its players into the country's Olympic high-performance system. LA28 is now under two years away.

KOHLI JOINS THE 15,000 CLUB. In the series opener against West Indies, Virat Kohli made 139 not out and passed 15,000 ODI runs, only the second player to do it after Sachin Tendulkar. It was his 55th ODI century, a record he now holds outright, and his tenth against West Indies, matching his own record of ten centuries against a single opponent, set earlier against Sri Lanka. No one else in ODI history has reached double figures against even one team.

INDIA COMPLETE THE DOUBLE AT THE ASIAN GAMES. India's men beat Pakistan by 19 runs in Nisshin to win cricket gold, posting 211 for 6 and restricting Pakistan to 192 for 6. Hasan Nawaz kept the chase alive with 96 off 51 balls, but it wasn't enough. It completes a cricket double for India, whose women's team won their own gold earlier in the tournament.

LHUAN-DRE PRETORIUS.

188 not out off 79 balls. 15 fours, 13 sixes. Playing for the Titans against the Knights in South Africa's T20 Challenge, the 20-year-old produced the highest individual score in men's T20 history, going past a record that had stood for thirteen years: Chris Gayle's 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013. Titans made 267 for 3 and won by 124 runs. Remember the name.

334 + 195

Tom Abell had quite a final innings of the County Championship season. He made 307 off 407 balls for Somerset against Surrey, his maiden triple-century. But buried inside it is a stranger stat: Abell was involved in two record partnerships in the same innings. 334 with Tom Lammonby for the fourth wicket. Then, five wickets later, 195 with Migael Pretorius for the ninth, breaking a Somerset record that had stood since 1963. Somerset were eventually all out for 731. Cricket scorecards can occasionally look like someone forgot to change the difficulty setting.

West Indies' tour of India switches formats: a five-match T20I series starting October 6 in Lucknow, then Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. South Africa's Test series against Australia begins October 9 in Durban. The same day, Pakistan host Sri Lanka for three T20Is in Rawalpindi, and Australia's women begin an ODI series at home to Bangladesh. Further down the ladder, the ICC's World Cup League 2, the qualifying pathway for associate nations, continues with fixtures in the US this week.

HURRY UP, OR LOSE FIVE RUNS. The ICC quietly changed cricket's playing conditions this week, and one change could produce some wonderfully petty cricket. Batters are now expected to be ready to face the next delivery within a set time limit. Keep wasting time and umpires can escalate: a warning, then a final warning, then five penalty runs to the fielding side.

There's more in the update too, pink balls can now be used in day Tests if both teams agree, and women's cricket now has its own specified ball dimensions.

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