It was an era when ODI (or one-day cricket) was an option for teams to slow down and put up an acceptable or a good score to defend. It was definitely an extremely popular cricket formats due to its authenticity. cricket, such as how bowlers performed very well during their games as well as how the batting team is playing, the strategies used by the teams and other things. In the past two decades or so it’s like cricket has changed gears. When the pitch is softer and the batting line-up that a player has is great and they are able to score the most impressive score they can get. This is exactly what has produced some of the most impressive one-day matches throughout the course of history and that’s the reason we’re here today to take a close review of the Top 10 One-Day Match Highest scores to date. Let’s go on with it and then.
1. England – 498/4 vs Netherlands (2022)
This was among the recent games that England was chasing the Netherlands in a frenzy and tried to reach the 500-run mark in order to become the first team to achieve this feat. They came up just 2 runs off however, the game was a total blast particularly if you like huge hitting. In this particular game we witnessed three centuries each one following the other however, Joss Butler’s score of 162* score in only 70 balls was just amazing. But, Phil Salt and Dawid Malan were the players who started the innings for a top score with their century. Then came Liam Livingstone to finish things with his roaring score of 66* in only 22 balls. It was a straight 300-strike-rate in an ODI match.
2. England – 481/6 vs Australia (2018)
Yes, England was going for more scores since the year 2016 however, in the year 2018, they achieved the highest ODI score of the time and against the most powerful ODI team which was at the time Australia. In just 50 overs, they were able to score 481/6, which was an incredible score at the time. Again three of the top batters played their role: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, and, of the course Alex Hales. In the end, when it was time to the end Then came Eoin Morgan (the captain) who scored more than 67 runs in just 30 balls.
3. England – 444/3 vs Pakistan (2016)
Again we have England in the mix for the third consecutive time. This time they were playing against Pakistan and we have to affirm that the batting line-up of England pretty much defeated Pakistan’s bowling attack totally and scored 444/3. As the wicket dropped fast and quickly, it was Alex Hales and Joe Root who took over and set the stage to score a hefty amount. To top it off, there was Joss Butler’s explosive innings of 90* over just 51 balls.
4. Sri Lanka – 443/9 vs Netherlands (2006)
In all honesty to be honest, until the year 2016 this was Sri Lanka’s best score of 443/9 against Netherlands which remained at the top of the list for many years. The 1st ODI game of the Sri Lanka tour of Netherlands was different, for instance immediately after the first ball, Sanath Jayasuriya started going after bowlers scored 157 run and putting the stage for a good score. After having to drop a handful of wickets Then came Tillakaratne’s 117* runs in the inning.
5. South Africa – 439/2 vs West Indies (2015)
South Africa is one team who holds the title of the team with the most scores of 400+ in the history of ODI. They have actually achieved this feat eight times and that’s insane If you consider it for a second. The team’s highest score was in the year 2015 when they faced West Indies. West Indies. On that day, just three batsmen walked onto the field and totally destroyed the West Indies’ bowling lineup. For instance, Hashim Amla scored 153 while Rilee Rossouw broke 128. Who’s 3rd? This was the game that we witnessed the fastest ODI century. It was scored by the legendary AB de Villiers (the captain) who hit astonishing 149 runs in only 44 balls. This is an amazing 338.63 percentage of strike for ODI cricket.
6. South Africa – 438/9 vs Australia (2006)
South Africa is at it yet again, however it was an unbeaten record from 2006 when they faced the world’s top team, Australia. It was possibly one of the greatest games in ODI history due to the fact that Australia had set a record score of 434/4 and it looked like winning easily for Australia. However, South Africa’s batsmen and they accomplished what seemed impossible. Thanks to Graeme Smith scoring 90 runs and Herschelle Gibbs’s 175 runs in the innings, South Africa won this match by one wicket (with one ball left).
7. South Africa – 438/4 vs India (2015)
It was the final match during the South Africa tour of India and that’s the moment that South Africa went for their third-highest ODI score in history. In the first innings there were three centuries for this team, that were scored from Quinton de Kock Faf du Plessis, and, of obviously, AB de Villiers. AB was on fire again, hitting the requisite 119 runs with just 61 balls.
8. Australia – 434/4 vs South Africa (2006)
This one from 2006 is the greatest ever score by Australia and it was the same game we have discussed in which South Africa put up a tough fight and ultimately won the match. Can you imagine scoring 434 runs, and then losing?
9. South Africa – 428/5 vs Sri Lanka (2023)
This was among the most recent high scores scored by the South African team against Sri Lanka. This was in 2023. This was the very game we watched Aiden Markram, who smashed the fastest World Cup century in just 49 balls. However, later that identical month Glenn Maxwell did that in only 40 balls, putting Markram to second place.
10. South Africa – 418/5 vs Zimbabwe (2006)
We have a great South African team hitting another 400+, but it was in 2006 against Zimbabwe. They scored this impressive scores just because Mark Boucher was there until the end of the game, hitting 147 runs over just 68 balls.
Conclusion
As you’ve just seen the previous paragraph, virtually the majority of these high ODI scores were recorded in the years following the 2000s, which is to show how the game has changed in just several decades and today ODI also is an extremely fast-paced format. Although, it’s rare to witness these high scores, when conditions are ideal for the batsmen you can expect to see a lot of boundaries.
