Ponting stars as records tumble

Ricky Ponting became Australia's leading run-getter in World Cups, and set the record for most number of sixes

14-Mar-2007

As expected, Australia's batsmen made merry in their World Cup opener against Scotland. Here are the stat highlights from the game.

The records keep pouring in for Ricky Ponting, who scored his fourth World Cup century © Getty Images

Australia's 203-run win is the second-largest in terms of runs in World Cup history. The record for the largest margin is theirs as well - in 2003 they thrashed Namibia by 256 runs. (Click here for the highest margins of wins in World Cup matches.)

Ricky Ponting started the match just two short of the 1000-run mark in World Cups, and by the time he was finally dismissed for 113 he equalled or went past a number of records.

- His World Cup aggregate now stands at 1111, which is the highest for an Australian, overtaking Mark Waugh's 1004. Ponting became only the second Australian to get to 1000 runs, making them the only side with two batsmen in the 1000-plus club. Ponting's tally is now second to Sachin Tendulkar's 1732. (Click here for the batsmen with the highest World Cup aggregates.)

- This was his fourth hundred in World Cups, equalling the record jointly held by Tendulkar, Waugh and Sourav Ganguly. Ponting's three World Cup centuries as captain equal Ganguly's record for the most number of hundreds as leader.

- Ponting's five sixes in the innings took his World Cup tally to 24, which is a record, going past Ganguly's 23. Ponting has now struck 126 sixes in ODIs, which equals Adam Gilchrist's Australian mark.

This was Australia's third successive 300-plus score in ODIs, following two against New Zealand in the Chappell-Hadlee Series. Australia have become the third team to post a hat-trick of such big scores - Pakistan had topped 300 three times in a row against Zimbabwe in 2002-03, while Sri Lanka went on a roll last year, going past 300 in five successive innings.

All the Scotland bowlers got hammered, but none felt the heat more than Dougie Brown, who leaked 86 from nine overs. His "economy" rate of 9.55 is the second-highest in a World Cup spell of at least eight overs, behind Ashantha de Mel's 1 for 97 off ten overs (9.70 runs per over) against West Indies at Karachi in the 1987 World Cup. (Click here for a list bowlers who have conceded the most number of runs in a World Cup innings.)

Dougie Brown Ricky Ponting Australia Scotland Australia vs Scotland ICC World Cup