Scoring above 400 runs in a single cricket match is a feat that only a few batters have been able to achieve. The rarity of this batting achievement can be discerned from the fact that there has been no 400+ individual scores this century. Up until now, that is!
In a sporadic event, a batter from England has scored this century’s first 400+ in a cricket match. Playing for Glamorgan against Leicestershire the 32-year-old Sam Northeast, who has never played for the country team scored an unbeaten 410 in a country cricket championship division two match.
Glamorgan, on the back of Northeast’s 410 won the match by an innings and 28 runs. The 41-year-old Australian pacer Michael Hogan took 4-43 along with a 3-60 from Test all-rounder Michael Neser.
The whole area, however, sang praise to the English batter who, with his sensational batting took the Glamorgan side to a massive 795-5 in reply to Leicestershire’s 584.
Northeast has joined a very prestigious group of Brian Lara (501), Don Bradman (452) and others. He is only the fourth English batter to score more than 400 in an innings in England.
After the game, an ecstatic Northeast said, “It’s truly special to be part of the list of names … it’s just crazy, people keep telling me what a special achievement it is.”
“To get the team win topped off a special day for me. It was an unbelievable group bowling performance spearheaded by ‘Hoges’ and ‘Ness’”, he concluded.
Having scored 191 as his highest previously, Sam Northeast became the ninth highest individual scorer after making 410* in 450 balls. His record-breaking knock included 45 fours and three sixes.
When the batter went past Brian Lara’s 400, made against England in 2004, it became the biggest knock produced by a cricketer in this century. Lara is also the only man to ever score more than 500 runs in a single cricket match.
Currently, Brian Lara holds the record for the highest individual score (501). Hanif Mohammad ranks second with 499 and the Aussie great Don Bradman is third with 452.
