Sometimes, all you need are the numbers. Glenn Maxwell made the fastest World Cup century, taking 40 balls. He arrived in the middle for the first ball of the 40th over. In all List A cricket, it was the latest start in an innings for any player to score a hundred. And it took nine balls of that span for him to first get on strike.
He took 27 balls to go past 50, then 13 to pass a hundred. That last baker’s dozen included two dots and three singles. All up the match saw nine overs bowled between Maxwell facing his first ball and being caught for 106. Australia went from meandering towards 300 to posting 399, on to win by 309. It was in all senses extraordinary.
